Blogs from Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia, Oceania - page 49

After Cairns I flew to Alice Springs in the so called Red Centre where I joined a tour taking in 2,800kms of the Australian outback to Adelaide. First point of call was Ayers rock (or Uluru) and Kata Tjuta. Surprisingly it was cloudy and rained for part of this section of the trip, but we still managed to get up at 4.30am to see the orange glow of Uluru at sunrise. Following Uluru we moved onto through the outback stopping Coober Pedy, where we slept in a cave! (90% of the world's opals come from here). It was not surprising that Mad Max was filmed just outside the town, as is definately like being at the end of the world. However, Coober Pedy was not as remote as Williams Creek, and its masses of flies. ... read more

Hi everybody! It took us a long time, but finally we get the chance to update our weblog. In our previous entry, we said that we would get back to you after 3000km of driving through the desert. For us Belgians, that is already an enormous distance, but the fact is that we even travelled much more: about 8000km in 16 days! Although we were driving a lot, it was the most fascinating trip we have ever made! Have a look for yourselves. The best way to travel through Australia is by driving your own car. It is the only way to fully enjoy the landscapes, and it gives you a lot of freedom. On top of that, organized trips are really expensive. A three day trip to Ayers Rock for example costs you about ... read more

This information has turned my world completely upside down. The second largest Lizard (sub-species dragon) in the world, the Perente (pronounced PER-renhe) injects a nasty poison into your hand, whixch makes it swell up and bruise. I learnt this at work. Only in Alice Springs would a live snake show by the local reptile park be considered an education session. We saw all sorts of snakes from the Legless Lizard (not a snake at all, I know), through to mildly venomous snakes, all of whom look like a Western Brown snake, through to a Western Brown snake (of which ther are eighteen known separate marking patterns), and a Mulga snake, which looks like a python, except when it bites you, you bleed. and bleed, and bleed. We also learnt how to tell a brown snake from ... read more

... It was from that Cyclone (?George) in the Top End. The Clouds Gathered mid-afternoon Saturday, we lost shadows (for the first time ever, that I'd seen), and it got almost darkish. The next day it was sunny again. That's all I have to say. I worked, remember.... read more

Joe is off picking up new bike tires (spelt tyres here) for us - I got 2 flats last night and Joe got one…more on that later. Anyway, I’ve been left with the task of updating the blog. Not sure if I’ll be as detailed as Joe is, and I’m for sure going to let him fill in the stuff about our continuing saga of van repairs (yes…there have been more in the past week). I hope you enjoy our update, and don’t forget to comment or email us! Mt. Isa continued Feb 19: Joe was supposed to work in a café clearing tables, but when he went not only had the owner been expecting me (I guess in a mining town, the guys are all working in the mine?) but the restaurant wasn’t too busy, ... read more