Advertisement
Published: August 29th 2007
Edit Blog Post
We boarded our bus in Alice Springs at 5am on Friday 13 July and set off on a 6 day tour to Adelaide with our group of 23 people. In the first few hours of driving, we stopped for breakfast and each person introduced themselves on the bus. Our first stop was Kings Canyon where we checked out the Amphitheatre, Lost City, the lush and ancient Garden of Eden and the sheer outcrops of the North and South Walls. After stopping for lunch, we continued driving and we passed Mount Connor and Curtis Springs cattle station before arriving at our campsite in Uluru (Ayres Rock). Dinner was followed by the usual drinking around the campfire before we curled up in our swags (Aussie bedroll) and slept outside under the stars. After a surprisingly good sleep, we were woken at 5am by our tour guide Hortey playing the didgeridoo in our faces. We drove to Ayres Rock before sunrise and we began the 10km walk around the base. The first half hour was freezing but once the wind stopped, the final 90 minutes of the walk were comfortable in the sun. After visiting the cultural centre, we headed back to our camp
for lunch before driving to Kata Tjuta (The Olgas). We spent 3 hours hiking through the Valley of the Winds before going to watch the sunset over Uluru. Another typical evening was spent having dinner and then drinking and toasting marshmallows around the campfire before sleeping under the stars in swags. After 4 hours sleep, we woke up at 4am and began our journey to Coober Pedy. After stopping for breakfast, we crossed the Northern Territory/South Australian border before arriving in the opal mining town of Coober Pedy at 3pm. We went on a mine tour and saw an opal cutting demonstration along with an informative film. Most homes in the town are underground and set in the sides of hills because the temperature underground stays between 19-22 degrees celcius all year round, thus avoiding the regions extreme temperatures. In the evening, we all went out for pizza before gong to a local 'Underground' bar for a few drinks. On Monday morning, we woke up at 4am again and continued driving south along the Stuart Highway. We stopped at the 'rocket-launching' town Woomera to view the stars. This gave us a clear view of the stars in all directions from
horizon to horizon. Our next stop was Port Augusta where we had lunch by the river and walked around the shops for a while. We then drove to Yourambulla Caves where we took a short walk to check out some interesting Aboriginal rock art. Our guide then started racing the bus along the unsealed roads but unfortunately one of the wheels on the trailer came off the axel. This resulted in us hanging out at a petrol station for a couple of hours and we played cards to pass the time. It was dark by the time we reached Rawnsley Park, a sheep station set against the spectacular range of Wilpena Pound. After dinner, we sat by the campfire and tried to play the didgeridoo before having an early night. We didn't have to wake up until 6.30am on Tuesday and we were treated with a bacon and egg toasted sandwich each. By 8am, we began our walk up Mount Ohlssen-Bagge (800 million years old). When we reached the top it was freezing but we had sweeping views of Wilpena Pound, the Flinders Ranges, the desert and Lake Torrens. After enjoying the view for a while, we descended back to
the bus where we had lunch. In the afternoon, we drove to Parachilna, a small town with a population of 8, one bar and a railway line. Ian and I played football for a couple of hours on the railway platform, on the highway and on the unsealed roads. That evening, we had a BBQ that included kangaroo steak, emu biscuit and camel sausage. Then we all went to the pub and I tried the local beer that is only brewed and served in that pub. Up at 5am on Wednesday, we set off for another walk up the Flinders Ranges. This was an easier walk than yesterday and when we reached the top, the sun was shining and there wasn't even a breeze. The view was amazing and we even saw the coal train passing through Parachilna. After a few group photos, we began our descent and on the way down we got close up to a number of kangaroos, one with her joey in pouch. Back at the bus, we had lunch and were able to finish whatever remaining food was left. Our next stop was the quaint historic railway town of Quorn where we sat in a
cafe and tried quandong pie. A short drive then took us to Clare Valley where we went wine tasting. After sampling 10 different wines we boarded the bus for our final leg of the journey to Adelaide. At 6pm we checked into the YHA and got ready to go out. Our group met at 8pm for dinner and drinks at Marbles Bar. We then went to Exeter Hotel bar before spending the remainder of the evening in Sugar. After a few hours sleep, I did my laundry on Thursday morning before going out to get lunch. The afternoon was spent catching up on the internet and doing some grocery shopping. After cooking dinner I went to my friends hostel and we watched 'Me Myself & Irene' on video. On Friday I woke up at 10.30am and spent an hour on the internet before cooking brunch. The afternoon was spent hanging around the hostel, reading and writing my journal. After a 2 hour sleep, I cooked dinner before we went to the cinema to watch 'Knocked Up'. The movie finished at midnight and we walked back to the hostel to sleep. On Saturday I walked around town for a few hours
doing some clothes shopping and visiting the Botanical Gardens. The rest of the day was spent at the hostel either on the internet or cooking food or just reading. On Sunday, we woke up at 6am to catch our tour bus to Melbourne.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.127s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 12; qc: 29; dbt: 0.0352s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb