My “12 days of Christmas” in 2010 were actually only 11.
My chosen three- stage tour by Adventure Tours Australia with the charming name of “Heaven 11” lived up to its name outstandinly well! It was and will be one of my most memorable Christmases and New Years that I will recall in the years to come.
The tour started in Darwin on the 20th December and finished on the 31st December in Alice Springs.The transport was a 4WD truck the accommondation out in tents and swags under millions of sprarkling stars. What more you can ask for??!!
The first 4 day tour took me and the group of 11 to visit two exceptionally beautiful national parks – Kakadu and Litchfield.
Here with such long distances to cover the day starts early, I have been picked up at the Cav Hostel in Darwin by Debden (tourguide, cook and driver – all in one) at 6.20 sharp. After collecting the rest of the gang we headed off towards the Parks.
Debden in Maori from NZ near Napier and he is working in the industry now over 8 years – he was a walking encyclopedia of local facts, stories and jokes.
The group was a great mix of people in their 20s, 30s and me…No jokes here please!
To my joy I overheard a couple talking Czech…and they were from the Czech Republic from Ostrava. We had an instant Czechoslovakian connection with Carl and Darina – was real nice.
The group was indeed multinational: Brits, German, Israeli, Norwegian, French,Italian…Great crowd!
All my appreciation went to Liz who despite being on crutches after a broken ankle did her utmost to even climb the hill at Ubbir!
Raffaela was my tent-mate – an italian lady with a huge lovely personality!
Our fist stop was to be welcomed by the Aboriginal community who owns the land we were about to visit. The Limilngan – Wulna tribe. It was my first encounter with the aboriginal community leader as such. (I saw many of them drunk and drugged up in Cairns on the streets…what a pittyful site it was!)
The cultural center of Window of Wetland was small. The welcome was warm, but nothing reaching my expectations. Graham the leader painted our skin with their ochre colours, said a few things about their current ways of life out in the bush, the walkabouts the boy still do and played the didgeredoo. Then his daughter showed us how they weave mats and bags from the bush grass. It was – to me – a rather disappointing experience. Later been told this is the closest I will get or any travelling tourist to any of the Aboriginal communities. They like to keep themselves to themselves.
From here the drive was long to Mary River Wetland, but it was worth it. The group went to an area rich in wild life and minutes after our departure saw a croc!! She was in the shade chilling. The nearly one hour cruise showed us a stunning part of the land so different to the redness of the dirt roads. Then just before we headed back to port the dominating male croc appeared patroling the shores of his territory. And he was BIG…swimming with authority we guessed he was about 4 meters long. He hardly moved his body, he just wiggled his tail and looked the Boss every inch of him. It was so exciting and scary at the same time as the boat was a low one and these animals can jump out from the water their own full length. We survived!
The afternoon we visited the nearby Warradjan Aboriginal cultural center, With the hind-sight it was the best aboriginal center. The information was presented in a stylish way in writing as well as with the artifacts. Boudin,Nat, Raffa and I spent there nearly 2 hours exploring it all.
On this tours the team does help the guide to cook dinner, so we did that and indeed it brought the group closer. After dinner we shared out travel stories or/and went to the nearby road house for a cold beer. At this part of the world the cane toad is one of the nocturnal animals next to millions of bugs, flies and other frogs. The cane toad are pests and poisonous pests – if they feel threatened they spray acid that can take ones eye-site away. So when going to the bathroom or the pub one had to have a head-lamp screening the road ahead.
On the note of a frog comes a story that at the time of it happening scared the living daylight out of me. On the first evening in the camp stretched out the time before going to the toilet to the max. This of course made me not vigilant enough. After the job done turned around to flash the toilet and there I see, under the rim of the toilet seat a green frog! I jumped and screamed and runned out of the cubicle like a light. Later learned from Debden that the green frogs are not poisonous they just like to be near water….I rest my case!
The following days started early too – after a communal breakfast, cleaning of the kitchen and the tents we hopped onto the track and explored. It is now the wet season so we saw loads of flodways on the roads that blocked or even cut off places of interest. Debden was not short of alternatives and devised a new itinerary with places to visit. We saw areas that very few tourists see. We climbed the Cathedral Rock at Gubara with its beautiful heardly seen cave paintings as well as we swam in the waterhole.The following day we went to Ubbir. This place is the most famous out of all due to the large amounts of wall paintings that the tribe there dates back to their “dreamtime”. It was indeed a stunning display of various styles of paintings. Apparently the last painitng was painted there in the 1970s. We climbed – incl. Liz – the rock to get a 360 degree view of the land. Breathtaking it was!
On our last day on our way to Darwin we had a truly memorable pre-christmas party! We hit the road by 6am which gave us the magnificient morning light and the wildlife at that time of the day. Wallabies and kangaroos were running around in the bush away from the truck. It was such a joy to see them around in their habitat. Than we got to the famous majestic termite mounds. There were 3-4 meter high. 1 meter is done in 10 years time!! We stopped to took photos and moved on till the newly formed river blocked our way. Debden decided to turn around and get to the Florence Falls via another road. This added 3 hours of extra drive time but it was worth it. We had a wicked hour of bathing and frolicking in the Falls and after lunch came the best part. The rain started falling but the group wanted to have a dip in the Buley Rockholes. So what does one when in the 40 deg heat and rain? Stays in swim gear and walk in the bush while raining cats and dogs. This is what we did and it was an absolutly thrilling experience. 23rd December 2010!
Saw the Magnetic Termite Mounds….check it out why they called magnetic!!
That night in Darwin the majority of the group got together in the evening and had a great night together. Liz and Tim were flying to Sydney that night, Raffa was moving on to NZ but Boudil and Nat and I went on the next day.
Stage-two! The Track – Darwin to Alice Springs in 3 days!
Tour leader – aka Taxi driver as he called himself – Travers.
Passangers 7…international: Brits, Austrian, Norwegian, Izraeli & the Star of the group An (Chinesse Princess…). The distance to be covered was over 1500 km. Attractions along the tracks: Roadhouses, Katherine Gorge, more quarkey road houses (pubs really) cattle stations, animal refugee stations, Devils Marbles,the UFO pub of OZ, Telegraph stationsand the Tropic of
Capricorn.
It ws a LOOOONG boring drive but seeing all this places the journey was not boring at all! In one of the roadhouses the owner collects anything and everything from everywhere in the world. He even had money notes from Hungary and old Slovakian coins!! spoooky!!!
The group of 7 gelled together incredibly fast and well. Being Christmas Eve (day one) and a good stock taking from the Bottle Store in Katherine provided us with more than once can expect at the campsite. By the time we hit camp – which was the most welcoming one so far – the storm started brewing and I was praying for the “natural light-show” and the cooling rain! Travers ensured us that tonight it will be a “show” as this area is the area where the most lightning happens in the territory. We started off with a cool beer and chipped in and dinner was ready in an hour – Christmas Eve dinner – lamb-stew…and it was delish!
Sarah and Andy (English couple from London) had a fantastic selection of music on their ipods and a little amplifyer. It was suddenly party time! The pre-party was on the top of the truck watching the lightning that surrounded us with few bottles of beer than when the rain started pouring we runned around the camp in our swim gear and laughed out of joy! The rain got so heavy that we had to move into the kitchen tent and the vine surfaced…We partied till about 3am…dancing to national tunes, so Boudil danced the norwegian folk dance and Angelo (the Austrian with such a name!!) we danced the Hungarian csardas….it was fun-fun-fun! Then it was morning and few of us felt fragile!
Travers had a bus of sleepy heads till about the earlyt afternoon where we reached another road-house and had the hair of the dog and the party spirit got alive once again. This time it was a “disco in the truck”…the long staight road did our head in! Boring!! Travers was entertained till we got to camp 2 and than to Alice Springs.
Bless, most of our jokes targeted An who acted like an unripe teenager and a squealling spoiled brat…but she was fun at the time. In Alice we stayed in the same hostel – the Haven – with Nat and Boudil who where travelling on together to Adelaide.
Here again we had a tour after party at the famous Annies. It was not as furious as the one in Katherine on Xmas Eve, but it was a good night out!
I stayed only one night in Alice before hitting the road again to see Uluru, Kings Canyon. Another 4 day of camping and finally sleeping in the Ozzie swag under ther stars.
I met 2 of my travel companions a russian and a polish man well in their 50s the previous day. It gave me a thought of wonder, but did not dwelled to much into it.
Start day 28th December @ 6.20am. Luke collected me at the Haven with the two others. The surprise came when I entered the 4WD truck. The rest of the group were well over 50 by the look of them. I like the adventurous souls I really do, however I was not feeling thrilled by the prospect of having silly giggles while in the swag under the stars with these respectable citizens.
I could not keep my feelings unheard, so choose a moment and asked Luke whether there are any options to swap a group…Nope, you just have to go with a flow! So I did!
Luke is a professional: he got the hint after few words and took care of the group in their head office. The group got the upgrade on accomondation (tents with electricity, fan, linnen and towels provided) and a Host who will be cooking. Sweet as!
Day one of four was drive to reach Uluru before sunset. First stop was a Camel Farm. I did not know that the camels played a huge role in the exploration and development of infrastructure of OZ| in the late 1800s. They have been brought here from India and for some reason the people who tamed and look after them from a particular area of Pakistan got “christened” Afgans; hence the name of the famous train line The Ghan.
The camels helped a lot to lay the Overland Telegraph Line that transformed the center of this massive land.
Anyways, from the camel farm – we headed towards Yulara. It is a town near the Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) National Park. The first sight of the Rock was from about 60 km away…it is massive! I knew it is large but not this vast! I was in ore!
We got to our camp where the lunch was ready for us. The tents indeed were pure luxury after the rough and ready ones on my previous trip! After lunch we headed to the Ewing Outlook for a spectacular first sight of the Rock. It took my breath away! I am here!! I am seeing the Rock!
I read about it a lot and now in front of my eyes the reality seemed a dream!I was extatic!
Before sunset we went of a walk in the Walpa Gorge of the Kata Tjuta. Here I felt that “they were waiting for me”…I am not able to put my shivers into words, but THIS place has an unbelieaveble power and the spirits are there to hear you out…
The Olgas are 36 dome rock formations and are THE most sacret place of the Aboriginals. It is a “Gentlemen’s Club”…no women (Aboriginal) are allowed to visit. Uluru is “the meeting point” where there are sites that are strictly for men or women to worship and initiation ceremonies.
The Rock and the Kata Tjuta are part of the Aboriginal Dreamtime and the myths (for them true and sacred like the Bible) live on being passed on from generation to generation by word of mouth.
Luke shared his knowledge with great presto on Aboriginal culture as well as on geographycal facts in a most entertaining fashion. The info stuck or it is recorded on a photo and serves me as the trigger – knowledge on the hard drive! (-:
The sun began its climb downwards and our truck headed to the sunset viewing point. It was an exodus of people there!! Heaps of busses and private cars. There was a BBQ truck serving the guests!! Beer bottles and champagne glasses clinging! THANK GOD Adventure Tours has its own private sections of viewing area where there is calm and privacy.
Briskly upon arrival Luke got the table standing and from a very pretty old fashinoned wooden box appeared the champagne flutes! What a treat to accompany the sunset that was approaching fast and furious. The colours of the Rock changed so fast the the human eye could not register it. Took a photo every two minutes just to see the change. The event was mesmerising!
As the last rays left the top of the Rock silence prevailed…there was not much to say but see.
Upon arrival to the camp dinner was ready to be served – Kanagaroo steak and camel sausages! Mouthwateringly tasty dinner it was I have to admit. After dinner Luke played the did and I did have a go too….was fun! The group retired into their tents as the next morning was a 4.00 am rise to catch the sunrise at Uluru. Luke and I grabbed the swags and headed to sleep under the stars.
We talked into the night and giggled a lot. Searched the sky for familiar constalations and got surprised by the “Russian Spy and the Polish Assistant of his”…(-:
I could not sleep as I felt I am missing out on so much beauty just by staring at the stars, but eventually we both fell asleep. When the alarm went off at 3.30 the Moon was shining amongst the still visible stars – magic! When stood up from the swag ahead of me was Uluru still in partial darkness but visible by the outline. What a view to wake up to! Once in a lifetime!
We headed back to camp had breakfast with the group and off we went for the sunrise. We were the first ones on the viewing platform that alike at sunset last night became the place of exodus just before 5.30. It was noisy and very touristy…)-:
The sunrise regardless was spectacular. To enjoy it one had to “wrap silence around oneself” and block all the distruction out. The colours changed fast and to me the Rock “woke” up too to a new day.
After sunrise most of us did the Base Walk around the Rock which is 9.3 kms!! Did you know that!? I was very much looking forward to this walk. I wanted to do it alone. The Russian and the Polak was hanging back as the Polak filmed a lot, but they saw me hanging back even more and speeded up. It was so peaceful around the Rock at that time of the morning. Warning sighns were there to let one know of sections of the Rock where no photos can be taken or being stepped on the land. I searched at this areas for rock formations on the Rock that will gave away some sacred vibes…some I found that I felt they may be the Ones.
The walk took me over 2 hours and the group was waiting for me…surprise!! They were giving me the cold shoulder for a while but it was over before dinner.
From Uluru we headed to Kings Canyon Camp via the Amadeus Salt Lakes. This camp was again very neat and we had the best Host, Tristan. He made a very very tasty chicken with macadamia nuts sauce that it was so good we had it for lunch the next day too! It was his b’day too!
Here again the group retired and like the previous night Luke and I grabbed the swags and went into the dark. This place has less light pollution that gave an extra sharpness to the light from the sky. It was magic!
The walk in the Kings Canyon was the second top highlight! Mindboggling beauty with traces of history millions of years…incomprehensible! There is a section that once was the bottom of the sea – the ripples are etched into the rock!!
Luke found few bush tuckers – tasted the bush tomato that looks like little round tomatini but tastes awful. However, if it is your life you will have it to survive!
The Garden of Eden – the bottom part of the Canyon – had a lake and many plam trees. It was lush and shady to rest for a while.
From the Kings Canyon we headed to the majestic site of Glen Helen via another powerful site of Goose Bluff (Tnoralla). This is a crater from millions of years ago and it is a special place for the Aboriginals. The story/Legend is the Legend of the Seven sisters when one of the Dancing Ladies (aka the Milky way) puts her baby to sleep into the crater. When I saw the crater in distance it has a strong, strange vibe – somehow even uncomfortable. But the more I stared at it the more it “called” for me. Maureen the “mighty” lady of the group (she was wicked and the wisest!! of them all!) said the same. She felt the power too. Luke told the story that one of his mates went there with a group and shortly after they arrived the wind picked up and out of the blue it was raining cats and dogs! Spooky!!
The Glen Helen resort topped it all – we went to watch the sunset over the McDonnell ranges and it was just out of this world! The best on this trip – sorry Uluru!!
BUT before this magic we had a swim in the Ormiston Gorge that did round the day perfect! It was balm for the soul to swim there! Cool waters and colours from the palette of a painter. Bespoke!
This time it was a night in the tent…never again! It was stiffling in there with few mice running around as my night-company! ….
And it was the last day of 2010!
On our way back to Alice we visited the famous Aboriginal painters Albert Namatjira’s house near Hermannsburg and then Hermannsburg itself. Sadly the cultural center was closed due to holidays, but we drove around to see this aborginal settlement settled by the missionaries in the early 1900s.
After this Palm Valley awaitied and this was the time when the 4WD action came it! I LOVED it!! and wanted to squeek out spontaneously at the ride, but it was a “conservative” environment in the truck and this bumpy road was not particularly appreciated!…so to say!
Maureen was next to Luke on the way there and me on the return journey and it was JUST what my heart desired!! I could scream out of joy and Luke did a very good job of driving! I wish I could have tried….desire on the ever growin To Do List!
Back in Alice the group said bye but in Alice people tend to meet again!
This is how I met again Petra and Battista in the Casino just before midnight and spent some good time remembering moments for the trip again!
It is now the 8th January and I am still in the YHA Alice chilling and digesting all the magic and beauty I have seen and experienced over the Festive Period.
I am greatful to have met 3 groups of lovely people and 3 outstanding guides who enriched my life with theirs.
As it is my first and possibly the longest post this year, I would like to wish all my Friends who follow my shennanigans a happy, healthy New Year 2011!
My “12 days of Christmas” in 2010 were actually only 11.
My chosen three- stage tour by Adventure Tours Australia with the charming name of “Heaven 11” lived up to its name outstandinly well! It was and will be one of my most memorable Christmases and New Years that I will recall in the years to come.
The tour started in Darwin on the 20th December and finished on the 31st December in Alice Springs.The transport was a 4WD truck the accommondation out in tents and swags under millions of sprarkling stars. What more you can ask for??!!
The first 4 day tour took me and the group of 11 to visit two exceptionally beautiful national parks – Kakadu and Litchfield.
Here with such long distances to cover the day starts early, I have been picked up at the Cav Hostel in Darwin by Debden (tourguide, cook and driver – all in one) at 6.20 sharp. After collecting the rest of the gang we headed off towards the Parks.
Debden in Maori from NZ near Napier and he is working in the industry now over 8 years – he was a walking encyclopedia of local facts, stories and jokes.
The group was a great mix of people in their 20s, 30s and me…No jokes here please!
To my joy I overheard a couple talking Czech…and they were from the Czech Republic from Ostrava. We had an instant Czechoslovakian connection with Carl and Darina – was real nice.
The group was indeed multinational: Brits, German, Israeli, Norwegian, French,Italian…Great crowd!
All my appreciation went to Liz who despite being on crutches after a broken ankle did her utmost to even climb the hill at Ubbir!
Raffaela was my tent-mate – an italian lady with a huge lovely personality!
Our fist stop was to be welcomed by the Aboriginal community who owns the land we were about to visit. The Limilngan – Wulna tribe. It was my first encounter with the aboriginal community leader as such. (I saw many of them drunk and drugged up in Cairns on the streets…what a pittyful site it was!)
The cultural center of Window of Wetland was small. The welcome was warm, but nothing reaching my expectations. Graham the leader painted our skin with their ochre colours, said a few things about their current ways of life out in the bush, the walkabouts the boy still do and played the didgeredoo. Then his daughter showed us how they weave mats and bags from the bush grass. It was – to me – a rather disappointing experience. Later been told this is the closest I will get or any travelling tourist to any of the Aboriginal communities. They like to keep themselves to themselves.
From here the drive was long to Mary River Wetland, but it was worth it. The group went to an area rich in wild life and minutes after our departure saw a croc!! She was in the shade chilling. The nearly one hour cruise showed us a stunning part of the land so different to the redness of the dirt roads. Then just before we headed back to port the dominating male croc appeared patroling the shores of his territory. And he was BIG…swimming with authority we guessed he was about 4 meters long. He hardly moved his body, he just wiggled his tail and looked the Boss every inch of him. It was so exciting and scary at the same time as the boat was a low one and these animals can jump out from the water their own full length. We survived!
The afternoon we visited the nearby Warradjan Aboriginal cultural center, With the hind-sight it was the best aboriginal center. The information was presented in a stylish way in writing as well as with the artifacts. Boudin,Nat, Raffa and I spent there nearly 2 hours exploring it all.
On this tours the team does help the guide to cook dinner, so we did that and indeed it brought the group closer. After dinner we shared out travel stories or/and went to the nearby road house for a cold beer. At this part of the world the cane toad is one of the nocturnal animals next to millions of bugs, flies and other frogs. The cane toad are pests and poisonous pests – if they feel threatened they spray acid that can take ones eye-site away. So when going to the bathroom or the pub one had to have a head-lamp screening the road ahead.
On the note of a frog comes a story that at the time of it happening scared the living daylight out of me. On the first evening in the camp stretched out the time before going to the toilet to the max. This of course made me not vigilant enough. After the job done turned around to flash the toilet and there I see, under the rim of the toilet seat a green frog! I jumped and screamed and runned out of the cubicle like a light. Later learned from Debden that the green frogs are not poisonous they just like to be near water….I rest my case!
The following days started early too – after a communal breakfast, cleaning of the kitchen and the tents we hopped onto the track and explored. It is now the wet season so we saw loads of flodways on the roads that blocked or even cut off places of interest. Debden was not short of alternatives and devised a new itinerary with places to visit. We saw areas that very few tourists see. We climbed the Cathedral Rock at Gubara with its beautiful heardly seen cave paintings as well as we swam in the waterhole.The following day we went to Ubbir. This place is the most famous out of all due to the large amounts of wall paintings that the tribe there dates back to their “dreamtime”. It was indeed a stunning display of various styles of paintings. Apparently the last painitng was painted there in the 1970s. We climbed – incl. Liz – the rock to get a 360 degree view of the land. Breathtaking it was!
On our last day on our way to Darwin we had a truly memorable pre-christmas party! We hit the road by 6am which gave us the magnificient morning light and the wildlife at that time of the day. Wallabies and kangaroos were running around in the bush away from the truck. It was such a joy to see them around in their habitat. Than we got to the famous majestic termite mounds. There were 3-4 meter high. 1 meter is done in 10 years time!! We stopped to took photos and moved on till the newly formed river blocked our way. Debden decided to turn around and get to the Florence Falls via another road. This added 3 hours of extra drive time but it was worth it. We had a wicked hour of bathing and frolicking in the Falls and after lunch came the best part. The rain started falling but the group wanted to have a dip in the Buley Rockholes. So what does one when in the 40 deg heat and rain? Stays in swim gear and walk in the bush while raining cats and dogs. This is what we did and it was an absolutly thrilling experience. 23rd December 2010!
Saw the Magnetic Termite Mounds….check it out why they called magnetic!!
That night in Darwin the majority of the group got together in the evening and had a great night together. Liz and Tim were flying to Sydney that night, Raffa was moving on to NZ but Boudil and Nat and I went on the next day.
Stage-two! The Track – Darwin to Alice Springs in 3 days!
Tour leader – aka Taxi driver as he called himself – Travers.
Passangers 7…international: Brits, Austrian, Norwegian, Izraeli & the Star of the group An (Chinesse Princess…). The distance to be covered was over 1500 km. Attractions along the tracks: Roadhouses, Katherine Gorge, more quarkey road houses (pubs really) cattle stations, animal refugee stations, Devils Marbles,the UFO pub of OZ, Telegraph stationsand the Tropic of
Capricorn.
It ws a LOOOONG boring drive but seeing all this places the journey was not boring at all! In one of the roadhouses the owner collects anything and everything from everywhere in the world. He even had money notes from Hungary and old Slovakian coins!! spoooky!!!
The group of 7 gelled together incredibly fast and well. Being Christmas Eve (day one) and a good stock taking from the Bottle Store in Katherine provided us with more than once can expect at the campsite. By the time we hit camp – which was the most welcoming one so far – the storm started brewing and I was praying for the “natural light-show” and the cooling rain! Travers ensured us that tonight it will be a “show” as this area is the area where the most lightning happens in the territory. We started off with a cool beer and chipped in and dinner was ready in an hour – Christmas Eve dinner – lamb-stew…and it was delish!
Sarah and Andy (English couple from London) had a fantastic selection of music on their ipods and a little amplifyer. It was suddenly party time! The pre-party was on the top of the truck watching the lightning that surrounded us with few bottles of beer than when the rain started pouring we runned around the camp in our swim gear and laughed out of joy! The rain got so heavy that we had to move into the kitchen tent and the vine surfaced…We partied till about 3am…dancing to national tunes, so Boudil danced the norwegian folk dance and Angelo (the Austrian with such a name!!) we danced the Hungarian csardas….it was fun-fun-fun! Then it was morning and few of us felt fragile!
Travers had a bus of sleepy heads till about the earlyt afternoon where we reached another road-house and had the hair of the dog and the party spirit got alive once again. This time it was a “disco in the truck”…the long staight road did our head in! Boring!! Travers was entertained till we got to camp 2 and than to Alice Springs.
Bless, most of our jokes targeted An who acted like an unripe teenager and a squealling spoiled brat…but she was fun at the time. In Alice we stayed in the same hostel – the Haven – with Nat and Boudil who where travelling on together to Adelaide.
Here again we had a tour after party at the famous Annies. It was not as furious as the one in Katherine on Xmas Eve, but it was a good night out!
I stayed only one night in Alice before hitting the road again to see Uluru, Kings Canyon. Another 4 day of camping and finally sleeping in the Ozzie swag under ther stars.
I met 2 of my travel companions a russian and a polish man well in their 50s the previous day. It gave me a thought of wonder, but did not dwelled to much into it.
Start day 28th December @ 6.20am. Luke collected me at the Haven with the two others. The surprise came when I entered the 4WD truck. The rest of the group were well over 50 by the look of them. I like the adventurous souls I really do, however I was not feeling thrilled by the prospect of having silly giggles while in the swag under the stars with these respectable citizens.
I could not keep my feelings unheard, so choose a moment and asked Luke whether there are any options to swap a group…Nope, you just have to go with a flow! So I did!
Luke is a professional: he got the hint after few words and took care of the group in their head office. The group got the upgrade on accomondation (tents with electricity, fan, linnen and towels provided) and a Host who will be cooking. Sweet as!
Day one of four was drive to reach Uluru before sunset. First stop was a Camel Farm. I did not know that the camels played a huge role in the exploration and development of infrastructure of OZ| in the late 1800s. They have been brought here from India and for some reason the people who tamed and look after them from a particular area of Pakistan got “christened” Afgans; hence the name of the famous train line The Ghan.
The camels helped a lot to lay the Overland Telegraph Line that transformed the center of this massive land.
Anyways, from the camel farm – we headed towards Yulara. It is a town near the Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) National Park. The first sight of the Rock was from about 60 km away…it is massive! I knew it is large but not this vast! I was in ore!
We got to our camp where the lunch was ready for us. The tents indeed were pure luxury after the rough and ready ones on my previous trip! After lunch we headed to the Ewing Outlook for a spectacular first sight of the Rock. It took my breath away! I am here!! I am seeing the Rock!
I read about it a lot and now in front of my eyes the reality seemed a dream!I was extatic!
Before sunset we went of a walk in the Walpa Gorge of the Kata Tjuta. Here I felt that “they were waiting for me”…I am not able to put my shivers into words, but THIS place has an unbelieaveble power and the spirits are there to hear you out…
The Olgas are 36 dome rock formations and are THE most sacret place of the Aboriginals. It is a “Gentlemen’s Club”…no women (Aboriginal) are allowed to visit. Uluru is “the meeting point” where there are sites that are strictly for men or women to worship and initiation ceremonies.
The Rock and the Kata Tjuta are part of the Aboriginal Dreamtime and the myths (for them true and sacred like the Bible) live on being passed on from generation to generation by word of mouth.
Luke shared his knowledge with great presto on Aboriginal culture as well as on geographycal facts in a most entertaining fashion. The info stuck or it is recorded on a photo and serves me as the trigger – knowledge on the hard drive! (-:
The sun began its climb downwards and our truck headed to the sunset viewing point. It was an exodus of people there!! Heaps of busses and private cars. There was a BBQ truck serving the guests!! Beer bottles and champagne glasses clinging! THANK GOD Adventure Tours has its own private sections of viewing area where there is calm and privacy.
Briskly upon arrival Luke got the table standing and from a very pretty old fashinoned wooden box appeared the champagne flutes! What a treat to accompany the sunset that was approaching fast and furious. The colours of the Rock changed so fast the the human eye could not register it. Took a photo every two minutes just to see the change. The event was mesmerising!
As the last rays left the top of the Rock silence prevailed…there was not much to say but see.
Upon arrival to the camp dinner was ready to be served – Kanagaroo steak and camel sausages! Mouthwateringly tasty dinner it was I have to admit. After dinner Luke played the did and I did have a go too….was fun! The group retired into their tents as the next morning was a 4.00 am rise to catch the sunrise at Uluru. Luke and I grabbed the swags and headed to sleep under the stars.
We talked into the night and giggled a lot. Searched the sky for familiar constalations and got surprised by the “Russian Spy and the Polish Assistant of his”…(-:
I could not sleep as I felt I am missing out on so much beauty just by staring at the stars, but eventually we both fell asleep. When the alarm went off at 3.30 the Moon was shining amongst the still visible stars – magic! When stood up from the swag ahead of me was Uluru still in partial darkness but visible by the outline. What a view to wake up to! Once in a lifetime!
We headed back to camp had breakfast with the group and off we went for the sunrise. We were the first ones on the viewing platform that alike at sunset last night became the place of exodus just before 5.30. It was noisy and very touristy…)-:
The sunrise regardless was spectacular. To enjoy it one had to “wrap silence around oneself” and block all the distruction out. The colours changed fast and to me the Rock “woke” up too to a new day.
After sunrise most of us did the Base Walk around the Rock which is 9.3 kms!! Did you know that!? I was very much looking forward to this walk. I wanted to do it alone. The Russian and the Polak was hanging back as the Polak filmed a lot, but they saw me hanging back even more and speeded up. It was so peaceful around the Rock at that time of the morning. Warning sighns were there to let one know of sections of the Rock where no photos can be taken or being stepped on the land. I searched at this areas for rock formations on the Rock that will gave away some sacred vibes…some I found that I felt they may be the Ones.
The walk took me over 2 hours and the group was waiting for me…surprise!! They were giving me the cold shoulder for a while but it was over before dinner.
From Uluru we headed to Kings Canyon Camp via the Amadeus Salt Lakes. This camp was again very neat and we had the best Host, Tristan. He made a very very tasty chicken with macadamia nuts sauce that it was so good we had it for lunch the next day too! It was his b’day too!
Here again the group retired and like the previous night Luke and I grabbed the swags and went into the dark. This place has less light pollution that gave an extra sharpness to the light from the sky. It was magic!
The walk in the Kings Canyon was the second top highlight! Mindboggling beauty with traces of history millions of years…incomprehensible! There is a section that once was the bottom of the sea – the ripples are etched into the rock!!
Luke found few bush tuckers – tasted the bush tomato that looks like little round tomatini but tastes awful. However, if it is your life you will have it to survive!
The Garden of Eden – the bottom part of the Canyon – had a lake and many plam trees. It was lush and shady to rest for a while.
From the Kings Canyon we headed to the majestic site of Glen Helen via another powerful site of Goose Bluff (Tnoralla). This is a crater from millions of years ago and it is a special place for the Aboriginals. The story/Legend is the Legend of the Seven sisters when one of the Dancing Ladies (aka the Milky way) puts her baby to sleep into the crater. When I saw the crater in distance it has a strong, strange vibe – somehow even uncomfortable. But the more I stared at it the more it “called” for me. Maureen the “mighty” lady of the group (she was wicked and the wisest!! of them all!) said the same. She felt the power too. Luke told the story that one of his mates went there with a group and shortly after they arrived the wind picked up and out of the blue it was raining cats and dogs! Spooky!!
The Glen Helen resort topped it all – we went to watch the sunset over the McDonnell ranges and it was just out of this world! The best on this trip – sorry Uluru!!
BUT before this magic we had a swim in the Ormiston Gorge that did round the day perfect! It was balm for the soul to swim there! Cool waters and colours from the palette of a painter. Bespoke!
This time it was a night in the tent…never again! It was stiffling in there with few mice running around as my night-company! ….
And it was the last day of 2010!
On our way back to Alice we visited the famous Aboriginal painters Albert Namatjira’s house near Hermannsburg and then Hermannsburg itself. Sadly the cultural center was closed due to holidays, but we drove around to see this aborginal settlement settled by the missionaries in the early 1900s.
After this Palm Valley awaitied and this was the time when the 4WD action came it! I LOVED it!! and wanted to squeek out spontaneously at the ride, but it was a “conservative” environment in the truck and this bumpy road was not particularly appreciated!…so to say!
Maureen was next to Luke on the way there and me on the return journey and it was JUST what my heart desired!! I could scream out of joy and Luke did a very good job of driving! I wish I could have tried….desire on the ever growin To Do List!
Back in Alice the group said bye but in Alice people tend to meet again!
This is how I met again Petra and Battista in the Casino just before midnight and spent some good time remembering moments for the trip again!
It is now the 8th January and I am still in the YHA Alice chilling and digesting all the magic and beauty I have seen and experienced over the Festive Period.
I am greatful to have met 3 groups of lovely people and 3 outstanding guides who enriched my life with theirs.
As it is my first and possibly the longest post this year, I would like to wish all my Friends who follow my shennanigans a happy, healthy New Year 2011!
Just a few pics out of the more than 11 hundred to wet your appetite!
