I’m up at 4:30am for my two and a half hour flight to Alice Springs. My cousin Ian, who lives in Brisbane, is meeting me there and we are doing the Red Centre (as they call this neck of the woods) tour together. What greets you on arrival are flies. They are everywhere and apparently there’s going to be even more of them as we travel further into the outback.
Day 1 Alice Springs: The hotel is a newly renovated Crowne Plaza and the rooms are spanky new with a lovely pool area and nice restaurant. Ian and I walk downtown which is about a thirty minute walk in blazing heat… well it’s reasonably comfortable for Ian but I’m roasting. We meet nobody along the road until we hit the small town. The flies are still hanging around – there’s actually one on my face in this photo!
As you’d expect there’s a lot of aboriginal people around. They have a reputation for being drunk and disorderly but apparently that’s because, like the native Americans, they are missing the gene that breaks down alcohol (I’m not sure how true that really is). There’s a strange feel to the town, it’s hard to explain. It’s essentially in the middle of nowhere with a few basic shops, bars and some cafes. The whole area is like a red sand desert but with trees and tufts of grass growing all over it. We settle into a bar that serves food and have a couple of beers with a giant sambo for lunch.
Day 2 Yolara & Kata Tjuta: We set off on the 441km journey to Yolara and the bus driver tells us that we’ll have two right turns during that time. It’s a long bus journey and the driver talks the whole way. He tells us some interesting stuff like there are currently approximately a million wild camels in Australia in particular in the Northern Territory where we are now, but also reaching into Western Australia and South Australia. Camels are considered feral pests and after a census in 2002 found there were two million of them, the government decided to shoot them and managed to kill around eight hundred thousand of them. Apparently the numbers are shooting back up again so if one comes onto your land you are entitled to shoot him. We hope to see some wild ones over the next few days but for now we stop off at a camel farm and meet a few friendly ones:
They are surprisingly clean and soft to pet. Apparently they’re the healthiest camels in the world. I even got feed this guy
And Ian goes for a ride:
The landscape doesn’t change much on our six hour drive but the bus driver Gary feels the need to tell us every small detail about what’s around us including telling us about what is down a road that we are not turning down or trivial meaningless things that we really don’t need to know. It’s quite exhausting for us but I’m guessing he’s doing it to keep himself awake.
Half way there we stop at place called Eridunda which has a coffee shop and more importantly sells fly masks – these are going to get a lot of use. We also see some emus:
A couple of hours before reaching Yolara we pass Mt Connor which looks a little like Uluru but it’s not:
We catch our first glimpse of Uluru around 40km out from it. That’s how big this rock is and how flat the landscape is as you approach it. It’s three kilometers long and if you were to walk the path around it, it’s a ten kilometer walk.
We arrive at Ayers Rock Resort which houses a small village of three or four hotels, a post office, small supermarket, gift shops and a few cafes. Other than some high end camping, it is the only accommodation with close proximity to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. We have a little respite from the hot soon and then it’s time to visit Kata Tjuta for sunset. Kata Tjuta, also known as the Olgas, are a group of thirty-six red domed rocks that are held sacred by the aboriginal people in particular aboriginal men. Apparently aboriginal women have no business being near them or even looking at them!!
Our first proper view of Uluru on the way to Kata Tjuta:
There’s a group of about twenty-five of us on the sunset tour and we enjoy wine and canapés as we watch the sun go down on Kata Tjuta. Unfortunately it’s cloudy so we don’t get a spectacular change in colour. It is beautiful though… even though we have to wear our fly masks the whole time:
Day 3 Uluru: Today is all about The Rock. We have a 5:45am pick up to see the sun rise. It’s an early start but it’s well worth it.
After a nap and some lunch we head back out, this time to Walpa gorge. We get to walk through and it’s really beautiful:
Later in the afternoon we visit Uluru and drive all the way around. If you were to walk it it’s 10km and unfortunately we don’t have that time built into our tour. It’s also 36 degrees so not ideal walking weather. It’s nice to see it from every angle though.
The local people ask that you don’t climb Uluru and looking at the path upward I’d agree it’s not a good choice:
Afterward we head to the cultural centre to learn about the native aboriginal people and then it’s time for another sunset:
We have more wine and nibbles as we watch the rock change colour:
There are aboriginal artists all around selling their art and Ian buys a lovely piece from a young girl who tells us her name is Shirley:
Once the sun is gone we go for an outdoor BBQ and have some fun star gazing and getting to know the people at our table who decide to join in an Aussie style sing song on the bus back to the hotel.
Day 4: Kings Canyon. It’s an even earlier start today as we are visiting Kings Canyon which is a 3 hour drive away and then we have another 4-5 hours back to Alice Springs. So we are up at 4am for a 4:45am pickup! This better be worth it!! We stop for breakfast a couple of hours in and and I see this gorgeous fella:
I get very excited when we see some wild camels:
It’s a fairly handy three hour hike, steep at the beginning but mostly flat at the top as we look around the canyon.
It’s very pretty and with the sun shining the colors are magnificent.
We have some lunch at the Kings Canyon resort before boarding a bus for a couple of hours to the drop off point for the bus back to Alice Springs. We load into the new bus and you’ll never guess who’s driving… it’s Gary from our outbound journey. I’m really hoping he’s not going to talk for the whole next five hours or so but unfortunately I’m out of luck. He’s quiet for maybe the first hour or so and then he pipes up and starts telling us all the same things he told us on the way out. Both Ian and I have our earphones in but we can still hear him. He’s sooooo loud! It’s hysterical and so annoying at the same time. By the time we hit the Crowne Plaza at 7pm, we’re worn out but relieved to be away from the drone. We decide on a quick turnaround of shower and freshen up and meet for dinner and then hit the casino. Ah blackjack I’ve missed you…. we have a great laugh at a table with a few local lunatics and play til after midnight – very late night for this trip but worth it.
Day 5: Homeward Bound. Breakfast somewhat fixes me but I’m suffering a bit after last night and we only get an hour at the pool to gather our thoughts before we have to get packed and head for the airport. It’s been a great few days seeing this part of Australia and it was made even better having the youngest Fallon cousin with me – you’re a legend Iano!! But now it’s time to head to Brisbane and another adventure.
Bye Bye!
odohertyelaine 
Very interesting.
LikeLike