ALICE SPRINGS TO AYRES ROCK(ULURU)

I got up very early to join my three day adventure to Ayres rock(ULURU is the name used by the Aboriginals and that is now the official name of Ayres rock.) and the Kings Canyon. I was feeling very nervous because I had opted for sleeping out under the stars in a swag bag, but fellow travellers had been telling all kinds of tales about Dingos hanging around the campsites.

There were twelve of us on the bus. We travelled first to a Camel farm where we had the chance to have a ride on a camel.

I had no particular urge to put my life at risk so early in the morning, so I left it to the younger travellers. I had a lovely cup of coffee and bacon sarnie instead!

Back on the bus we headed off to Ayres rock(Uluru). On these outback trips it seems that they must put loud Country and Western music on inside the bus as soon as they turn the key in the ignition. I HATE COUNTRY AND WESTERN MUSIC. So I have to say that is always one of the low points of the trip.Especially when the track Good'ay Good'ay is played!!!But I just try to concentrate on the views from the bus window and block out the heart rending lyrics from various country and western singers. (That is my little gripe over with!!!)

We stopped off to make our sandwiches for lunch
and then washed up before heading off for the Olgas. I love the way everyone just mucks in on the organised trips. The Olgas are a bizarre collection of huge rounded rocks called Kata Tjuta(meaning many heads) by the Aboriginal community. They are impressive monoliths.

We went for a fantastic walk in the valley between two of the biggest rocks.
Afterwards we stopped to gather firewood from along the road for tonights campfire. Bonnie our guide warned us to look out for SNAKES! She said if the branch moves! do not touch it! I did not need telling twice. Needless to say I spent ages looking at the bits of wood before I even dared to venture near enough to contemplate picking it up. Thankfully the fellas were more gung ho and they collected lots of wood. This was strapped to the trailer behind the bus.
We then joined a group of tourists on a hill overlooking Uluru to watch the sunset. We even had a glass of wine. The posh tours had nibbles as well, so we kept daring each other to go and grab some of their nibbles. It sounds pathetic and it is I suppose, but is kept us amused until the sun rose .Thankfully they saw the funny side as well.

It is just impossible to capture on camera the beauty of the colours that we saw in the sky surrounding the giant rock. I have never seen anything like it in my life. The rock went through so many shades of rusty red and the purples surrounding it had to be seen to be believed. I tried my best to get a good picture. We set up camp nearby and Bonnie cooked us a great veg and chicken stir fry for dinner.
We sat around the fire to eat and drink. (I needed a couple of glasses of wine to calm the nerves.) The prospect of Dingos walking within inches of my swag left me feeling more than a bit nervous. But Bonnie assured me that no one had been hurt in all the time she had been guiding the tours here....but there is always a first!!!

We all chose our swags and laid them out by the fire..I grabbed a spot by Bonnie so that I would feel a bit more secure. I got inside my sleeping bag and the swag bag and settled for the night. I was so taken with the stars overhead that my fears soon subsided. I was very excited to see several shooting stars. I made lots of wishes!! And I managed to sleep well. We got up at five in the morning, it was freezing. We had breakfast and headed off to see the sun rise at Uluru. Once again it did not disappoint.It was a colourful show. But it was very cold!

We were then given the option of climbing the rock or doing a 10km basewalk. Four of the group went up the rock, only two made it to the top and back down though. The Japanese girls found it to steep. I decided to do the 10km basewalk, because it is so sacred to the Aboriginal people, and they do not want people clambering all over it. The walk was really fascinating. There are so many different atmospheric parts of the rock that you only get to experience by being up close. The watering whole for the animals is so tranquil and I just sat there for ages reflecting on life.
We then went to the Aboriginal culture centre to learn more about their way of life and beliefs.I found it very interesting and I could have spent a lot longer there. On our way to the campsite we stopped off at an inland salt lake.
Once more gathered the wood for the camp fire. This time Bonnie's boyfriend, who knew where she usually stops, had left a love note saying how much he loved her under a stone by the roadside...AHHHHHHHHHH.
Our camping area on night two was even more remote than the first night. We lit the fire and Bonnie once again cooked us a great dinner.We sat around the fire chatting.
Everyone suddenly went very quiet and looked over at me because they knew I was very nervous at the prospect of Dingos. I turned round to see what they were looking at. There on the edge of the camp was the first of many dingos I would see that night.
I nearly jumped out of my skin.But to be honest the more I observed them the less afraid I became. They were just curious and looking for food. They were not there to attack us. We settled down in our sleeping bags and swags under the stars. The air was filled with the sound of dingos howling from miles way!! Even Bonnie said she had never heard them quite that bad. Needless to say I remained a little nervous. It was a very cold night and I did not sleep much. I was listening to the dingos walking around the camp. I even stuck my head out and watched one of them for ages on top of our table searching for food. It eventually wandered off into the distance. The next morning we rose at five again and had a hearty breakfast. One of the German guys could not find his shoes. A Dingo had taken them off into the bush. But he was lucky because it had dropped them. Bonnie did warn us to put everything away as they had a history of taking off with people's belongings.
After breakfast we travelled to the Kings Canyon in the Watarrka National Park. It is one of the most spectacular sights.

The walls of Kings Creek raise to a platform with amphitheartre-like views of the towering canyon's rim. We did the 6km walk through the creek. It took us about four hours. The first hill we climbed is called 'heart attack hill', and I soon realised why. But I took it steady managed to get to the top. It was well worth it, we were rewarded with awesome views.


There is an area called the Garden of Eden.It has a series of tranquil pools. I loved it.

After the walk we had lunch and then headed back to Alice springs, a five hour drive. It passed quickly though because I spent most of the time chatting to a lovely Italian couple on the trip called Marco and Frederica. I was able to practise my Italian. They were in a state of shock because when they booked the trip they did not realise they would actually be outside under the stars. They thought they would be in nice warm tents. And they had not got warm enough clothing with them for what they had experienced. But to their credit they kept smiling throughout and just joined in. Even when Bonnie produced the Australian version of spagetti bolognese!!

CAIRNS TO ALICE SPRINGS

I bid farewell to Carolyn in Cairns.

She was heading off to Sydney and then New Zealand.
I was joining a trip from Cairns to Alice springs through the outback for three days.
The 2067km road trip into the heart of Australia started early in the morning. There were 24 of us on the bus.We headed off through the Atherton Tablelands.
Our guide Alan talked us through the proposed route
The landscape changed from rainforest to Eucalypt forest. We stopped at Australia's smallest bar at the Oasis Roadhouse.
At lunchtime we made our own sandwiches and washed up before getting back on the bus to continue the journey on 275 kms of unsealed roads.
There are signs warning motorists that cattle is free to roam in the outback, so they may be on the roads.


There was a lot of wildlife to see along the way, including Ostriches.


We took a look at Porcupine Gorge,Australia's mini grand Canyon.

The first night stop over was at the Western Hotel in Hughenden. It was like something from 1970 with very dated decor. We had dinner in the bar and I have to say the locals were a very strange looking bunch of fellas!!
Day 2 we got up early to watch the sunrise..then we had a complete change of landscape. The flat black soil plans.
Our first destination today was Winton, the birthplace of Australia's unofficial national anthem, Waltzing Matilda! It is also the place where Quanta airline was started. A small group of men met in a club to form the company in 1920.
We had a BBQ for lunch at a Cattle station. In the afternoon we visited one of Australia's oldest outback pubs.The Middleton pub started business in 1876.The population there is 6!!!!
It had a great atmosphere and we could have stayed there chatting for ages, but we had to hit the road!
Our overnight accommodation was at Wirrelyerna station.
An authentic sheep/cattle station. We had a great meal prepared over a campfire and we sat around the campfire under the stars chatting for a long time.
Another very early start to the day and another breathtakingly beautiful sunrise. We had 800km to do today from Boulia to Alice Springs. Everything was fine and dandy for the first few hours. Then we stopped for one of our toilet breaks.(Which literally meant boys to the right of the bus and girls to the left.We had to find a bush to wee behind or just crouch down and pee in the middle of nowhere. It took us all some time before we got used to it.But there was no choice!!)
Anyway this particular stop ended up being longer than usual. Alan informed us that the bus was overheating and something in the engine had blown and we needed to be towed!! It was scortching hot and many of the group were on other trips and flights the next day, so everyone was very anxious about whether we would make it to Alice springs that night.(I was ok because I had given myself a couple of extra days in Alice springs before my next trip)


We tried to make the most of it and kept our spirits up by playing a game of catch by the side of the road. After a couple of hours a pickup truck came and towed us for about half an hour.But then that was no good because the air in the bus breaks was leaking out, which made the breaks lock on! They needed pumping on every now and then and the truck could not do that. So they were on the radios again trying to get help. Fortunately for us a two story cattle train arrived and offered to tow us to Boulia, a couple of hours away.


As they were connecting the two vehicles up I decided to get everyone together for a group shot. And As I stood focusing the camera, I felt something hit my cheek.In what seemed like slow motion I thought to myself "Something just hit my face", "what could it be? A fly?" then I realised that the cattle truck was on that side, and even though it was yards away, I had been splattered with COW POO!!!!!! I started squeeling and everyone came over to help me.They took the camera and chucked water at me and I had to clean it all off. It was so funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then we piled onto the bus and got towed to Boulia. Because the airconditioning would not work on the bus we had to have the skylight open and the bus just filled with dust.We were covered in dust when we eventually arrived in Boulia. Lots of the group were running round frantically making phone calls to change their trips and flights.


We had to stay the night so we made the most of it by having a few beers and checking out the town. We eventually arrived in Alice springs the next day after a very arduous 14 hour bus journey!

CAPE TRIBULATION

Carolyn and I joined a trip to Cape tribulation at the Rainforest Habitat wildlife sanctuary at Port Douglas. It is an amazing place, we saw the endangered Cassowary and a myriad of other wildlife including Koalas and crocodiles.
We travelled in a four wheel drive bus further up the coast to the Mossman Gorge for a guided walk through the world heritage rainforest.





Our guide talked us through all the trees and plants, as well as some of the wildlife that inhabits the rainforest.


I was even persuaded to lick the backside of an ant!! It was very sour and it numbed my tongue for a while (will add phot later when I get it from Carolyn)





We followed the Captain Cook highway to the majestic Daintree river where we went on a one hour cruise along the river.
We spotted crocodiles on the bank and many wildlife birds and frogs.


We learnt about the Mangroves that lined the bank of the river and their importance to the fish and wildlife levels in the north of Australia. We then crossed the river on the famous cable ferry and drove onto Cape Tribulation beach.
It was here that Captain Cook ran aground in 1770. At the time he wrote in his diary this was when his trials and tribulations started, so that is why it is named Cape Tribulation.
This sign warns people not to feed the Cassowary. They are vital forthe ecosystem. They eat certain foods that can only germinate once they have passed through their intestinal system.They then spit them out and they grow in the forests. They are native to northern Australia and are endangered. A Cassowary can turn nasty so there are signs warning people not to feed them. As well as signs that show what happens if you run over one.
We stayed at the YHA , Crocodylus. It was a pretty scary but exciting experience.
The hut we stayed in is literally in the middle of the rainforest. It is a wooden structure with a tent over it and lino flooring.
We also had a shower and toilet, we would never have plucked up the courage to go outside at night to go to the loo!!!. They told us not to have any foodstuff in our room because the wildlife would break in to get it..You can imagine how edgy that made us feel, because the wildlife was so noisy and we did not have a clue what was out there!!
Especially when we saw the patches sewn around the bottom of the tenting where animals had previously bitten their way in! Carolyn also spotted that there was a big gap at the back of the hut where one section of the tent is just left to hang down, I kept checking that no snakes had slithered up into the gap at regular intervals all night. The noises of the animals around was deafening at times.

The YHA was very remote, which was great, so we had a meal at the restaurant section of the hostel, it was good home cooking, we even had crumble for pudding! Later on we played pool and darts with some of the other people. We also polished off a couple of bottles of wine , hoping that would give us Dutch courage to sleep better!!!!!
All night we kept waking up saying"What is that??" and sitting up in bed. We also laughed a lot at how rediculously scared we were!
We did manage to get some sleep, but Carolyn says she spent hours watching frogs sliding down the top of the tent !!!
The next morning we hired bikes and rode to Cows beach. We were going along merrily when Carolyn shouted "Snake!!!!" I nearly fell off my bike!!! but managed to peddle round it very very quickly. It was still there when we cycled past a few hours later and we noticed that it had been run over by a since we spotted it.
I has a swim in the pool at the YHA and we chilled for most of the day.
That night we took a three hour guided tour in the rainforest.We were given special lamps to shine up in the trees and bushes to search for creatures to talk about. Both of us were petrified at first. But by the end we were so busy trying to find creatures, that we overcame the fear and had a fantastic time.The guide called 'Possum', made it so interesting, he told us so much about the creatures in the forest and what noises they made.
When we finally went to bed that night I slept really well because I understood a lot more about what creatures and animals made a lot of the noises. I just told myself to sleep and not to get all gittery ...it seemed to work. Carolyn on the otherhand hardly slept a wink.
The next day we were picked up by Adventure North Travel to continue our journey in a 4wheel drive vehicle to Cooktown..... the last frontier of North Queensland!. (well that is what the brochure said!)
You can only go along this route in a 4WD because there terrain is so tough. The drive through the world heritage listed area was beautiful. We went over rugged mountain ranges and river crossings. We stopped for lunch at the Lions Den , one of north Queensland's oldest running bush pubs(est 1875). We visited the mysterious black mountains steeped in Aboriginal legend about people dying and disappearing!. We went up to Grassy hill to enjoy a three hundred and sixty degree panoramic view of Cooktown and the Endeavour river.(Named after Captain Cook's ship!)



We stopped for two nights at Pams YHA. It was a strange place with possums and birds roaming free. It had the potential to be a fabulous hostel with swimming pool and ornate gardens but it was very shoddy and dirty which was a shame.
The first night we went out to find somewhere to eat and everywhere was shut. It was like a ghost town. All we could find open was the local bowling club. Thankfully the food was good and we chatted to some other tourists.
It is a strange place!! We hardly saw anyone on the streets, and those you did see looked very odd. The sea and mountain views are beaufiful so that made up for the lack of locals. I have to say I am so glad that I ventured up this far to see a different way of life. The local mines are all that keeps the economy going in this place. We visited the captain Cook museum, which is housed in a former convent building.It was abondoned in the war and used by US soldiers before a museum was established in it. Cooktown is the first place that white settles established a community in Australia. In its heyday during the goldrush there were thousands of people living there. You would never guess that nowadays. We wandered round but there was not that much to see , it was rather like a ghost town. We kept laughing at all the antiquated signs and shops. There is a large Aboriginal communitiy in this part of the world. Sadly many of them are alcoholics and they are trying to do more to sort out the crime and unemployment among their communities. Many just sit around under the trees drinking. We were afraid walking around in the dark, it was very ery. I have to say two days was long enough to stay in Cooktown!!! We were glad when the bus came to take us back to Cairnes!!