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Published: December 3rd 2007
Ayers Rock/Uluru
((c) image purchased from iStockphoto), booked with
Wayward Bus, the week before they changed me to
Adventure Tours Australia Day 1 - Alice Springs to Kata Tjuta & Uluru
Ride a camel this morning at the Outback Camel Farm (at own expense) and then continue on through the remote outback of the Red Centre to Uluru (Ayers Rock). After lunch, we set out to explore the wonder of Kata Tjuta (Olgas) on a guided interpretive walk through the Valley of the Winds returning in time to view the desert sun set over Uluru. After dinner curl up under the millions of stars in an authentic Aussie bedroll (swag) at our permanent campsite at Ayers Rock Resort. (LD)
Day 2 - Uluru to Kings Canyon
An early start is required to view the magical Uluru sunrise. Absorb the early morning wonder on a 9.4km walk around the base of Uluru or if you prefer, tackle the climb. Enjoy a guided interpretive walk exploring mysterious rock formations and Aboriginal art sites followed by a visit to the Cultural Centre. After lunch we depart for Kings Canyon, where we enjoy a delicious camp oven dinner and overnight at our permanent campsite at Kings Canyon Resort. (BLD)
Day 3 - Kings Canyon to Glen Helen Climb and explore Kings Canyon viewing the impressive formations of the 'Amphitheatre', 'Lost City', picturesque 'Garden of Eden' and the breathtaking North and South Walls. After lunch, we travel along the famous Mereenie Loop Track, sighting Gosse Bluff (a meteorite crater believed to be over 130 million years old) and the home of renowned Aboriginal artist Albert Namitjira as we travel towards Glen Helen. We spend tonight in our permanent campsite at Glen Helen, nestled in the western end of the majestic MacDonnell Ranges. (BLD)
Day 4 - Glen Helen to Alice Springs This morning we explore picturesque Ormiston Gorge before engaging '4WD' as we travel along the ancient track of the Finke River into Palm Valley and Cycad Gorge. We spend most of the day exploring Palm Valley, the site of an in-land sea in prehistoric times and home to one of the rarest trees in the world, tropical palm Livistonia Mariae. Enjoy the spectacular scenery of the Western MacDonnell Ranges as we journey back to Alice Springs. (BL)
Monday 26th 8am, awake, finish getting ready in the dark - bit of a struggle to close the bag but
make it, say a few goodbyes and onto the Shuttle Bus. The bus drove round and round and round - starting to get worried as needed to check in by 1120, and our (we think gallic) driver was a little relaxed - he decided to go to the international terminal first ... So I didn't get to the check-in til 1140, with my flight due to leave 1220. Not impressed as go to find electronic check-in, and find my flight has changed to 115, which I guess is just as well as it takes another 25 minutes to check my bag in and then there's a big queue for security! Once I'm through though is plenty of time to check out the 2 shops and drink up some water!
Onto the plane, we have 3 hour flight and we also have another time change, another 1/2 hour forward. Nice flight, nice food (now added smoked salmon to my can-eat list), and walk out into the searing heat! It really is a dry heat here - I think they said 36 degrees! Tiny airport so out into the baggage area and see the backpacker stands so it's an easy collect
and onto the waiting bus to the Haven Resort. Haven Resort seems nice enough, things are clean, key cards are issued and it's just see which beds are free - thankfully a bottom bunk is!
There's the option of a swimming pool but I head into the town of Alice Springs whilst it's still light (not a good place to be, at least on your own, once it gets dark) and find some food at the supermarket - and finally some Deep Heat/Ibuprofen which won't break the bank... Back is still not great. Get back, chat to a few people then sort out my bag - only taking a small bag again, using the itinerary to determine the minimum possible. Shower, and get invited to join some of others in the room, but have a 530 wake-up and want to get a few things sorted, read and sleep early. This goes to plan and I'm asleep by 1030... Until at 1130 someone's banging on the door - not sure if she's forgotten key card or what but let her in, then 10 minutes later is a disturbance as someone tries to move a flashing mobile out of her face
and is told 'don't touch my stuff' loudly, then 20 minutes later a couple of others come in and turn their reading lights on which happen to be facing my way... Oh, the joys of hostel living - must remember to check all my bookings for the smallest affordable rooms!
Tuesday 27th After a non too great night's sleep (it was still pretty warm even with the air con on), am ready, checked out, luggage away, bit of the provided breakfast (toast!), and the tour bus turns up pretty much on time. I've now met Lisa and Martin who are also on my tour and are on the last part of an 11-dayer through the arid North! We meet our tour guide James who takes us to the tour company where we sign things/pay off balances - I've been told I need a sleeping bag although I'm wondering in this heat...
Today it's going to take 5 1/2 hours to get to Uluru (the local name of Ayers Rock), but we've got a few stops on the way. The first is on a camel farm (this used to be a standard method of transport in Central Australia for
obvious reasons, but with motorisation less need, and Australia has a wild population of 700,000 camels - bit of a pest!)... Where decide to pay $5 for a turn round the track - hadn't planned it but not something I've done before and another photo opportunity. Interesting movement... And when it trots Lisa is OK as she's a horserider, but I just bounce! The second stop is at Erldunder, shop/petrol station/toilets, and the third at Curtin Springs which was a shop set up in 1970s to encourage tourism in the area - a bit of a leap of faith, now paid off... And notable for it's dodgy humour on the walls (kind of things used to get circulated as emails)! In the meantime we've gone past a big rock which James had said would become visible, giving the impression should be Uluru, but as Martin said it didn't look like the photos, admitted was Mount Connor, also known to some as Fool-uru... And which side-on looks like a giant toothbrush! We'll stop for photos tomorrow, but meantime head towards Uluru!
Finally, we see Uluru emerge, but we're not going there right now - now we go to the campsite
for lunch - another salad sandwich anyone? Back on the bus and first stop is Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), a large collection of rocks (James explained lots of geology about tectonic plates and sinking/rising mountain ranges but you know me, all that science... It was interesting but I don't retain it all!), which are pretty impressive (33km in circumference) and we went for a walk through Walpa Gorge (once James had checked we all had at least 1l water each!) - which was quite impressive (and we're walking over ex-ocean sediment), but Valley of the Wnds would have been better - but they close it when the temperature reaches 36 degrees so no luck there! We then head for a lookout where we can get a side-on view... And you can also see Uluru which I think James said was in its Black-heart mood - a big black shape!
Finally, around 530, we get to Uluru itself, and as we're early for sunset we drive around the outside for 15 minutes, photographing different angles, before going into the Cultural Centre for 15 minutes (no photos allowed there for sacred reasons), and then finding our sunset spot, which was a
pretty good spot... Especially as we saw the coachloads pull up behind us (and the Koreans or Japanese all walk across with their folding stools and lift their arms to photograph as one). Meantime, as we waited for the sun/clouds to behave we drank 'champagne' and watched James do backflips. We got a few good angles, but a few too many clouds - then as we left a great purple horizon appeared! Never mind, back to the campsite to prepare dinner (BBQ'd steak) and shower, and learn how to use our 'swags' (matressed cocoons to place sleeping bag inside) - tonight's not such an issue but tomorrow there will be mosquitoes on the prowl, and dingos (desert dogs) will steal anything you leave outside of the swag, so it all has to go inside! Having tasted my Apricot Port I bought from Lamont's Winery, as has everyone else, by 10pm am in the swag as we're getting up 4am for sunrise! Hear James and Nick having a conversation about all the outback poisonous animals/spiders, etc, which doesn't aid drifting off, then 1130 there's a scream (don't find out until morning is someone tripping over) - we all wonder what it
is. 1215 Martin yells as something bites him (mozzie we think) but by about 1230/1 have finally drifted into an uneasy sleep!
Wednesday 28th Ouch, what is that noise! It's 4am and time get up... Dressed, pack away swag and, unbelievably - eat breakfast! Make sure we're ready to leave at 5 although we're a little late, but we still get to the viewing road in plenty of time for a decent spot - although we're nearly all given a heart attack by a scream from the bus - the frantic movements to get away indicate at least a snake... turns out to be a cockroach! We 'waste' several more shots of 'the rock'. We're all joking about how many we're going to take. By 630ish, the sun's fully up, and we're driven to a corner of the rock for our base walk (a couple of people wanted to climb the rock, although the aboriginals request that you don't, but it wasn't an option as it's closed in high winds/temperatures and today has both). The first place we're dropped is a Men's sacred site and we're not able to take photos here or where otherwise labelled for religious reasons.
We set off for the 9.4km circumference walk, and it's pretty enjoyable, take far too many photos (trying to get a sense of the scale) but enjoy running into others and reading some of the cultural information - towards the end it starts to feel hot and I'm glad we started that early. By 930 we're back on the bus, grateful for the air con and the fruit cake provided! We see rangers on top of the climb, but no one else should be there - but James said that a bus-load saw others up there and decided to go up and have now been landed with a $10000 fine (over 30 people have died on the climb!). Then it's off to the cultural centre for more info, option for indiginous art (expensive!) and some souveniers - and of course an ice cream! Finally, back to the camp for 1130 for a lunch of BBQ'd burgers and... Salad (always!).
By 1230 we're back on the road heading for King's Canyon - with the promised stop for Mount Connor photos midway - we climb a sand dune to take photos, but weren't warned that the sand would be burning
hot! In the other direction we can see the dried-salt lake 'Amadeus'. Toilet stop there was not nice - think essentially a long-drop in a tin hut in hot temperatures! By 230 we're pulling up again in order to hunt for firewood - which is a rather unscientific process resulting in a number of cuts, but we get there - I am named fire-finder or something after finding a couple of dead trees! And here we are, 330 and I've finished catching up on 3 days blog... For now!
So, we have a final stop at King's Creek, where there's an opportunity for iced coffee (no), ice cream (yes), helicopter flight (not yet, maybe New Zealand), and some kangaroos! We head off to the campsite, via the central area for a swim (and the souvenir shop - yes, another cloth badge to sew on!). I get back to the swim area, and the trip didn't mention swims so I don't have 'bathers', but I jump in fully clothed anyway! With sun this hot I should dry off pretty quickly. Back on the bus and off to the campsite proper, via a photo stop towards King's Canyon (where Priscilla Queen
of the Desert was filmed), and into the rough & ready area. Showers, etc look OK if not brilliant, but we come back to help prepare dinner and the camp fire. It's roaring hot as we watch the sun drop out of the sky and eat up another great meal. Head off for a shower with my little headlight on - what a great investment - didn't think I'd need it 'til Machu Picchu. Back to the camp to 'chillax' as James keeps saying and finish off my Apricot Port as people start talking about backpacker serial killers and poisonous snakes - just what I want to hear about at night - no sign of the promised dingos yet though! 'Final' toilet stop with Christina - it's quite a long way in the pitch black so I'm not going again tonight! On the way back we stop at the water pump and I see something scuttle behind Christina's foot, thinking it's a gecko I shine my head torch (which has decided to keep getting stuck in off or 100% on - neither when I usually want them!), and see a curly tail. For sure, it's a scorpion... Bit of a
scream - James comes over very excited 'I've not seen one of those for a year, great find girls'... Which is not exactly what we were thinking. One photo session later in which we find out that all scorpions in central Australia are deadly and James takes it off in his I-pod box to show others, and we debate whether we even want to sleep outside - we'll give it another go!
Thursday 29th After a night in a rather stuffy swag (I had it on properly - over my head) - having taken a couple of hours to get to sleep, but having missed the dingos, it's 'a bit of a lie-in'... Til 6am. Up, breakfasted, ensure the site is clean and into our new truck - we're going off-roading so we now have a 4-wheel-drive. Make it to King's Canyon and ready for our 3-3.5 hour walk round the rim of the Canyon, which involves a start of 474 stairs then up and down in what is already a hot day. James won't set off until he's happy that everyone has 1-2 litres of water, and then we start the climb... I'm at the back by the
top (as usual), but keep up (except when distracted by photography... Which happens to several of us!) all the way through information about local plants/wildlife and up to 'Priscilla's Crack' (think is something to do with the movie: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert which was filmed here. After some silly photos we go through the natural amphitheatre where James tells us he has spotted a pygmy koala in the tree - I can't really see, but have zoomed the lens for a closer look, when he admits it's a toy... But only Australians/wildlife enthusiasts ever pick him up on this. Next up is a desert lizard before we head down into the 'Garden of Eden' - named so by the explorer who 'discovered' this part of Australia as it provided him with food/shelter/water - all tough to find in the outback!
In the Garden of Eden is another chance for a swim, so in I go, fully clothed again - but knowing that it won't take TOO long to dry - nice and cooling, although by the time we've reached the top of that gorge we're all sweating again. On round the canyon - plenty more photo opportunities -
trying not to stop for ALL of them! Find a need for my fly-net again but remove it as get to the bottom and refill my water bottle again (always trying to keep it full at every available opportunity, although it's a pain to carry)! We're then on the road to Glen Helen for lunch - James reckons we'll be there before 2pm...
The road gets rougher and we continue apace - stopping to photograph wildlife, ponies, etc and there's some fun bumps along the way - regardless my head is drooping when I feel a jolt, see James doing some odd steering and think we've blown a tyre as a kangaroo hops past... No, that wasn't a kangaroo, that was both tyres, still connected to a split axle, bouncing down the road, and James did a great job of stopping the bus without tipping us over. It's now 110, we've been on the road for 1 3/4 hours and James had said another 1/2 hour - well, that's not going to happen!
We offload essentials from the bus, and a couple of the blokes accompany James to go the distance (anything up to 1km) that the wheel
has bounced whilst we try and make a shelter from the searing heat (and have to use 'the world's biggest toilet' - the other week was told that was the ocean!) as it's about 39/40 degrees today. This is where having emergency water on board comes into play, so after a photoshoot we get the food eskys (coolboxes) off and prepare to set to lunch after a group photo! At 130 a welcome sight appears - a car on the road. Out here there's no phone/CB signał, etc so the tried & tested method is to wait for the next vehicle along, which you then send with a phone number/message for your recovery plan to the next destination (which does happen to be Glen Helen), then you sit and wait until recovery turns up - which is looking at about 4 hours... And you won't know what's happening! Almost immediately after, THANK YOU GOD, along comes another tour bus who says he has a satellite phone - but this doesn't work so he says he has 9 spare seats to continue to Glen Helen. Kurt and Mia get on, then all the girls are told to go (have to say
I'm relieved - if have to stay would make an adventure of it but not looking forward to the heatl)...
We get on the bus, 2 girls electing to stay behind, and set off at 2pm. I get to sit in the front which I always enjoy/prefer and off we go - soon passing a sign Glen Helen 238km (so half-hour never going to happen!) - with photo stops for 'grass tree', the crater and 'the sleeping woman'. We arrive at Glen Helen at about 4pm... We're all starving as we haven't had lunch and breakfast was 6am! Fortunately we manage to talk to the owner who brings us some sandwiches. At 5pm they get hold of Adventure Tours Australia and the process of sending a truck from Alice Springs to the breakdown spot (2.5 hours expected), then new truck will be offloaded, broken will be loaded, then it's another 1.5 hours to here... So we won't see them til about 10 at least. I'm sure they were expecting help to arrive by 5pm, but there's no way of letting them know!
So, we entertain ourselves - there is plenty to do, gorge/natural pool, etc but we opt
for the swimming pool with the spa jets (yes, I'm fully clothed again!), then try to dry off/read/relax before the owner offes us fish & chips for 7pm... A lot of food, especially as we only ate 430! We have the evening in the bar, dozing, chatting to other peope (especially those on whose bus we travelled), book-flicking. I take the opportunity to go through some more Lonely Planet as I have nothing booked after Monday morning!
At 930 we all look so tired that Shelagh (the owner) offers us the bunkhouse to sleep in - by 10pm we're getting organised to leave a note, find showers, etc when, 10 minutes later the bus turns up. We're delighted that they're safe and very aware that they've had the worst of the deal (but they all chose to stay... Except James, who had to!)... But we're also desperate for sleep and James wants everyone up at the campsite. They've still to eat for the evening, but we all find a tent and crash-out... Well, can hear them talking and James agrees an 8am start which is most welcome! Finally... Get to sleep... On top of the sleeping bag... could have
gone in the swag but the ground looks rocky and just need to sleep!
Friday 30th A loud banging on the outside of the tent, dragged from a deep sleep I look at my alarm clock and wonder when it stopped as it says 630 ..and it feels like 630... It IS 630 - James was woken by all the flies landing on his face and decided he'd get us up now... Lovely! Breakfast, pack away, and down to reception to buy water as nowhere round here has drinkable water.
We head for Ormiston Gorge, for a short walk over rocks... In which we see some rock wallabys relaxing, and then have the option of climbing to the rim. I say if anyone else wants to, I will and most of us head up. Great walk - not too long, and beautiful views. We come back down in time to go to Ellery Creek, a natural pool in which many locals learn to swim. Yes, back in the water fully clothed, but out again in time to try and dry off. Carry on reading 'the Interpretation of Murder', before we move across to a picnic area to make
another lunch of salad sandwiches.
Next stop is Palm Valley for the real off-roading section. Can see some concerned faces - after yesterday there's a few nerves floating around and if you've never been on an off-road vehicle guess can feel quite alarming (I think tractor-driving has given me a fair idea!). We get to the end of another awe-inspiring rock-strewn valley (so many rocks), which is the entrance to Palm Valley - there's usually a 2 hour walk, but with temperatures of about 40 degrees this is not an option - so we settle for 15 mins in and 15 mins back - and that is plenty enough in a rocky valley which is made of stone which contains 20%!i(MISSING)ron and thus is like being in an oven! Happy to get back out we get back on the truck, return the way we came and headed for Hermannsburg which was a Lutheran Missionary settlement to the Aboriginal Tribes... Where we can get ice-creams, before the last 1.5 hour journey back to Alice Springs... Where there's the option of going out for dinner, but I need internet/washing and sleep before my pre-dawn balloon flight!
Saturday 1st Awake
at 3am to get ready for my balloon flight - even earlier than I planned... Maybe is excitement or nerves! Picked up by the transfer bus dead on time, and soon we're off looking for landing sites, by sending up helium balloons with red lights in them and watching the trail of lights. After 2 stops, Charlie, our pilot, and Kim, our crew have found a good spot. They give us our instructions, safety briefing, etc and then proceed to fill, asking for help as needed. No photos are really working so we chat amongst ourselves and all wonder how we'll deal with the height!
By 5am, we're 10cm off the ground - hadn't even really noticed, and it's not a scary feeling at all... It's just very relaxing and Charlie points out e.g. the airport as we head for 'Kangaroo Patch' where we see 3-4 kangas hop away - too fast for decent photos, so just enjoy the various sights, and around 530 the sun rises, we see a few more kangas, a freight train etc before we start to land - which takes 3 bounces - all fun! Then it's all hands to the deck to pack
away the deflated balloon before heading off for a champagne breakfast, and a flight certificate. Thanks to Tim, Nat, Josh & Naomi for my Christmas present which helped me on the way with this. Back at the hostel I go back to sleep for an hour before getting showered and packed up for the flight to Sydney...
... adventure continues in Sydney
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