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Published: January 18th 2009
Sunrise over Ayer's Rock
(but not a very good one)Firstly a belated Happy New yr to you all and apologies for not getting a blog out for over a month ...I sincerely hope you all coped. December was a busy month and I am now 2 months behind, so those boffins amongst you (no-one) will have worked out that this all happened in.....mid November. Enjoy!
Welcome to Australia! Home of Aussie rules, the aboriginal people, the magnificent Ayers Rock, the Great Barrier Reef, (Taylor look away now), no * (USA) Burger King, Crocodile Dundee and more recently the (cleverly entitled) epic movie 'Australia' ...however unlike the movie (and luckily for all you lot) this blog won't actually last 3 hrs, Although it may feel like it at times.
(*the good news is that it does exist, just under the name 'Hungry Jack's'... phew, order restored)
Darwin Prior to my leaving Bali I didn't bother checking the unimportant things like length of flight or time difference, all I knew was that I would arrive around 5am with precious little sleep. Right on cue I landed with no sleep and was predictably pretty tired. However my senses were sharpened the high levels of
security at the airport where I encountered 3 sniffer dogs (only the first one took advantage of his position and proceeded to sniff my boll*x without me being able to push him away tho) before I reached customs.
At customs I then got asked to see a man to have my bag checked, he was actually a dead ringer for Crowded Houses's Neil Finn which I thought was a nice touch as it took my mind off him the mild interrogation.. Whilst he didn't ask if I had taken the 'Weather with me' he wanted to know if I had taken any 'drugs or porn with me'. During our 'chat' he told me they had been alerted to me cos of the short notice with which I booked my flight (ie 3 days beforehand). This for me was the most forward planning I had done since I left the UK, but I kept this to myself as I didn't think he would appreciate me pointing out the irony and then me laughing at my own gag. I applied the same theory and suppressed all temptations to say 'just my bare hands' when he asked 'do you have any dangerous
Jumping Croc
'Tri-pod' - check out his front left leg weapons'.....
Anyway through customs and here I was in wonderful Australia. I still didn't know what time of day it was as I headed off to meet JB who luckily for me (but not him) was in the same town. After meeting JB or 'Jonathan' to go by his check in name it was time for a full breakfast and then to off to see the town whilst picking his brains on Oz..
First impressions were mainly around presence of aboriginal people just hanging around, drinking (this was around 9am too) and shouting random stuff at passers by.....'bit like Gloucester', I thought to myself..... But hold on, before you go thinking they are all like this (Aboriginals not peeps from Glos...altho they aren't either) I must point out that they are in the minority.
Oz is geared up for all kinds of trips and experiences so much so that I was it was enough to make you go dizzy or have a sit down. Some might argue that my choice of 'option 3' which was to spend the next 5 days on the razz with JB or Palin as he shall be called from here on in
Jumping Croc place
Another one for Lee-roy was not the cleverest, but there were advantages.. During this time I did take the opportunity to get some tips from him on the Oz travel front (as he had been here for 5 weeks already) altho he did seem to have twice as much stuff as me. Intriguing.. On closer inspection it became clear that this was down to simple overpacking. When we compared backpacks the scores on the doors were as follows: on the fleece front he won 3-1, naff polo shirts 3-0, I stole a narrow victory on thermal long johns 0-1 but got a battering on the boxer short front and lost 14-5 (worrying for me was that I think they were his Dad's...)
The 5 lazy days consisted of chatting up Germans in the pool (Palin), playing hotel room cricket with a coathanger, getting an ear infection from spending too much time in the pool chatting up Germans (Palin), trips to the cinema, daily spot-welding (both) and going to see the doctor to get some antiobiotics for an ear infection (Palin, see above). And the evenings consisted of sampling the local beers, losing every game of pool (me) and getting free food at the
Vic (both). It was time to do at least one tour b4 I headed to Alice Springs. So we went on the Lichfield National Park trip and shared a bus with some German girls who didn't get our (well, mainly my) sense of humour.
First up was the 'Jumping Croc farm' place - this was basically a part of the river with salt water crocs that are used to getting fed daily. Our guide was keen to tell us all about the crocs as they all had names. She would dangle a bit of meat on the end of a stick and say something like 'oh here comes Bob' before getting them to swim or jump up vertically to get it. She would tease them a few times before letting them have the meat. The one in the pic is called 'Tri-pod', as she only has 3 legs. I hoped they didn't apply the same sort of 'comedy' nicknames to their disabled punters as they would probably be looking at a lawsuit and sizeable damages.
We then went to see the termite mounds followed by a series of amazing gorges. Our guide (well more a bus driver who
had a microphone and only left the bus to have a waz) didn't tell us too much about the destinations or history but did kept telling us over and over where the changing rooms would be located at our next destination (on the right at our first destination, Florence falls, if you ever go there). This was a great place where the water was surprisingly warm and a short way up the rock face there was a small pool that was a bit like a jacuzzi. We also took in some other gorges and falls, none as warm as Florence falls but all very picturesque.
So after 5 days of hanging out together it was time for the fun to end (not for Palin) and for me to head to Alice Springs on 'the Ghan'...the what?.
The Ghan Indeed the world famous 'Ghan'... maybe only in Australia then....Anyway it's a cult railway line that goes from north to south Oz going through some hostile terrain in the process. It was named after the men from Afghanistan who brought their camels over and helped to navigate and build the thing. Whilst the camels were crucial in
building the thing when their work was done and the railway was completed, the men were told that their camels were surplus to requirements and that they should shoot them (the men were told this, not the camels). But on the plus side for them (the camels) the symbol for the Ghan is in fact a camel (before it was shot). On a serious note many of the camels were used for camel rides and some were set free and you do actually still see wild camels around Oz. Anyway I digress, this place would be my home for the next 23 hours. Cool eh? Well not for Lisa (Austria) who would be sitting next to me for er.....23 hours..
The train was pretty cool, had massive seats, hot showers, big windows and more importantly I paid 200 dollars less than some peeps behind me. Result. The route meant that we had a 4hr cheeky stop over in a town called Katherine where you can do some kayaking in the gorge so Lisa (Aus) and Graeme (Eng) and I thought...'when in Rome..'. I shared a kayak with Lisa and we were luckily first up the gorge so we got
first dabs on scaring the wildlife off before the other 4 boats got a sniff. We did actually see a freshwater croc, along with fish, cockatoos, and 2 (dead) kangaroos.
Alice Springs This place was in the middle of nowhere and it's main purpose for travellers was the starting point for tours to Ayer's Rock (Uluru), King's Canyon and the Olgas. And I was no different to them, well apart from being about 15 yrs older than most of them.
I had signed for a 3 day tour with 'Oz Adventures' which (after a 6am pickup) started off with us all introducing ourselves on the bus (name, job,and bizarrely what animal we were like). I wasn't sure if I'd given the best impression to my group when I likened myself to a sloth but it was still early and I was tired.........next up were a series of names that all came too fast and remembering them was like playing the generation game (his n hers dressing gown, toaster, teddy bear) but at times in a foreign language...
Ayers Rock Anyway, 5 or so hours later, there it was in all it's
red glory.....no I hadn't got sunburnt again....it was Ayers Rock.... Wow. 'Cool let me climb it', I thought. No sooner had I thought this than Erica (our excellent guide) had told us that there were some days the Aboriginals (who now own it - via some leasing agreement) decide that you can't walk it due to a sacred occasion or due to bad weather. Our day fell into one of these catagories. A few days after the tour I was glad that the decision was made for me and that I didn't climb it as it is in line with their wishes. Being a sacred place to them, it's probably a bit like a tourist wanting to bungee jump off St Paul's Cathedral. hmmmm, bagsy my patent..
We then spent the next 3 hrs walking round it. And after 5 or so hours getting there I was gonna make sure I took it all in. It was far more detailed than I had imagined, there were Aboriginal paintings, sacred areas, male areas, female areas, no photo zones and not to mention the rock structure (it put Lulworth cove to shame). It was then time for a champagne sunset (to
Sunset over Ayer's Rock
Sharing a glass of champagne with Marcel and the rest of the group. drink, not that it was a great one). By this time I had learnt about 4 of the names in the group. Progress.
Back at camp and the bad news was that we had to get up at 3am for sunrise over Ayers Rock. I cant remember if there was any good news as my brain had shut down at the thought of getting up at 3am. This was a low point.
It was a bit surreal when we actually got there was a bit like when I got up for sunrise over Angkor Wat. The sunrise was about as good too (ie pants). It was fun tho and I did the comedy photos tho - 'that'll be on FB soon to keep me one step head of Lee-roy in the silly photo competition' I thought to myself. So my 3am start wasn't a complete waste then.. Plus, we actually got a great shot of the Olgas which were to our left.
The Olgas Then the Olgas so off the bus and I went for a waz just b4 as I knew that it would've a few hours and having one in the National
Lizard
At Ayer's rock camp site Park wouldn't be a good idea, and it would also be on Aboriginal sacred land plus I was in their good books for not climbing Ayer's rock (even tho it wasn't an option). However after about 15 mins in I started to need another one. I hit me that had broken the seal but I was sure it would be ok as it wouldn't be too long a walk We got few more lessons from Erica about the sacred parts of the place, the roles of men and women in Aboriginal society along with the fact that we should keep sipping water every 5 or so mins to prevent dehydration.. I did this cautiously as after about 1.5 hrs as by this stage I was about a 6/10 for needing a waz. We then saw more amazing scenery (see pics).
At the last corner we had a group photo and had the choice of 2 routes back. Not being one to take the easy option I opted for the long route back. Some1 asked how long it would take. I was thinking 45 mins tops but secretly hoping that if I walked quickly I could do it in 30
The Olgas (in the background)
Some goons (in the foreground) mins......It was another 2.5 hours....this was not good news trust me...
On this walk I was looking for places to take a leak but it was tricky as people were going off the path to take pics, popping up behind bushes, plus there was a group behind us gathering pace. Drinking more water was definitely off limits now... I took my mind off it by talking to members I the group that I hadn't spoken to before, altho I couldn't still address them by name. The last 30 mins were a killer. On the home straight I made sure I was at the front of the group so I could be first to the toilet. When I finally saw it, it was like an oasis in the desert but as I quickened my already fast pace and was nearly there I heard someone call 'Gareth, Gareth' it was Graham and Lisa from the Ghan trip in another coach. So chatted (whilst the rest of my group filed past me on the way to the toilet block) and by the end of the conversation I jogged there to be faced with a bit of a queue..
King's Canyon After a great campfire the previous night it was another early start (5am I think) as it was King's Canyon next. This walk brought with it more great great scenery, some Dingo sightings and more info from Erica. Apparently Aboriginals have a lower alcohol limit to most Western people (except me) I actually wondered if I had some aboriginal ancestry in my genes. These thoughts were then dashed when we were told they are good at pool (only joking)..
After about a 5 hour walk including a swim in a gorge (not by me, it was ice cold) it was back to the bus for the long drive back to A Springs. Following a night out with the gang it was back to base for the last time before my flight to Cairns..
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Lee Dineen
non-member comment
Bailey bites back !
JJ - Great pics me old son. You are taking me to the cleaners on the cheese front ! I'm off to Amsterdam for the weekend in a fortnights time... let battle commence ! Take it easy mate.