So after Lulu left I flew from Cairns to Melbourne for 2 nights the idea being to start the process for my Chinese visa but to cut a long story short they wanted the receipt for my Aussie Visa which I didn't have with me and there wasn't engouh time to get it before they closed so I had to give up on that idea as on the Tuesday I was flying out to Alice Springs to do a 3 day 2 night tour of the outback and Ayers Rock.
The flight up to Alice Springs was good and took a couple of hours and we flew over landscape that would not have looked out of place on Mars - huge rock formations that looked like the spines of giant monsters. Eventually we landed in Alice Springs which was much greener that I tought it would be and also alot bigger. After waiting for our bags for nearly 40 minutes and watching giant beetles running across the carpet in the arrivals hall we piled into the van to take us to the backpackers and I met Janita and Jayshree and Anna and her mother who were all doing the tour of the outback with me.
Once at the hsotel we couldn't get into the rooms straight away so I dumped my bags and headed into town to have a look round and get some food, water and a hat with a fly net round it as I had heard that the flies in the outback are really bad (that was an understatement). It was here that I had my first real interactions with the Aborginal people and I have to say I did feel quite intimidated as they shout at each other quite aggressively and hang around in groups all over the town. So my trip was quick and then I headed back to the hostel and sat by the pool and read for the rest of the afternoon before dinner, shower and an early night as it was a 5am start in the morning.
Wilbo our guide picked us up at 6am and we headed off into the outback our first main stop being Kings Canyon. We stopped at a few road houses along the way to use toilets and this is where we got our first taste of the flies, my god are they persistant and they just want to get in your ears, eyes and up your nose and you end up doing this rather manic dance as you try to swat them off you, its no wonder people go mad out there.
We had a packed lunch on the bus before we tackled what is reassuringly called Heart Attack Hill at Kings canyon and I'll never forget Jayshrees words of optimism at the bottom "It doesn't look that bad", my god it was a killer and I'm so glad that it was a cloudy day I drank a litre of water just getting up that hill and I thought my legs were going to give out by the time we got to the top. Once up there thought the views were amazing and we spend 2 hours walking aorudn the top of the Canyon and Wilbo told us about the history of the place, the flora and fauna it was fascinating and incredibly beautiful. At one point we went odwn to a place called the Garden of Eden where there I a pool of water that some people went swimming in, I just dangled my feet in as it was freezing.
Once back down we headed out to our first camp site near Mount Connor, first of all thought we had to stop and collect fire wood from beside the road ... reassured by Wilbo telling us to watch the splinters because they're poisonous! After that we stopped at the Mount Connor look out to watch the sun set before hitting the last bottle shop before we got back to Alice Springs. We were quite refrained really the other tour bus travelling along with us bought 900 beers, there were 21 of them on the bus!!
So our first night we slept in swags under the stars, dinner was cooked partly on the fire and partly on a gas stove and was so yummy and Wilbo showed us how to make a traditional bread. It was unfortunately during the cooking of the dinner that we had our first casualty of the trip and Javier (Happy Havy) threw some wood onto the fire and a load of embers jumped out on to his feet burning the tops of both his feet really really badly, thank goodness we had Anna who was a nurse on board.
Sleep was a little disturbed as I kept waking up and remembering I was sleeping under the stars and just couldn't stop staring at them I've never seen so many stars. Anyway we were up and about at 5am and left camp at 6am as the sun was rising to head for Yulara to sign in to our new camp site and then head into the National Park and walk up to the Olgas. It was then that the trip felt like it was turnign into a disaster movie as firstly nicole trapped her little toe and the one next to it in the hinge of the bus door, the bus had a blow out and just as we got that fixed Marcus started violently throwing up.
We eventually made it to the Olgas and left Marcus in the shade with water and food and we headed off on our walk. I think it lasted about an hour and a half and was amazing, the way the rocks have formed is just outstanding and there is a really spritiual feeling about them its like you can feel the history all around you and the ghosts of those who were the originals owners of the area. Little is known of the histroy of the Olgas as it is kept sacred by the Aboriginals but it is known it was an area of punishment and initiation. Breathtaking!!
It was also here that I saw my first wild Kangaroo, it was stood pretty much right beside me and I didn't notice it until someone pointed it out and I just couldn't get my camera out quick enough but I did get some shots of it as it hopped off, amazing creatures.
After that we headed back to camp for lunch and a swim in the pool, unfortunately about 50 Aussie school kids had the same idea so it was a little packed in the pool but nice to cool down. We then headed out to Ayers Rock where we had a look round the culutral centre and learnt about the Dreamings, the history of Ayres Rock and about the conservation of the area. There is also a book in the centre filled with letters from people who have either climbed the rock or have taken a piece of the rock away with them apologising because awful things have happened to them after that. None of our group climbed the rock out of respect for the Aboriginals not to mention that it looked like a killer climb quite literally as there are no hand rails and its pretty steep.
After this we headed to the Ayres Rock look out for a beer as the sunset and to see the changing colours of the Rock as the sunsets. We also had dinner here which would have been nice had there not been so many damn flies. Back at camp we showered, charged cameras and then sat round the fire and had a sing song with another group it was a nice evening.
5am start again the following day and we went to watch the sunrise at Uluru which was brilliant and we had breakfast there as well before hitting the road for the longe and arduous journey back to Alice Springs. We did stop on the way for a bit of Camel riding fun where we got to race camels, Marcus and I were up against Eva and Javier and we reckon we won!!
All the way back we were singing and dancing on the bus and coming into Alice Springs everyone was on their feet for the black Eyed Peas - Tonights Gonna Be a Good Night which we had butchered and instead of singing ooooooooh ooooh after I goota feeling we were singing Uluruuuuuuuuuuuuu and this was before alcohol was added.
Once back we showered, changed and headed into town for a slap up meal of kangaroo steak and copious amounts of wine, beer and funny looking shots. It was a great night and it was sad to be saying good bye to people we had got on so well as a group.
The following day there were actually 7 of us on the flight back to Melbourne so the beers were cracked at the ariport and we managed to drink them dry on the flight quite literally, all good fun and a trip that was well worth it the outback is just an amazing place so harsh but has some of tyhe prettiest flowers and plants I have sen anywhere, has incredible amounts of wild life and the landscape is like nothing I have ever seen before.
So my last few days in Melbourne I finally got my visa for China, I restocked on essentials, met up with the girls fro mthe Uluru trip for a bit of a session in St Kilda which was fun and managed to rub shoulders with Michael Schumacher whilst I was there.
On my second to last day I did a day trip on the Great Ocean Road which Lulu had told me was fab so I thought I'd give it a go. The weather wasn't brilliant to start with and our guide was a bit strange (lucky me got to sit in the front next to him) but by the time the afternoon arrived the sun had come out and we got to see the Twelve Apostel and London Bridge in their full glory. Again we saw koalas in the wild, walked round a really pretty rainforest, had lunch in Apollo Bay which I'm sure is beautiful in the sunshine, and walked around and down a gorge whose name escapes me but was really lovely. Another trip that was well worth it.
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