The Red Centre

Welcome to the Red Centre! This is my third time to Central Australia, and each time I never get sick of seeing that red dust.

I arrived in The Alice on Monday after a long 1,200km drive from Katherine. Katherine Gorge was good - not as good as my last visit there, maybe because it was not so “new” to me. But enjoyable none-the-less!

As I am heading south, the temperatures have dropped somewhat, so a few days in a cabin were definitely on the cards. My plan for Tuesday morning was to head out to the West Macdonnell ranges. I had explored some of this territory during my last trip, but there were many places which I had failed to get to - so my plan was to catch those areas. Unfortunately, the JGG had other plans! I had run out of LPG on the way down from Katherine, so for the first time on this trip, I switched to unleaded for an extended period. Not wanting to fill the petrol companies coffers too much, I filled the LPG tanks on Tuesday morning with the intention of again running on LPG, however the JGG refused to run on gas. On unleaded it was fine - LPG was a no go. Thinking that it was just the cold morning air, I ran on unleaded for a few kms to warm her up - still no use. In desperation, I contacted the guy who converted the car for me, and I must say that he went beyond the call of duty to assist. Via telephone, he had me try different things to get the JGG going again, in scenes reminiscent of my first trip to The Alice where my good mate Harry and I found ourselves changing a starter motor in the carpark of the Desert Rose Inn! Alas, everything I tried was without success. In a last ditch attempt, he managed to find someone in The Alice to take a look at it for me - all at his expense! The problem turned out to be a small valve which controls the flow of LPG into the engine - the following morning, thanks to the efforts of my friend at The Gas Man, and the local technician, I was back running on gas and ready to head out to the West Macdonnells.

That night however, I had to experience the sunset from the top of Anzac Hill. Flocks of people head to the top of Anzac Hill - a lookout with views over the city and Heavitree Gap - the “gap” in the Macdonnell Ranges where the Stuart Highway and the main north-south railway line, pass through. Unfortunately the sunsets were not quite as spectacular as during my last visit, probably due to the time of year, and they certainly not as spectacular as over Mindil Beach in Darwin.

The Macdonnell ranges would have to be one of the most picturesque mountain ranges I can recall seeing. They are not overly high, but along the ridge is a “cap” which sets the ranges off nicely. A photographers delight! Along the stretch of the range - especially out to the west of The Alice, there are numerous gorges and waterholes (although many were dry at this time of year). These are the highlights of the West Macdonnells. A full days driving, with numerous stops along the way, saw out my day in the West Macdonnells.

Thursday morning, and it was time to head south to Uluru - Kata Tjuta - or by their former names, Ayers Rock and The Olgas. The drive is about 450kms from Alice Springs - with not much in between except sand dunes and desert landscapes. I did manage to stop at one or two of these dunes and capture the cliché windswept red sand dune shot. You know the one with the ridges formed by the wind. Very cliché I know .... but I still enjoyed it! With the Thunderbox pitched at the Campground, I headed out to the National Park for the sunset viewing over the striking Uluru. Uluru is about 15 kms or so from the Campground. It is the most amazing drive however, as you weave your way through the dunes approaching the Rock, it appears to almost double in size at every turn. It truly is a sight to remember. At the sunset viewing area, I managed to get some fantastic shots of Uluru. The stories about the Rock changing colour the sun sets are 100% true. Couple that with the moon rising directly above the rock - and you have the recipe for some fantastic photographs. The only downside were the family with feral kids who (against National Park signage) crossed the fence line and were running rampant through the desert landscape - right in the line of sight of Uluru. Feral kids are not exactly what you want in a landscape shot - never fear, I managed to embarrass the parents into taking control of their kids ... and I (along with the many other happy snappers about) was able to continue my photography.

Now one thing about Uluru - Kata Tjuta is it is bloody cold at this time of year! On Thursday night I froze my butt off! I cannot remember being as cold as I was that night. This was with the sleeping bag AND two blankets. The days however are gorgeous - around 25C with not a cloud in the sky.

Yesterday I did the Valley of the Winds walk - a 7.5km walk through Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) - which I have managed to complete on each visit to this place. This is quite a tough walk with several relatively steep climbs, including one area where you climb over a steep grade of one of the small domes of the feature. I had started the walk at around 10am, and by lunchtime was done, so decided to continue on with Base Walk around Uluru. This walk I had never done before. It is a 10km or so walk around the entire base of the Rock. I started the walk at 2pm and finished just on 5pm. It was great! The only “crazy” thing about the walk is that along most of its length there are signs stating that it is the wishes of the traditional Anangu people that photographs of this area and that not be taken as they are “sacred” grounds. Yet, you can photograph the rock in its entirety!! Go figure! I took heed of the first of these signs, however the novelty soon wore off and I was snapping photos left, right and centre!

Last night the legs were definitely reminding me that they were there! I have done alot of walking on this trip, however around 20kms in one day is probably my record. I am not sure whether me managing to find my beanie, as well as using every bit of insulation I could find (including towels) to act as blankets, resulted in me sleeping extremely well last night. Or maybe it was just the fact I was buggered from all the walking? Either way, I managed to get around 10 hours sleep, and awoke this morning to rabbits feeding on the grass about a metre from the front of my tent.

This afternoon I am booked on a sunset helicopter flight over the Uluru and Kata Tjuta. This should be great! Definately some more opportunities for some great pics. Will post them on my next blog.

Till then ... take care!

PS _ I heard from the dutch guys last night. They managed to run their car off their road in Kakadu and hit “a few trees and almost a camper”! They are ok however ... not so sure about the car!

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