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Published: November 21st 2009
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Uluru
I suspect it would be wrong of me to leave this out So... after a gap of a few days I've finally found the time to get on with this blog again.
The day after the last post Agnes arrived in Alice Springs. We didn't really see much of the sights of Alice and basically just had a relaxing day before going off on a tour into the Red Centre of Australia the following day.
We departed at stupid hours in the morning (something that was going to get all too familiar over the next few days), and after an unseemly amount of faffing about with the luggage, started on the long road to Uluru (or Ayer's Rock as it is often known as). There was a very brief stop at a camel farm, which had a tame dingo and (surprise, surprise) some camels. After half a day in the cramped tour bus, alternately sleeping and watching the endless Outback scenery go by we finally got a glimpse of the most famous oversized pebble in the world! I imagine it needs little introduction- you've already seen the photos. It was quite strange to be finally seeing one of the main reasons for coming all the way to Oz in the
Uluru too
One of a number of close-up pics. I really can\'t put them all on here! first place. We pulled up in front of Uluru and had a look around the Cultural Centre which explained the various legends explaining the appearance of Uluru, according to the local Aborigines, the Arrernte.
The next stop was the Olga's, or Kata Tjuta in local parlance. These are a series of strange steep sided rocky hills with rounded tops. They are about an hour drive away from Uluru- in Australian terms that is basically on top of each other. I personally thought they were much more interesting to look at than Uluru itself, but are much less well known. The afternoon was spent taking a walk into the 'Valley of the Winds', between two of the hills, as well as a view of the entire range from a distance.
The days touring was finished off at sunset when we went to the rather (but not unexpectedly) crowded sunset viewing area to see sunset over Uluru. All the guidebooks rave on about how spectacularly awesome seeing this is, with the setting sun causing shifts in the shadows and colour of Uluru as sunset proceeds. They are not so gushing about the fact that this only occurs in a perfectly
King's Canyon
I loved the appearance of this wall! clear sky- which we didn't have. As it was, as the sun set, Uluru got a bit darker as the light reduced much like any other object in the world would, but that is all. There was a tangible feeling of disappointment in the group as we headed back for lunch and bed.
Next day we were up at 3am to catch the sunrise. Sadly it was the same story in reverse, so no spectacular colour changes for me on this tour. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. I lucked out with the Manta Rays in West Australia, I didn't with Uluru. We then went for a 9km base walk around Uluru. It was during this that I got a new found appreciation for the clouds which spoiled the sunset/ sunrise- walking in the Ouback is a hot and thirsty experience and clouds are your friend when doing it! Close up Uluru was an interesting enough place, with some intriguing erosional effects on the wall. Of course, most of the best bits are sacred sites so you can't take photos of them!
After lunch we headed off to Kings Canyon. This was a good 5 hours
Wallaby
Or is it one of the Children of the Corn in a costume? drive from Uluru and took the majority of the afternoon, leaving time for dinner and an early bedtime for another mentally early start.
Day three saw us already at the Kings Canyon Resort meaning we were able to start off on our walk around Kings Canyon nice and early. This has the massive advantage of being (relatively) cool. Kings Canyon is way better than Uluru! I think it's one of those places that prove the truth of the old adage 'a picture is worth a thousand words' and I hope my photos do at least some kind of justice to the place. We started off walking up 'Heart Attack Hill', the steepest ascent to the rim of the canyon (quick aside- a canyon is formed by tectonic movements splitting the ground apart, a gorge is caused by erosion such as by a river creating a gash in the landscape. The end result looks much the same. The Grand canyon is actually a gorge, Kings canyon is a real canyon). We took a walk around the rim looking down into the canyon and getting some great views, before descending into the canyon itself for a break by a waterhole (no swimming because it is full of tourist pee!) and then back up to the opposite rim for more awesome views.
Once we were done with Kings Canyon, we had some lunch then drove on to a very distinctive area of rolling hills near to the 240 million year old meteorite impact crater known as Gosse Bluff. We also went inside the crater itself. One problem with this is that it is full of trees which were a bit too well placed for obscuring the views of the crater walls. A single photo doesn't really demonstrate the 360 degree view of being surrounded by a large sheer cliff. I preferred the general surrounding landscape- lumpy hills covered in spinifex grass- it was very different to the rest of the Outback.
On our way to our campsite we had a brief stop at the home of the apparently famous Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira (no, I hadn't heard of him either). I was expecting there to be a gallery fo some sort but it was just a run down empty property surrounded by rubbish. It was just a bit sad really.
The campsite was near to Ormiston Gorge which had a small waterhole which we could swim in. It was cold but refreshing and I had a nice time splashing about in it for a while. Agnes woossed out though!
And then dinner and bed.
The final day of the tour allowed us to have a massive lie-in, all the way to 6am. We spent the morning at Palm Valley- the currently dry riverbed of the Finke River, the oldest river in the world. We reached it with a worryingly bumpy drive over some of the most uneven 'roads' ever, and the riverbed itself. The valley had a very prehistoric feeling; filled with palm trees (duh) and ancient cycads. I kept expecting to see a T Rex! It was very cool and a good way to finish the tour. After lunch there we drove on to Alice Springs, spotting camels and wild horses on the way. There are about a million wild camels in Australia and legally if you can catch one you can keep it. One of the other people on the tour group decided to try it, although I think he needs some lessons in subtlety. Turns out running at them from a couple hundred metres away doesn't work.
But eventually we got back to Alice springs, via rubbish strewn Hermansburg, a very German influenced Aboriginal settlement. Once we got to Alice Springs the majority of the group went for some dinner together at a nearby restaurant with decent food and some not-so-good live music.
Well that's it, today has been mostly sorting various stuff out- laundry, future accommodation etc, and tomorrow we're on the road again.
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