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Published: December 23rd 2008
I started my trip down the ‘guts’ in Darwin. Darwin is famous for being bombed to bits in the Second World War and drinking. Being slightly more interested in the local beer than war memorials I spent the day drinking with Peter and Ralf, my room mates from the hostel. As a result I spent the first day on tour nursing a hangover - much to the amusement of Jordan out guide!
On the first day we went to Litchfield national park, which is not far east of Darwin. We stopped for a swim at Buley Rock Pools, which did me and my delicate condition the world of good. We then walked out to Florence falls, which with the help of Jordie's piggy-back meant I got under a waterfall for the first time. Incredible, just takes your breath away. From there we went down to the Mary River - which during the dry season is a series of Billabongs rather than a flowing river. There we went on a short cruise and saw lots of crocs - the largest being a 3m saltie!!! I think out of all the things that can kill you in Oz salties have to be
one of the scariest - they are one of the few things that actually hunt you rather than killing you because you've come to close for comfort!
The next day we went into Kakadu national park and went out to Baramundi Gorge (Maguk). This was stunning; with rock pools at the top where fantastic to swim in as was the plunge pool at the base of the falls. In the afternoon we went to Ubirr which has large amounts of aboriginal rock art and fantastic views from the escarpment. That night we had a massive storm with awesome rain & lightening. Little did we know that this was a sign of things to come!!
The following day the sun was out and we went to Jim Jim Falls. The walk down to the plunge pool was a hard scramble over rocks and it was worth it despite the fact the falls where dry. Unfortunately on the way back to the bus when one of our group fell and snapped his Achilles tendon. He had to helicoptered out to the nearest medical centre. We all learnt though if you are going to need rescuing then the national parks are
the place to need it as the park service picks up the bill!!! That evening we were back in Darwin and I met up with my old drinking partner Ralf for a few beers - when in Darwin!
The following morning we left Darwin so early it was still the middle of the night! We spent most of the afternoon at Katherine gorge which was stunning. I took a boat cruise up the river and was awe inspired by the scenery. Stunning, just makes you appreciate how insignificant we are.
From Katherine gorge to Alice Springs is a monster of a 2 day drive with not much in the way apart from outback pubs. Not a bad way to break up the journey! The only other sight was the devils marbles which are so called because a poisonous grass grows there that used to kill the cattle.
My first evening in Alice Springs was spent in the local celebrating the end of a journey with the other members of the tour group. My first day in Alice Springs was spent in the pursuit of coffee and air conditioning as it was a stifling 43o. The following day
I went out to the West MacDonald ranges which are just outside Alice. The mountain range is gorgeous and I even managed to get really cold swimming - quite an achievement in the 41o heat! That night I had a large night in Alice meaning that once again I was joining a tour feeling a little fragile.
From Alice Springs we headed on out to Kings Canyon. We got to the canyon about lunch time so had a bite to eat, while we where eating there was a big dump of rain so Rachel the tour guide checked in to see if it was still ok to go up the canyon. Having been told by the met service the storm wasn’t due to hit till 7pm and the sun shining we headed on up. The views from the top where great and the canyon impressive. We had got about a third of the way round the walk when the storm hit. It was amazing; within 10 minutes I was soaked to the skin despite Katie’s waterproof and constantly walking through water. The way we were heading was cut off almost straight away by a waterfall so we had to
go back down the steep rocky climb we had just come up. It was scary, in places we were crossing the tops of waterfalls the where up to our knees and flowing fast all the time with lightening flashing all around. It doesn’t feel good to be one of the tallest things for miles around with your feet in water! We made it to the bottom of the canyon, thinking hard part over; we can get back to the bus and dry out - wrong!
Within the couple of minutes between the first half of the group and the second half of the group getting down a flash flood had come through and blocked the path. I was stuck with Rachel the guide, Michelle and Pierre and a whole group of slightly suicidal Italians on the wrong side of the flood. The other half of the group called the rangers to be told they too were stuck in the flash flooding and to just hold still. We waited for about 1.5 hours for the water to go down enough to cross. All the time Rachel was yelling at the Italians not to get in. Rachel decided to cross once
the flooding was subsiding. It was still well over our knees and flowing like a rapid, we had to shuffle across with our feet pointing up stream.
Feeling relived to have made it Rachel called the rangers to let them know we were all safely across and was told that Kings Creak, which flows across the road into/out of the canyon was currently 2meters deep and 16 meters wide. We were spending the night in the car park, which was a fantastic way to get to know each other.
The following morning the rain had stopped and we where lucky enough to be able to talk a camper van into making us a cup of tea. 4x4’s where able to get out so Rachel sent a message with one of them to the other tour guide who had a 4x4 bus rather than a standard bus to come and get us. He showed up saying he thought with a bit of towing we would get our bus out.
Having made it safely out of Kings Canyon we headed onto Uluru (Ayers Rock). That afternoon we went around the cultural centre which explains the aboriginal ties to Uluru and
then did a short walk to Mutitjulu waterhole. There the frogs where singing sounded like a flock of sheep, very strange sound.
The following morning we got up for sunrise in the rain, funnily enough it was wet and the rock looked grey! From there we did the base walk, which was great. There were waterfalls everywhere, not what I was expecting from Uluru but awesome as not something you get to see very often.
That afternoon we went for the valley of the winds walk at Kata Tjuta (the Olgas). Kata Tjuta is humbling; it is made up of 36 domes and covers a huge area. We walked for 7.5km and barely touched it. Making it even more enjoyable was the sun - something we were all beginning to miss!! That evening we watched the sun go down over Uluru with a glass of bubbles. The viewing area is packed with people everywhere - we where not even in peak season. Most of the group escaped up the hill a bit which let us see the sunset was far more impressive over Kata Tjuta than the rock. Back at the resort after dark we watched the storms
close in from the lookout. We could see Uluru being lit up by lightening and storms on 3 sides of us. Magic.
In the morning we watched the sun come up over Uluru. Beautiful. From here we headed on down to Coober Pedy (the second driest place in Oz). All the way down there was flooding everywhere, it looked more like paddy fields than dessert. Again we drove through a huge storm with impressive thunder and lightening. In Coober Pedy we stayed in a bunkhouse which was built underground. It was like sleeping in a cave and a really nice temperature. After dinner we had a few beers in an underground pub.
The next day we went on a tour round an opal mine and had to move into an underground house - fantastic. The road south was cut off so we were spending an extra night in Coober Pedy. As a result we went out to the breakaways in the afternoon. This is where the movies Mad Max and Pitch Black where filmed. The view was stunning and the wind was blowing a gale up the top.
From Coober Pedy we headed on south to Angorichina
which is in the Findlers Ranges. We stopped on the way down at Lake Hart which is a huge salt lake, believed to have been formed when the sea retreated. The drive from the main highway to Angorichina was stunning though the hills.
After a night spent round the camp fire we got up and did another stunning drive to Wilpena Pound. There we did a 10km walk to a couple of lookouts with fantastic views over the pound.
The next day we drove to Adelaide, we stopped at an aboriginal art sight which was freezing but gorgeous. We then went wine tasting at Sevenhills vineyard in Adelaide hills. That evening the group had a final supper together in Adelaide.
My day in Adelaide was spent chilling out. I had breakfast with Katie, Cormic, Nadine and Rachel and then Rachel and I had coffee, food and a massage which was awesome. Katie joined us for even more coffee and then we did a bit of shopping. It was great to have a real girly day. I then had a farewell beer with everyone before catching my flight back to Brisbane and reality.
It was an awesome
trip, wetter than I was expecting!! It was fantastic to see the centre in a way few people get to. I feel very lucky to have seen waterfalls at both Uluru and Kings Canyon. Again I met some fantastic people which always makes the journey.
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Adam Brack
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Lucky you!! I'd love to see a storm in the centre. That hill at Kings Canyon that you seemed to have walked not only up but also down has a nickname used amongst some tour guides. We call it "heart attack hill." Appropriate isn't it!