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Published: September 24th 2008
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Lisa and 'Olive'
The Alice Spring's Reptile Centre Day 1 in Alice Springs
As our tour to Ayers Rock (or Uluru as it is now officially called) had been brought forward by 1 day we decided to explore Alice Springs. We needed to catch up on some sleep from the Kakadu trip so we stumbled out of bed late morning and went to the Alice Springs Reptile Centre. We saw a variety of snakes and lizards before getting to the important part of holding them. In no particular order we got to hold an Olive python, Shingleback lizard, Frilled lizard and Blue Tongued lizard who were all very docile. Lisa liked it when the guide tried to feed them cockroaches, although seeing the little blighters run through the lizard's legs does make you wonder how it would have got on in the wild!
Adventure Tour No. 2: 4 Day 4WD Red Centre Adventure
Day 1: Alice to Kata Tjuta and Uluru
It was another early start for our 2nd tour with Adventure Tours Australia. It was cold and still dark when we got picked up by our tour guide, James and assistant guide, Megs. Lisa added a woolly hat to her collection of cold
weather clothes when we had to register at the depot leaving me feeling inadequate in just a fleece and shorts!
Our first stop was a camel farm, notable only for a greasy bacon and egg sandwich and a lone friendly dingo. There followed much driving where we took in 'fooluru' also known as Mount Connor - a big rock formation that many tourists mistake for the rock itself and turn around! We got our first sighting of Uluru at lunchtime when we were dropped off at our campsite and served lunch! Yes unbeknown to us we had been upgraded to 'safari in style' for the first 3 days of our trip because our trip had been brought forward by a day at short notice because there were not enough people to fill the tour on our original dates.
We joined up with the rest of the group after lunch and were driven to Kata Tjuta or the Olgas where we walked only part of the 'valley of the winds' walk because it was very windy and had started spitting. The sky also looked like it might erupt in a torrent at any time. Lisa and I looked very
The Olgas
Aka Kata Tjuta fetching in our ponchos and would have had the last laugh too had it rained properly! We were then driven to some lookout spots and got some pictures of the famous rock formations.
Afterwards we were driven to the 'sunset viewing area' for Uluru and thankfully by this time the weather had cleared up and we could see the sun. It did not matter that our group of 13 was one of about 15 other tour groups to see the sunset - it was wonderful. Thanks to the upgrade we got to see the sun go down casting it's rays on Uluru whilst sipping champagne and eating nibbles! We then retired to the camp for a slap up meal prepared by Megs with all-inclusive wine - thank you upgrade!
Forfeiting our upgrade accommodation - a proper bed and electricity inside a permanent tent, Lisa and I decided to 'swag it' under the stars. Basically a bit of canvas with a mattress in the bottom with room for your sleeping bag and pillow on top which you can zip up and put a flap down over your head so you are completely out of the elements. It was bloody
cold outside, but worth it as you got to see the cloudless Southern Hemisphere sky at night.
Day 2: Uluru to Kings Canyon
It was still dark when we were woken by the smell of bacon and eggs for breakfast. We had to leave early to see the sunrise over Uluru at 7am. We got there in time though, thanks to not having to pack up straight away, plus the added bonus of having someone to wash up for us. The sky was clear, the air crisp and we both regretted not packing our thermals. However putting up with the cold was worth it, the sunrise was beautiful and we took loads of pictures before jumping back into the 4WD van and heading to the visitors centre.
We had a brief look around the cultural visitors centre which was fairly interesting - a lot of aboriginal stories told at a very simple level to the uninitiated about the importance of Uluru to them. We then set off to walk about two thirds of the base walk. Everyone in our group declined the offer to climb Uluru because although it is allowed, the traditional owners would prefer
it if tourists did not. The base walk provided much more than I thought possible with the sun playing against the curves of the rock revealing a multitude of colours and giving it more depth than I thought possible.
The afternoon encompassed a long drive to Kings Canyon where we settled down at a nearby campsite to an Australian Chardonnay and a camp fire meal. Lisa and I elected to camp outside again in the swags. At about 2am I was woken up by the urgent whisperings of Miss Daw. After finally getting some sense out of her, she revealed that she had woken up to lock eyes with a curious dingo sniffing around the still burning campfire. The dingo apparently sniffed around everyone's swags and had an "evil" glint in his eyes which frightened Lisa who quickly retreated to the comfort of a tent. I could not be bothered to move and stayed outside (the fact that I had not seen it helped!).
Day 3: Kings Canyon to Glen Helen
Yes another early start. We drove to the canyon arriving around 6.30am to start a 31/2 hour walk. The walk took in both sides of
the canyon plus the 'Garden of Eden', an oasis following a creek. There were some spectacular views and some great photo opportunities. Our guide explained many of the plants and trees once used by the aboriginals and how they used them in cooking and medicine.
We had an early lunch before exchanging prisoners i.e. dropping off the 'safari in style' passengers next to their bus back to Alice Springs. We then proceeded to Glen Helen where we walked through Ormiston Gorge taking in a sight immortalised in aboriginal painter, Albert Namatjira's 'Ghost Gum Lookout'. It was very pleasant and by this stage the group was down to 6 so everyone got to know each other quite well. After the walk we retired to our campsite. I swagged it again despite seeing a massive bull 3 hours earlier very close to our camp and a ‘din-dog’ (dingo dog cross) joining us for dinner. Lisa however stayed in her tent!
Day 4: Glen Helen to Palm Valley
We did some 4-wheel driving today as our group headed to Palm Valley. James seemed to be trying his best to shake all the bolts out of the vehicle and we
were relieved when we stopped! At Palm Valley we had a short walk across the creek floor before looping around and over the top. We had hoped to see some wallabies and lizards, but all we got was fire ants (‘Do not touch those!’ were James's words). We then drove back to Alice Springs taking in Amadeus salt lake and other good photo opportunities.
Our final stop before we were dropped off at our hostel was a detour to feed some rock wallabies at a nearby hotel. Basically they would come down from the rocks at the back of this hotel and you could feed them out of the palm of your hand. Lisa especially enjoyed feeding a mother with a joey sticking its head out of her pouch. Later we met up with our group of 6 for dinner and a drink to end our thoroughly enjoyable trip.
Back in Alice
A late start (to catch up on some sleep) meant that we got to the Alice Springs Desert Park around midday. We had to drag ourselves out of bed as we were feeling under the weather and ended up cycling there in the blazing
heat of the day which quickly zapped all our energy. The YHA half-price concession cheered us up when we got there though. We especially enjoyed the nocturnal zone where we got to see endangered species such as the Malaa and Bilby. The vast array of birds were also interesting and we liked matching each bird to its call.
In the evening we met up with 2 people from our trip over fish and chips and a few beers. Feeling unwell we went to bed early in anticipation of our flight the next day.
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