Speed Fo(u)r: The Red Centre

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Day 27 to 31 of 165



To be said in a deep, husky, film trailer voice:-

After Speed - the original, there was

Speed 2 : Cruise Control, then

Speed 3 : Father Ted, with Dougal wrestling with a dynamite laden milk float.

Now comes

Speed Fo(u)r : The Red Centre, starring Paul in the Sandra Bullock role, here wrestling with a camper van, supported by Pip as the concerned passenger.



We got a good start from Coober Pedy on the Sunday, having picked up Pip's made to order birthday opal bracelet late the afternoon before. And no, Pip didn't see it. We knew we had a goodly journey ahead, over 750 kms that day to reach our intended stop of Kings Canyon.



As we bounded along, about 100 kms in / half way to our first fuel stop we saw some Australian Bustards so Paul did a photo op u-turn, but things didn't feel right with the gears. So we didn't stop but instead pressed on to Marla. As we slowed to enter Marla Paul realised he couldn't get back into a gear once he tried to change down from fifth. We coaxed the van into some shade at the stop and assessed the situation. Calling the hire company didn't help - Sunday, and the nearest 'workshop' was also closed. So we discussed it. Paul was sure the van could be driven if a) we could pull away and b) we didn't need to change gear. The van was booked for a service at Uluru for the Wednesday anyway so we decided to go for it.



After filling with fuel, pulling away with a laden van in 5th gear was interesting. Very kangaroo, burning clutch and slow acceleration but it worked, and eventually we were on the road doing 100kph. There is rarely any need to change gear for long stretches of the Stuart Highway so we just kept going, and going....... The issue was whether we would need to stop for fuel before Uluru. Paul's reading of the fuel gauge was that we wouldn't but it would be tight. It turned out we didn't even get down to empty/refill light. About 250kms from Uluru we were required to turn left off Stuart Highway onto Lasseter Highway. Fortunately there was nothing coming and so Paul was able to use both sides of the road to execute a wide right angle left turn at around 60kph.



We got to Ayers Rock Resort Campsite, where we were booked for later that week, and they accommodated us, bringing our 4 day booking forward two days.



On Facebook, having described the trip, Paul's brother, Pete posted "Hope you had lots of empty bottles in the van!". Paul's reply "Hey, I go to Glastonbury every year. Bladder the size of the Hindenberg me."



On Monday morning Paul walked the 4 km to the garage and explained the position. A mechanic drove Paul back and assessed that it wasn't good news. After Paul got the van to the garage they were sure that there would need to be an exchange of parts with Alice Springs, around 470km away. Later that day they confirmed that was the case, with the gearbox/clutch assembly needing taking apart, something sent to Alice on Tuesday for machining, then that plus other new parts returning on Wednesday. Definitely available by Thursday lunch, possibly by Wednesday late.



When Paul checked on Wednesday noonish he was asked to check back at 4pm. Upon doing that we were told it was ready and someone came to pick Paul up and we were back mobile. They told Paul that the clutch was well gone, some parts fused to each other, loose springs inside... Frankly it is a wonder we even got it to the garage.



All this repair work was outside of Ayers Rock Resort - they haven't been bothered to rename themselves.



The resort is quite a set up. 5* hotel 'Sails In The Desert', which had the best pool as we soon found out. 4*+ 'Desert Gardens Hotel', 2-3* 'Outback Pioneer Hotel and Lodge', Emu Walk Apartments, and the campground / cabins complex. Along with a Town Square with additional eateries, trips booking centre, hairdressers, Post Office, supermarket and several 'retail opportunities '. And a Police Station, Fire Station and Health Centre. All of this is, of course, designed to extract the maximum number of tourist dollars from visitors.

And all this is in the middle of nowhere, 470kms from the nearest settlement of any size, Alice Springs. Over 900 employees, including 270 indigenous some of whom pass through a highly regarded training and employment scheme. And these all have not not just work hee but live also. You can hardly drive home after work! So the site also has childcare, Primary School and School of the Air Centre for students up to year 12. Twice a week the resort receives a 3 unit road train of supplies from Adelaide, and ships its rubbish back on the return trip.



Though we had an issue with one of the places we had to book in place of our camp spot (the 4 bed shared dorm night we had, somewhat overpriced, and lacking in comforts and design eg one 2 spot electric socket for what could be 4 separate travellers, and that was 5 foot above ground with no shelf, charger cables don't tend to be that long) we were quite impressed with the Resort and lack of tackiness. And the staff were especially good. Always friendly, helpful and where required going that bit extra.



The whole place, though, mostly revolves around two times of day - sunrise and sunset. This is when by far the majority of the site movements occur, because everyone wants to catch sunrise and/or sunset at Uluru and possibly also the Kata Tjutas (about 50kms further into the park).



But without transport our options all became of the $$$'s type only. Even the so called Uluru Express Shuttle Bus had a $90 minimum, per person. OK, so we booked for Tuesday morning for a small group guided tour of Uluru Sunrise plus guided Base walk of 12km. We got up at the ungodly hour of 4am, were at pickup 10 mins early at 4.35am and waited. And waited... At 5.30am we gave up and went back to our cabin (our first night of booking change because we had no van to sleep in). To say we were bitterly disappointed and angry would be an understatement.



At 8.55am we were at the bookings desk ready to have 'a conversation'. The lady there quickly accepted it was their fault and refunded all our monies. We could have booked for Thursday morning, Wednesday being full, but didn't want to risk it. We promptly went across to the other company's desk and booked their similar Uluru Sunrise plus Walk tour for the Wednesday.



As we were leaving the bookings office, moaning to each other about the lack of recompense, the at fault company's lady came running after us to say the boss had authorised a free trip. So we promptly booked Thursday morning to Kata Tjuta sunrise plus walk. Result.



Uluru and Kata Tjuta - The Geology, quickly

600m years ago, the Peterman Ranges, west of Uluru are pushed up, higher than the Himalayas

They erode over 100m years and fill two large depressions (or alluvial fans to use the correct term, apparently ) to the east of the ranges. The western depression, closest to the Petermans, fills with boulders, large rocks and pebbles. The other, further away, fills with sand.

350m years ago both depressions are covered by sea and later by ice. This compresses them and percolating water sets them like concrete.

Over the intervening years the sea and ice recede, Australia shifts position, the two depressions are pushed up and the surrounding land erodes away.

The rocks that had been in the first depression tilt by about 15°, weather into many canyons and domes and become the Kata Tjutas.

The rocks in the 2nd tilt through a whole 90° and become Uluru, so the sandstone at one end is 50m years - the time it took the depression to fill - older than the other end.



The Culture

For comparison purposes:-

Christianity - 2000 years

Buddhism - 2500 years

Judaism - 3000 years

Pyramids of Giza - 4500 years ago

Stonehenge - 5000 years ago



The local Anangu Aboriginals at and around Uluru/Kata Tjuta have a history at the rocks, based on datable evidence, going back at least 10,000 years, and believed to be as old as 35,000 years. Their oral stories are thought to go back that far.



A particular example of their sophistication - they have been controlled patch burning (ie like UK moorland swaling) for thousand of years. They learnt that if they control burned an area the vegetation and the wildlife would be more abundant.



Both Uluru and KT have very high cultural significance to the tribe and are dotted with particular sites that are sacred to men or to women of the tribe. Quite aside from the issue of the tribe wishing tourists don't climb the rock, there are several sacred locations around the Base - mostly various caves - where the Aboriginals ask that photos not be taken, and there are signs to that effect. In fact, theoretically there is a potential $5000 fine for doing so. But I can find no record of that happening, and it would probably be only if such photo was used commercially. That said our Uluru guide was at pains to point out areas where we couldn't photograph .



Because of both the natural and cultural significance of the area it is one of the few in the world that is double listed as a World Heritage Site - Natural 1987, Cultural 1994



Not surprisingly the area around the rocks was appropriated by the government as a National Park in 1950. In the early 1980s there was successful pressure to return appropriated lands to the Aboriginals and in 1985 the park land's ownership was officially transferred to the Anangu. It is now leased back to the government on a 99 year lease and managed by a committee of 4 Anangu men, 4 Anangu women and 4 government appointees. A proportion of the entry fees, at $25 per person, is paid in a yearly stipend to named tribe members. The rest goes on the upkeep and maintenance of the park and it's infrastructure. None goes to government as such.



So after all that, was it worth it?



Oh yes. Impressive doesn't even start to describe it, whether at sunrise, sunset or walking around it. But, even though the last half hour especially of the Base walk was hard going as the temps were in the mid 30s, that was particularly well worth it. And we are so glad we did it as a guided tour as there is no way we would have got that info if we had just walked around it ourselves. Also, from a distance, which is how so many people see it, the rock looks fairly homogenous set on a flat barren plain. Up close, however, it is a myriad of different environments, and the rock is full of detail.



And in their own way the Kata Tjutas are every bit as impressive as Uluru, but sadly it seems most people just do Uluru which is only 1/3 the distance from Ayers Rock Resort. We only did a short walk at KT, just 3-4 km into and out of the Walpa Gorge. Scenery again spectacular. Two particular wildlife experiences on this trip. 1- in the gorge we saw a falcon fly, fairly low down, to the gorge wall and then with his wings stretched let the rising air carry him like an elevator several hundred feet up the cliff side before diving out to the right to land at a nest. And 2- as we were driving back the guide sceamed the van to a halt, u-turned and a few hundred yards back recovered from the road a Thorny Devil. A quite iconic animal for the area but rarely seen (see photos). She then safely put it off the road.



Whilst there we also treated ourselves (booked before we left the UK) a meal under the stars within viewing distance of Uluru. Free flowing fizz, then wines throughout the meal. Kangaroo, crocodile, barramundi and emu amongst the food. Even port with the coffee. And an astronomer guided us around the night sky between mains and dessert. Wonderful. Shared table of 10 and the company was a good craic too.



Left Ayers Rock Resort around noon for the relatively short, 370km, drive to Kings Canyon - next blog.



Written in the air conditioned comfort of a 3 night stay in a campsite cabin, with en-suite and cooking, at Alice Springs. It is 39° outside!

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