Advertisement
Dear all, firstly, thank you again for such lovely comments and messages. As always, so lovely to hear from you all, thank you! Hoping you're all keeping well x
So, gosh, I don't know where to begin with this week... Invigorating, exciting and actually quite life affirming. Partly due to the breathtaking scenery, partly due to the physical challenges and partly due to having met a very special lady (explained below).
But firstly, let's go back to the beginning... So, our tour began in Alice Springs, I was picked up by a 4WD truck at 6am and then whittled down a very long, very straight (and very red) road down to Uluru: picking up other group members along the way - 13 of us in total.
The journey took six hours, but went pretty quickly as we were chatting, getting to know one another and singing along to some 'qual' Aussie tunes. ...Rolf Harris eat your heart out! It made for quite a spectacular journey, viewing the desert landscapes and watching a few Kangaroos on the side of the road. Perfect.
Six (bumpy) hours later, we had our first sighting of Ayers Rock, similar to the Taj
Mahal - it quite literally takes your breath away. It's sandstone formation stands 348m high, rising 863m above sea level, standing tall over an otherwise - flat -landscape. Its warm colour, a striking purple (this changes dependent on what time of day it is), contrasted beautifully with the cool blues of the sky... It's actually very difficult to keep your eyes off it as you drive towards it.
Anyhoo, we spent the first day walking around Ayers base - for cultural reasons you're not supposed to climb it, although a lot of tourists still do (which is a shame because ultimately they're destroying the rock).
Throughout the walk, Tamara, (our incredibly enthusiastic Aussie guide/leader for the past few days) explained a little about the cultural heritage, as follows:
The Anangu people (Aboriginal inhabitants) were the traditional inhabitants of the land. They lived in the rock and surrounding areas. Men taught the boys how to hunt and make spears etc, the women stayed in a separate part of the rock - cooking meat and preparing the meals.
One area was known as the 'classroom'. Here men taught the boys how to hunt. They taught them by painting
pictures (inside the rock face) of various animal tracks. Incredibly, you can still see faint outlines of these paintings today.
The Anangu people taught generations (after generations) about the importance of respecting nature (evidently something we lack today)!?
The Anangu people taught the importance of not only respecting nature, but also respecting fellow man. For instance, the Anangu people never hunted an animal if they saw it was alone - even if their people were hungry. They only hunted animals in herds (or packs) and even then would only kill the weakest.
Also, if any of their people stepped 'out of line' (i.e infidelity) there would be extremely harsh consequences. They used a plant (called the 'ippy'😉 which, when dissected, caused temporary blindness in humans. Ouch, slightly harsh, but I imagine only encouraged impeccable behaviour(!)
I was incredibly interested in the Aboriginals background (especially after having stayed in Alice Springs, Darwin and witnessing for myself the huge divide that still exists today)... So I asked Tamara why tensions today with the Indigenous Population are still an immensely complicated issue for everyone.
After learning a little more about the Aboriginal background, I kind of now feel
an empathy towards both sides:
So a basic background of the story is that the Aboriginals in the area (for a very long-time) have been mistreated by the Australian Government (note: this is a subjective viewpoint and could probably be argued against).
But, for instance, Aboriginals were (until 1961) classed under the Fora and Fauna Act - which basically gave them the same rights as an animal. Then there is the whole mass fallout from an older induction campaign known as "the stolen generation". You can read up more on this if interested but, in short, the government went around the country taking Aboriginal children away from their parents to try to integrate them into 'White' culture.
The fallout from this now is that these generations don't 'belong' in either White or Aboriginal culture and thus alcohol, crime and drug rates are - as a result - very high in their community.
Anyway, a bit of context in order for you to see that you can now kind of empathise from both sides of the fence... It's a terribly sad situation though, with both sides seemingly as angry as the other.
As I've already mentioned,
I saw many Aboriginal's up in Darwin (and of course in Alice Springs) and there is evident divide between the Aboriginals and the Whites. It can be quite intimidating (on either side of the fence) to walk into a group of people different from your own own cultural heritage... Hence why I was told to take such strict precautions and not go out at night. Sad.
Anyway, after a few hours we drove to a sunset spot and watched the sun set over Ayers Rock with a glass (erm, plastic cup) of bubbly. A bit cloudy - but still pretty spectacular all the same.
We then set up camp, all pitching in to help with dinner and wood collection etc for the fire. Certainly good team bonding...!
In fact, there's something quite special about sitting around a fire in the open air desert, passing around a bottle of wine - with complete strangers. Brilliant stuff... you just don't get to do that in everyday life!? And that's what I've loved about the whole experience actually... It's so unpredictable, different and unique to everyday life.
I was fortunate to have a great group actually - all different
New chums :)
Daryll (Irish) - Rickard (Swedish) and Chelsie (Aussie)ages. I stayed up most nights with Rickard, Daryll and Chelsie playing different card games and sharing/laughing over good and bad travel experiences (Delhi belly and my 'poop pants' went down a treat...)
We slept in swags each night, which are used in the Aussie outback - basically a mahossive sleeping bag. Despite sleeping completely out in the open, it was surprisingly cosy. Swags make for an authentic 'aussie' experience and I encourage anyone to sleep out in the open back home. It's quite an exhilarating experience; hearing Dingo's howl in the night, staring (in awe) at the incredible milky way above you, feeling the cold, crisp air on your face... contrasting with the warmth of your body. Amazing sensation.
We all slept extremely well, although it helped being exhausted each night after a days hiking. Bearing in mind we were up at 5am every morning too! Actually, one of my highlights (although it sounds so simple and uneventful!) was waking up at 5am on our first morning next to a roaring fire, with Norah Jones 'Sunrise' playing on Tamara's phone. The moon was shining brightly... the fire, glowing... Just couldn't have been happier in that moment. -
5am fire
Norah Jones "Sunrise" playing in the background. It's the little things?!
After watching the sun rise over Ayers Rock we were then whisked off to Kata Tjuta, which is a group of large domed rock formations known as bornhardts - or, otherwise known as Mount Olga. Here we spent the morning hiking. I have to say again (sorry!) - absolutely stunning scenery overlooking desert landscapes. On our trek we encountered a few Euro's (smaller than a kangaroo but larger than a wallaby), wild horses ('Brumbies' - wild bush horses) and various brightly coloured birds. Beautiful.
The climb was rated 'difficult' because of the tricky terrain and various scrambly bits. I was initially a little apprehensive, being the "widest" person in the group I think :-o But fortunately (and much to my mahoosive shock) I was one of the quickest, both up and down the terrain.
Thus, the experience has finally awakened me to the fact that 'being thin' means nothing out here. It's about strength, fitness and stamina. Consequently I felt quite invigorated that night (after years of self-depreciation.. haha!) That night, laying under the stars, I thought about the importance of pushing yourself not only mentally, but physically also. I also began to
think about possibly training for more difficult expeditions such as Mont Blonc... Dods?! hehe 😊
Anyway, the next day, we trekked along the Kings Canyon Rim Walk, which traces the top of the canyon. A steep climb at the beginning of the walk, which locals call 'Heartbreak Hill' (or 'Heart Attack' hill due to it's steepness) took us up to the top, with stunning views of the gorge below and of the surrounding landscape. It was a beautiful clear day and the sun was shining, everybody in great spirits... Well... After 'Heart Attack' hill at least!
That night, we drove further outback, to a spot in the desert where no other campers are allowed to go to (except for our company). This was my favourite evening, not only even more authentic, but we were also completely exhilarated from the walks (despite being physically exhausted).
We had Aussie damper cooked over the fire for dinner that night and the obligatory bottle of wine and card playing. Songs, tales of travels, general giggles over 'toilet' issues ... :-o It was a stunning evening. Strange to share it with people you'd only met two days before - weirdly though you
felt like you'd known them for a lot longer. It's that type of surreal 'bonding' experience you just don't get back home!?
That night I couldn't sleep - the skies were absolutely beautiful. Even Tamara said that was one of the best skies she'd seen out there. A strikingly clear night, watching the milky way, I also saw three shooting stars and listened to howling dingo's in the background. I'll never forget that evening... or those skies.
The more we trekked, the more I wanted to stay there. And the more I wanted to push myself - weird.
I also just wanted to introduce you to one member of our group, an Aussie called Kim. We spent a lot of time chatting in the evening and became quite close in a short space of time. I wanted to write a little about Kim, because I want to capture her memory and not ever forget her.
Basically, she has cancer which is sadly terminal. She has an expected 12 months left to live. The people in her village raised the money for Kim and her children (a single mother) to come on this trip - such a
strong 'community feel' yet again!?
She's taking oral chemotherapy which can't 'cure' the cancer but gives her a bit more time. The side affects of these drugs initially meant all her hair, eyebrows and eye lashes had fallen out - but she has had her eyebrows tattooed on and her hair grown back slightly now etc, so you'd never be able to tell she was dying.
The drugs also cause cracked skin on her hands and feet, which can become very painful. She just never complained about a thing, she had the most inspiring positive attitude... Unbelievable. But what got me the most - she completed all the treks. She was in obvious pain (feet) but she pushed through and continued on until we'd finished (five members of our group managed half of the trek before turning back - Kim. however, pushed on). In fact, the only time I saw her in a more vulnerable state of mind was at the bottom of Kings Canyon, where she cried at the bottom. But even then I think that was out of pure elation (it took her a long while to complete as her feet were in obvious pain).
She also talked about how she felt angry seeing people eat so much "shit", smoking and drinking etc... she continued, "how can you waste a healthy body, I would swap mine for anyone's". This was a bit of a wake up call :/ She told me she'd been through the "why me" depressive state of mind, but Budhism and meditation have changed her life apparently. Anyway, it was strangely touching saying goodbye to the group, Kim ended it by encouraging us all to cease every opportunity and live life.
Something I will always strive to do.
Anyway, to conclude: this past week has been the absolute highlight of the whole experience for me so far. Loved, loved, loved every second of it.
Thank you for listening to my ramblings 😉 Love to all x
Advertisement
Tot: 0.079s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 11; qc: 29; dbt: 0.044s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Carley
non-member comment
Tear to My eye
Helloo My dear I love this blog,,, your friend Kim sounds such an inspiration. I bet you were all a great support for her also. 3 shooting stars and poo sharing you got to love it.... xxx