Stuck in Alice

Monday 13^th June to Tuesday 21^st June

We left Kings Canyon at about 10.00 and headed back to the Lassiter Highway 160km away.  Then we headed west out to the ERLDUNDA ROADHOUSE on the ADELAIDE to ALICE SPRINGS Highway.  We stopped there for fuel and lunch.  On our way down to ULURU, we had also stopped ERLDUNDA for fuel and lunch.  At that time it was extremely busy, and we had to queue for fuel.  We found the same situation again when we arrived this time.  There were six cars and caravans lined up waiting to get fuel.  This place must be a Gold Mine for its owners.

While we were at ERLDUNDA getting fuel, Christel had rung ahead to the caravan park in ALICE SPRINGS that we had stayed at on our trip down. They were booked out, but luckily the second camp ground she tried, could take us.

All fuelled up, we started the long drag north to ALICE SPRINGS, arriving there at about 4.30pm, making it our longest days travel so far, at 482km.  We have now clocked up 10,368 km with the caravan, about bang on target for our estimated 20,000km for the entire trip.

We are jammed in like sardines in this park,

but we have good neighbours, and two sites down from us is a 8 year old boy travelling around Aussie with his parents, and he and Cameron hit it off right from the word go.  Consequently we haven’t seen much of Cameron since we got here.  Like Cameron, he is also being home schooled by his mother, so they both know there’s no play until the school work’s been done each morning.

For the last couple of weeks my back has been giving me hell, I think I stuffed it lifting the generator while we were at Curtin Springs.  Anyhow, it got to the point that I have got in touch with a Chiropractor here in ALICE SPRINGS and am now getting some treatment for it.  So far he’s certainly helping, so we will stay here until I’m fixed.  Hopefully, no more than a week. 

In the meantime we have been catching up on the blogs, as you will have noticed, getting ahead with school work, and doing numerous other chores.  We are also doing some more sightseeing, albeit a bit slow on my behalf. On Thursday we checked out EMILY and JESSIE Gaps, which are gorges through the Eastern MacDonnell Ranges.  Quite picturesque, but not a patch on SIMPSONS GAP and STANDLEY CHASM.

As we were leaving the camp to go into town the other day, we saw this set up arriving at the camp. 

What a great way to tour Australia. The ‘Tow vehicle’ is a vintage LANZ BULLDOG Tractor.  It is unique in that its engine consists of only one cylinder, and it has a very distinctive pop, pop sound when it is running.

On Friday we visited the Australian Reptile Centre here in Alice Springs.  It was brilliant.  A very informative talk on all the reptiles kept at the centre, with a special part dedicated to Australia’s Venomous Snakes, how to identify them, what to do if you come across a snake, and what action to take in the unlikely event that you get bitten.  It was reassuring to learn that everything we had read, and told Cameron, was spot on.

During the talk we got to hold several different lizards including The Blue Tongue, Frilled Lizard, and the Sand Goanna.  After the snake talk, we got to hold an Olive Python, similar in size to the Black Headed Python we had encountered at Barrow Creek.  The centre had most of Australia’s deadliest snakes on display, including the Inland Python and the Eastern Brown, which are the second and third most deadly snakes in the world. 

It was interesting to learn that Australian snakes have very short fangs, about 2 to 3 mm in length, which means if you are wearing shoes and long pants and they bite you, invariably their fangs are not long enough to penetrate your clothing, and so they are unable to inject their venom into your skin.  A comforting thought, but how are we going to convince Cameron to run around in socks and shoes and long pants in the hot northern climate?

The centre also had a Salt water Crocodile on display which we could view through an underwater viewing tank.  Quite impressive.

On Sunday afternoon we took a drive out to the old mission settlement of HERMANNSBURG, about 120 km west of ALICE SPRINGS.  HERMANNSBURG is quite significant in the history of Australia, in that it was the first settlement in central Australia.  It was established in the 1870’s by German Missionaries, and most of the original buildings are still standing. 

It was incredible what those early missionaries achieved, and what they managed to build, thousands of miles from the nearest habitation, with only the tools they had carried in with them.  How they managed to survive is almost beyond belief.  To their credit HERMANNSBURG still operates as a mission today.

Apart from the old buildings there is also a supermarket and a garage to support the 100 or so local aborigines living in the government built houses that make up the community.  After visiting the old buildings we took a drive around the rest of the community.  Most of the streets had big signs up at the entrance forbidding visitors from entering the streets, and from taking photographs.

It was no wonder they didn’t want anyone taking photos, the conditions they were living in made the Inglewood Dump look like Buckingham Palace.  Piles of rubbish everywhere, and thousands of plastic bags blowing in the wind and wrapping themselves in the fences.  Most of the houses were concrete block with no windows and doors, and every house had at least one wrecked car, most of them two or three, lying on the section, and hundreds of skinny dogs running around.

A really depressing sight, and the worst indictment yet that we had seen against these people.  This, added to the fact that we have to hold our breath each time we pass them in the street, does nothing to endear them to us.  We have long ago given up on one of our original intentions on this trip, and that was to try and get permission to go into one of the aboriginal communities to get to know them better.  Sad, but a fact of life, one we had not expected to be confronted with.

Tomorrow, Wednesday we will be on the road again. The chiropractor has managed to get me walking upright again, so we will head north, and hope my back keeps improving as we continue on towards DARWIN.

Kings Canyon

Saturday 11^th June

The drive from YULARA RESORT to KINGS CANYON was the first stage of our return journey of just over 1000 km back to TENNANT CREEK, before heading north over new ground towards DARWIN.  About 140 km from YULARA we turned north towards KINGS CANYON 170 km away.

KINGS CANYON is a National Park enclosing a huge canyon with spectacular rock formations.  We checked in to the Camp Ground, and while we were setting up camp, Cameron went off and introduced himself to some of the neighbours.  After setting up the van, we drove to the Canyon itself, about 10 km away.  There are two walks available at the Canyon.  One along the canyon floor, which takes about an hour, and the other around the rim of the canyon, which takes about three and a half hours.

We decided to do the floor walk, leaving the longer rim walk for tomorrow.  It was quite a spectacular walk along the floor of the canyon with the late afternoon sun hitting the canyon walls. 

Back at camp Cameron quickly disappeared to talk to the neighbours who had a couple of dogs which he liked playing with.  We had been told that wild dingoes were frequent visitors to the camp, and in fact one or two were seen on most nights.  Cameron was most impressed with this information and kept a constant dingo lookout.  During our stay, he was lucky enough to see four as they came skulking around the camp.  Unfortunately Christel and I didn’t manage to see any.

Sunday 12^th June

Happy Birthday, Joe.  Crikey 83, and you don’t look a day older than 72. 

The rim walk started with a 100 metre climb up to the top of the canyon. 

Once on top it was a relatively easy walk through some magnificent rock formations with several lookouts down into the canyon itself.  Breathtaking stuff.   Some of the shapes created by millions of years of erosion by the elements were amazing. 

In one place there were wave patterns worn into the rock surface, the remains of an inland sea from hundreds of millions of years ago.

While we had to contend with a cold wind, we could imagine how hot it must get in the summer time, with the sun reflecting off the bare rock.  How plants and trees manage to survive in those harsh conditions is amazing.

One tree, the Red River Gum, has an amazing trick to help it survive.  While conditions are good, it grows like a normal tree, but when a drought occurs, it cuts off the supply of water and nutrients to some of its branches, which then die off allowing the tree to concentrate what water it can get, to the rest of its structure.  The harsher the drought, the more branches it will kill off.  And who says plants can’t think?  And just in case you think I am pulling your leg, here are a couple of photos of branches this tree has decided to kill off, in order to survive. 

Other trees have developed in Bonsai form in order to survive.  Isn’t nature clever?

For me, this was one of the most amazing walks I had ever done.

Back at camp, Cameron joined the neighbours while they took their dogs for a walk and we never saw him again until it got dark.  While we were cooking tea, a lady called at the van saying she was part of a travelling show, and that we were invited to join them at the camp barbeque room after tea.  She promised it would be good fun and to bring our booze and cameras.

Having nothing better to do we wandered along and found about 50 other campers there as well.  The show was just the lady and her husband, and started off pretty slow with them singing a few songs.  We were debating about going back to the caravan where it was warmer, when, during a spell from singing, the lady came and saw us, and asked Cameron if he wanted to go up on stage with some of the other kids, and be part of the band.  He didn’t have to be asked twice.

First he had to bang some sticks together to keep time, then, he had to play a rattle stick, which was a long pole with rattles on it, which he had to bang on the ground in time to their singing. 

After that, they sat him down in front of the stage and gave him a didgeridoo about 2 meters long, stuck a microphone on the end of it, and told everyone that Cameron was now going to demonstrate a special talent that not even his mum and dad knew about.

Then they started singing Waltzing Matilda, and every now and then they would stop and the didgeridoo would emit these rather loud horrible farting sounds.  Everyone was in stitches.  Of course Cameron was just sitting there holding the thing.  It was all pre recorded, but the effect was bloody funny. We got the didgeridoo bit on our video, but it’s too long to post on the blog.

Then they announced that the children would now be getting their fathers up to help the band.  The photos speak for themselves. 

Then of course I had to go and get Christel up for her bit.  She became a member of the ‘LICE GIRLS’, because the lady doing the show said they hadn’t managed to wash the wigs the girls were wearing, and they were full of lice.

So, after a rather slow start, we ended up having a very enjoyable evening.  We were all rewarded for our participation, with ‘diplomas’ and lollies.  What a great day we’d had, and what a great way to celebrate Joe’s Birthday.



Uluru and the Olgas

Thursday 9^th June

Woke up to a finer day. Still very overcast with a cold wind, but at least it wasn’t raining.

We had been watching the forecast on the laptop and they were predicting that the weather would gradually improve.  Wanting to save the best day possible for our walk around ULURU, we decided that today we would drive down to the OLGAS, which are about 45 km west of ULURU, and do the walk tomorrow.

The OLGAS are a range of huge rounded hills, which are actually about 200 meters higher than ULURU.  Their outline against the skyline can be seen for miles. 

They are not as striking as ULURU but well worth a visit never the less.  It was freezing cold but we took a walk into a gorge between two of the rock formations.  A bit like going into Simpsons Gap with huge towering walls of rock either side of us.

On the way to the OLGAS, we passed the intersection of the road leading out to the border  with Western Australia, and the Aborigine Settlement of DOCKER RIVER, about 260km away.   It is a dirt road, and after the recent rain looked like this.  It would be interesting driving 260 km over a road like this. 

A bit past the intersection we saw this wild camel.  As soon as we stopped the car to take a photo, it moved off into the scrub.

After we got back to ULURU we had another drive around it, and were surprised at how different it looked when it wasn’t raining, so naturally more photos had to be taken. 

We called in at one view point, which was a water hole at the base of the rock which had been used by the Aborigines for thousands of years. 

There was large overhang of rock nearby which they had used for a shelter, and of course drawings on the walls.

On our return to the caravan we got talking to our neighbours and found out they were fellow kiwis from Auckland.

Friday 10^th June

Today was the big day for our walk around the rock.  It was a beautiful clear day but with a cold wind blowing.  On the way from YULARA down to ULURU, we saw the same herd of wild camels we had seen yesterday, only this time they were a lot closer to the road and we got some better photos.

The walking track around ULURU is a flat wide path, at times running right against the base, and at other times about 100 meters out.  This was usually to avoid ‘Sacred Areas’, and were well signposted requesting you not to enter the area or take photos.  The walk is 10.6km long.

With the sun shining on it, it was a lot redder in colour than the previous two days.  We started at the car park beside the summit climbing track, and immediately ran into busloads of tourists with their guides. 

We weren’t looking forward to fighting our way through them for the whole 10km walk, but luckily they were only on about the first kilometre.  Probably as far as they were allowed from their buses.

For the rest of the walk we basically had the track to our selves, only meeting about 20 other people over the whole walk. There were several places where the rock was over hung forming partial caves and many of them showed signs of early Aboriginal habitation and rock drawings.

The summit climb itself was closed for the whole three days we were there.  Firstly due to the rain, and then due to high winds.  It is a bit peculiar with signs at the start of the summit climb asking you not to climb the rock out of respect for the Aborigines, as they consider it to be sacred, and right beside these signs, are other signs telling you what precautions, etc you should take when climbing it.  Apparently about 76% of visitors to the rock used to climb it, but now it is down to about 34%.

Seems a bit strange to me.  Either it is sacred and nobody should climb it, or it isn’t sacred, and anybody who wants to, can climb it.  But then of course throw in the $25 that each tourist is paying for a three day pass to enter the park, and the situation becomes a bit more confusing.  We had decided before we arrived that we wouldn’t climb it, so the fact that the climb was closed anyhow made no difference to us.

On the road leading up towards ULURU, there was a large off road car park that was sign posted ‘Sunset Viewing ‘, and we decided we would come back to catch the sunset which was due at about 6.00 pm.  We decided that to ensure we got a good spot, we should get their early, and duly arrived at 5.00pm, only to find just about every possible viewing place already taken.  

Several groups were set up with picnic tables and chairs, crackers, cheese and wine, really getting into a party mood.  Obviously it was the thing to do.  Luckily we got a good spot at the extreme far end of the car park, and by quarter to six there were literally thousands of people lined up along the fence with their cameras at the ready.

As the sun sank lower and lower, and the rock gradually changed from one colour to the next, cameras started clicking, and a hush gradually settled over the whole place, as everyone became spellbound at the spectacle that was happening in front of us. What an amazing event to witness. No wonder this place attracts thousands of tourists every year.

It was with very mixed emotions that we turned our back on ULURU and headed back to our camping ground. Tomorrow, Saturday, we would head back along the Lasseter Highway towards the ERLDUNDA turnoff, for about 140km, and then head north to KINGS CANYON.