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Published: October 15th 2006
Well..we last left you with the thought of our 15 hour coach journey to Alice Springs (ahh!) Turns out that the tour we were about to embark on was well worth the journey!!! We had a couple of days in Alice Springs before the tour started so, in true form, we spent them 'pottering' around and exploring. We really liked Alice Springs. It was quite different to how we had both imagined it. We thought it would be a really small town, literally just used as a base to start Uluru trips etc but it was really nice and had a good feel to it.
Our tour was due to start on the Sunday (2nd July - yes we really are that far behind with our blogs!!!) To be honest we were a little sceptical about it beforehand. Mainly because it was a Contiki tour (who specialise in 18-35 year old tours) so, we imagined a tour in the style of the Ibiza Uncovered shenanigans. How wrong we were!!! It turned out to be an excellent tour and we're so glad that we did it. It catered for younger people but definitely not in that 'banging your door down to
go drinking, and everyone must play games' kind of way we were dreading!!! There was some drinking involved but all very civilised (most of the time!)
We met a great group of people who we had a fab time with and the sights and places that we saw in the Northern Territory were amazing. The tour started in Alice Springs, went to Uluru, the Olgas and Kings Canyon; then back to Alice Springs and then up to Darwin, via Katherine and Kakadu National Park. It all lasted 11 days and covered a phenomenal amount of kilometres!!!
DAY 1 - Alice Springs - Sun 2nd July
Our tour met early in the morning at the hotel we would be staying at. We spent the first day looking at the various sights in Alice Springs and getting to know the group. We went to the Alice Springs Desert Park and saw an impressive bird display; Anzac Hill which had great views across the whole of Alice Springs; the Old Telegraph Station where they used to send messages all over the world and where they actually came to call Alice Springs Alice Springs because the 'Spring' is at the back
Champagne Sunset
Us enjoying the champagne at sunset. (From left to right - Claire, Megan, Dan (the tour guide), Xavier (the coach driver) and, of course, us 2!)of the Telegraph Station and was named after the one of the bosses wives' (there was no water in the spring though because its so dry now!) Finally we visited the Royal Flying Doctors service and had a tour and found out how it all works which was very interesting (it also reassured us that we'd be rescued if anything happened to us in the 'outback'!!!) After a very busy day, we all had dinner at the hotel and then went down the road to a cool bar (Bojangles).
DAY 2 - Alice Springs to Uluru - Mon 3rd July
On the Monday we spent most of the day driving to Yulara - the resort at Uluru. On the way we crossed over the oldest river in the world - the Finke River - again, it had no water in it anymore!!! In the evening a group of us went to the supermarket and brought a veritable feast that we cooked for dinner, whilst enjoying the entertainment at the resort (live music). We were already getting on really well with the group and having a great time - we were so excited for the morning when we would
The Olgas
Sunset - in the distance you can see the Olgas (people say it looks like Homer Simpsons face - on its side!) finally get to see 'the big rock'!!!
DAY 3 - Uluru - Tue 4th July
It was a REALLY EARLY start because we were off to see the sunrise over Uluru. The coach pulled up while it was still dark so we had plenty of time to take it all in. We were wrapped up in hats and gloves etc but it was still bloody freezing! Still the whole thing was amazing - its true that the rock actually changes colour a few times as the sun is coming up - fantastic! After the delightful sunrise we all had breakfast there whilst we continued to stare at the rock!!! We were viewing from a distance so we then went to the rock itself. Karen set-off with a few of the girls to do the basewalk and walk around the whole perimeter and Jamie went up to climb the rock. However, despite it being freezing in the early morning (and evenings) it was warm in the day and very dry, so I (Karen) made him take the big water bottle as he was climbing it (the first part was soooo steep). He had no bag to put it in
Kings Canyon
The view of Kings Canyon from the rim-walk. so he struggled to hold on to the bottle and the chains to pull himself up, therefore, he had to come back down (without completing it). He then did the base walk and really enjoyed it (but I don't think he was too happy about the water bottle incident!!!) After the walk, the tour then went to the Cultural Centre where we could find out a lot more about the Aboriginal customs and stories - it was good.
The next stop of the tour was to Kata Tjuta (The Olgas). This was close to Uluru and also really impressive. We loved Uluru because it definitely had a feel to it, but the Olga's were special in a different way - especially as you were able to walk right through the middle as it had split.
The evening of Day 3 was brilliant and a real highlight of the tour. We all wrapped ourselves up and got on the coach to another spot where we could view the Rock and we had a Champagne Sunset. It was great - we all stood around together and had loads of 'nibbles' to eat and endless supplies of champagne. Again, the sight
Kings Canyon
Impressive view across Kings Canyon of the rock changing colour was awesome. Afterwards, we went back to the resort (in a party atmosphere - all dancing on the coach) and we all danced to the live music back at the resort and had a great night.
DAY 4 - Uluru to Kings Creek Station - Weds 5th July
Wednesday was time to leave Yulara, and Uluru for good. We had one last look at the splendid rock as we left. Then we were on the road again - on our way to Kings Creek Station (a working camel station). When we arrived we set up our swags for the night as it was the night we were all waiting for - sleeping under the stars. The swag is literally an all-in-one bed - its like a heavy duty sleeping bag with a matress inside. We had dinner and then all sat around the bush campfire. We toasted marshmellows and made Damper (like a scone 'thingy' that you cook on the fire!) Then it was time for bed - it was great to lay looking up at the stars (there was absolutely loads of them). It was freezing though but worth it!!!
DAY
5 - Kings Creek to Alice Springs - Thurs 6th July
The tour had a variety of 'optional extras' that you could do along the way so we had both opted for a camel ride to start the day. What an experience! When we arrived we hardly got told anything about them, or the ride, except we were just told when to get on. Well, we did as we were told. There were 3 camels in total (2 people on each) and ours was at the back. I think we got the competitive camel that didn't like being last so it kept jerking and pulling on the rope! I (Karen) was a little scared and felt uneasy so I was calling out - asking the lady if it should be doing it. The lady who was leading them clearly thought I was over-reacting and told me to 'stay calm'! So, I tried to reserve my involuntary shouts when it was jerking and bucking. The next thing I know I'm steeped right down, holding on for dear-life (I was at the front, Jamie at the back) and the camel sits down. The lady starts shouting at it and it won't
Drovers Blowout
Our table at the Drovers Blowout meal. budge an inch. We can't stop laughing and chaos reins!!! We had to get off the camel, with the lady muttering that its never done that before, and get on a new 'more reliable' camel. We hadn't even made it out of the gate!!! We then spent the whole ride nervous everytime our camel strayed from the line slightly!!! It was all good fun though!!!
After the camel excitement, we went to Kings Canyon. Most of the group, and us, opted to do the rim walk which took about 2 hours all the way around (with a long walk up at the beginning). It was absolutely brilliant and I'm glad that we did it. The views were amazing. (If anyone watched "Priscilla - Queen of the Desert" it was the huge 'rock' that they climbed and shouted from, made famous with the line "cock, in a frock on a rock!!!"). After the walk we were back on the coach and headed back to Alice Springs.
In the evening we went for the best meal at the Overlander Steak House. The meal was called 'Drovers Blowout' and you had a starter and a main course but, inbetween, you received
'Sample Platter'
The tasty sample of crocodile vol au'vonts, kangaroo, emu and camel. a 'sample' plate which had Kangaroo, Crocodile, Emu and Camel to try. They were all very tasty but the Camel was our favourite! Then, after a mighty feast, we all went to the local club.
DAY 6 - Alice Springs to Tennant Creek - Fri 7th July
We had a free morning to see more of Alice Springs and then the rest of the day was spent travelling. Today was the start of our drive upto Darwin - stopping along the way. We stopped at the Devils Marbles - which were the last of the interesting rocks that we would see; crossed the Tropic of Capricorn; and finally ended up in Tennant Creek for the night. Tennant Creek is a "true-blue" Aussie Outback town. We had had to stop there when we got the coach from Mount Isa to Alice Springs - the coach had stopped at 2am in Tennant Creek and we had to swap coaches so we had a half hour wait. We were scared - it was an eerie place!!! So, here we were again. This time it was a little less scary and we were staying in a nice hotel (not hanging around a
garage in the early hours of the morning!!!) We had dinner at the hotel and then a few of us ventured out to experience the 'local' pub - a very interesting night!
DAY 7 - Tennant Creek to Katherine - Sat 8th July
Today we travelled from Tennant Creek to Katherine. We stopped for lunch at the oldest pub in the Territory - the Daly Waters pub. It was a really interesting cool place with loads of memorabilia and 'quirky' things around. Then we stopped at the Mataranka Thermal Pools where we all had a 'dip' which was beautiful (great for the skin!) Once we arrived at Katherine we had a pizza evening by the pool.
DAY 8 - Katherine to Kakadu - Sun 9th July
In the morning we went on the Katherine Gorge River Cruise. It took a couple of hours and we went into the gorge and back. The scenery was lovely and it was a nice relaxing morning.
Our destination today was Kakadu National Park. In time for sunset we all walked up the Ubirr Aboriginal Rock and sat watching the amazing site of the sunset over the plains (from the huge
Tropic of Capricorn
Us 2 at at the crossing point over the Tropic of Capricorn - should get warmer from here!!! rock). We then had dinner at the resort.
DAY 9 - Kakadu National Park - Mon 10th July
Day 9 was spent in the beautiful Kakadu National park. We spent time at Nourlangie Rock - looking at, and learning about, all the aboriginal art. It was really interesting and hard to believe that it was all so old! The afternoon was spent on a wildlife cruise which was another highlight as we saw loads of crocodiles - some of them were huge and we managed to get really close! To begin with we all thought that we'd only see a couple (if we were lucky) so we all kept count - I think we got to about 12 or 13 in the end and we were all still very excited at each one (and shouting out when we saw one!!!) It was great. In the evening we went to the hotel down the road for dinner which was actually built in the shape of a huge crocodile. We had a lovely buffet-style dinner which had an enormous choice of different foods.
DAY 10 - Kakadu to Darwin - Tues 11th July
We left Kakadu and travelled
Devils Marbles
Karen, Jill and Laura inside a Devils Marble!!! to Darwin. On the way we stopped at the Didgeridoo Hut. We had decided to buy one as a souvenier, so we picked one that we liked instantly and found out that the aboriginal artist that had made it was outside. He was a lovely man who we were introduced to. He told us how he'd made it and showed us the plant that was painted on it - it was growing outside the hut. He showed us all his materials and paints too and it was fascinating. We were really pleased with our purchase in the end and felt lucky that we'd selected that one! We then went to the Northern Territory Museum which was interesting. In the evening we all went for a lovely steak dinner at the Hogs Breath Cafe and then went onto a club. It was sad because it was our last 'official' night of the tour and it was all coming to an end!
DAY 11 - Darwin to Litchfield National Park - Weds 12th July
The last day! Today we spent at Litchfield National Park. In the words of the Contiki brochure "255 square miles of top end treasure park, enclosing
Daly Waters Pub
Karen outside the (great) Daly Waters Pub - we were happy as it was the first time we'd seen 'pints' in ages!!! a spectacular sandstone plateau." It certainly was lovely. We spent the day relaxing and taking in all the scenery. We swam at Florence Falls which were beautiful. Except that one of the people on the tour actually saw a small crocodile in the water (we found out after swimming though luckily!!!) When we arrived back in Darwin at 6pm the tour officially finished. It was all very sad as we'd had a great time and met some terrific people. Most of us met up in the evening though and went for dinner at a cool Thai restaurant which was a good way to finish an excellent tour.
Thursday 13th July
The next day we said farewell (some had gone late last night too) and got our plane from Darwin to Perth. The next chapter of our journey...............................................................
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Jill (that scottish contiki bird!!)
non-member comment
trip down memory lane!!
Hey guys, fab run down of the trip! miss everyone loads, sorry i couldnt make it to meet up before you left, im back in the UK around the 12th april so will certainly give you a shout when im back and we can plan a catchup and maybe if you ever make it up to scotland i will buy you a wee bag of chips :-) all the best with the rest of your travels keep in touch lots of love Jill xxx