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Published: December 16th 2006
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We got a new driver, Greg, for our second leg of the tour from Adelaide to Alice Springs. There was going to be lots of driving ahead of us.
We drove for a while before getting to the Flinders Rangers where we went for a walk along a gorge which was really hot. Later we went to look at some Aboriginal rock art at the Yourambulla Caves before getting to our accomodation where we had Kangaroo meat, Camel sausages and Emu burgers. Along the way we had stopped at a petrol station which had a seismograph which had measured the earthquake of the 2004 Tsunami, it's curve was so much bigger than that of most of the earthquakes recorded. That night we learnt a new card game called arsehole which should stand us in good stead for the rest of our travels.
The next day we got up earlyish and headed towards the Flinders Ranges. Along the way we saw lots of Kangaroos and Emus with Emu chicks, these are really funny looking animals! We arrived at our lunch stop where we had chicken burgers, a rare treat, before we climbed up Mount Ohlssen-Bagge at Wilpena Pound. It was
thankfully a bit cloudy so wasn't too hot. The day before it had been 43 degrees! Still I managed to chug down a litre and a half of water on a 6km walk. Matt and I were at the top first but the views weren't great as it was so hazy. So back to the bus... (Australia's so big that we've been getting used to the inside of this thing)... and off to our overnight accomodation at a sheep farm. This place had a pool so we all jumped straight in after another hot day's driving.
We had to get up really early at 4-30 am to set off at 5 this morning as we had 800km to drive to get to Coober Pedy. After a long and boring drive we finally arrived there. We then took a guided tour of the town, were shown an underground church and where locals had found $15,000 opals. After that we had a tour of an opal mine and got to look at somebody's underground living room and the tunnels in which the opals had been mined from. After the we went looking through the dirt trying to find that valuable opal,
Emu family!
The next day we spotted many Emu families, did I feel guilty for last nights dinner? Nah! that might just exist, lying around. Needless to say we all found nothing and went back hot and dusty! That night we had a rare treat, a meal out! We all went to a Pizza resturant before going to an air conditioned pub for a beer, before sleeping in our musty, but cool underground dorm room.
The next day arrived again all to soon, not enough sleep, and today we set off for Uluru (Ayres Rock). It was only by the time we made a petrol and wee stop that I realised today was my birthday (27). Hmm, looks old when written down surely that must be somone elses age? So realising this we bought two crates of beer as we would be camping the next two nights in the bush. We arrived at Uluru in time for sunset, along with another 20 odd tour buses, then to our suprise Greg had given us some crackers and dip to eat while watching it. All that was left to do now was crack open a beer and begin the birthday celebrations in style. After the sun's rays had left the massive monolith we drove back to our campsite. That night
Crikey!
Fancy only putting this sign up after we had already walked on the lake surface to get here! we slept in swags (which are bags with a mattress underneath) underneath the stars, it was a beautifully clear night.
We woke up early the next day to go to see sunrise at Uluru. Matt and I then decided to climb it. They say that they prefer people not to climb it, but I'll never be back here again and I can't see what harm it does. They close the path if the temperature is over 36 degrees, it wasn't when we started off walking at 9am. It was a really steep path up and there was a chain to help you climb. The chain section stopped after about 30-40 mins climbing, where it kind of levels out and there's a another 30 min walk to the summit. There is absolutely nothing around except for Kata Tjuta (Olgas), which are more red rock monoliths, in the distance. When we got back down the rest of the bus occupants who had done a base walk, met us at the bottom. By which time they had closed the path as the temperature had reached over 36 degrees. Also when we got down we found out that a girl had tripped and
Coober Pedy
Home of the opel and underground house fallen over and smashed her face, so the ranger was just getting ready to climb up to help.
Greg then took us for a little walk around part of the base showing us Aboriginal artwork in the caves, before we headed off to Kata Tjuta and walked through the middle of them. We then headed to Kings Canyon where we camped overnight.
The last day of the tour saw us exploring Kings Canyon, where we went for much needed cooling off in a watering hole. We got a group photo there too! That afternoon we arrived in Alice Springs. It's so hot here! That night we all went out for a meal together. The next day was so hot that nobody did much, and the following day we caught the plane to Sydney.
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gary's grandma
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happy birthday Gary
Happy Birhday, Gary, couldn't send you a card, but my thoughts are with you anyway. Hearing about your trip in the heat is opposite to Dave's and Claire's Blog, they have just been to Antarctica in the freezing cold and ice! What a family I have got !!Have a great Christmas, and give my love to Brisbane if you get there love Grandma XX