Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Rock wallaby - Simpson's Gap
Very difficult to spot, but we finally found a few. (Pic taken in Red centre, Australia)
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Stew cooked on the campfire
4 day experience - camping and touring the red centre of the Australian outback
Spinifex hopping mouse
Australian native - marsupial mouse at our camp in the Australian red centre.
Uluru at sunset
Uluru at sunset, a photo by thewideblueyonder on Flickr.
The purpose of the the trip - seeing for real what we had seen in however many pictures before. This was the end of a long day#1 of our four day organised tour with 'Intrepid'. We were picked up from our motel in Alice Springs about 6.20 am. We picked up another person then headed off in a 24-seater 4x4 bus for the 450 km approx journey to Yulara - which is about 12 km from Uluru. The trip was fast and roads nearly empty - 450 km is much faster in outback Australia than a journey of similar length would be in NZ. The group numbered 12 at the most which made the tour very comfortable. It would not have been so good with a full complement of 24. There is something to be said for traveling in a recession. This was peak tourist season as well. For the record the group comprised an Italian couple on honeymoon, 5 Germans from Munich (2 groups - the city in common was coincidental), an American, a Japanese lady, an Aussie nurse from Sydney, and us. Most of the others had flown into Yulara and met the tour group there. Day #1 of the trip had involved a stop at an outback 'roadhouse' and at a camel farm where we declined the opportunity for camel rides. We entered the Uluru/Kata Tjuta National Park and visited the cultural centre there - that was well worth a look.
Terry (our driver and guide) drove around one side of Uluru and took us to a point from where we could walk around the other side to finish at the main car park which is also the point from where people may climb Uluru (despite being asked 100 times not to!). No-one in our group had any inclination to climb the rock. The walk was a good couple of hours and well worth doing. At the end of the day we drove to a car park some distance from the rock where all of the various tour groups in the area assembled. Champagne, wine and snacks were served while we could watch the colours of Uluru change as the sun went down.
Gift shop truck - Alice Springs
Gift shop truck, a photo by thewideblueyonder on Flickr.
We arrived in Alice Springs on the Ghan early in the afternoon. After finding our accommodation we had an hour or so for exploring the shopping area of Alice Springs. We saw this cute truck belonging to a gift store. We also encountered the 'Galah' parrots in this street for the first time. We would see a lot more galahs on the trip.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
25 hours - Adelaide to Alice Springs
The Ghan - interior (wagon R). 25 hours from Adelaide to Alice Springs by train. The Ghan continues after a few hours stop at 'the Alice' to Darwin. These was the cheapest class - "Red seater". It was as comfortable a seat as I have had on any train anywhere. They reclined a long way and we could sleep quite comfortably. At A$170 approx the train is about the same price as the cheapest Qantas flight. Sleepers are a lot more expensive. The journey was well worth it for the changing landscapes from the city of Adelaide to the green farmland followed by vast fields of canola up to somewhere beyond Port Augusta. By sunset we were properly into the 'Outback'. By sunrise the next day the train was traveling through the Central Australian desert, but it was surprisingly green for what I had expected. Alta likened the landscapes to the Karoo in South Africa - said any homesick South Africans could get a fix of a familiar world with a quick trip to outback Australia. Apparently the desert had substantial rains early in 2010 and this was enough to sustain much green vegetation well into August.
The Ghan
We took the Ghan to the centre of Australia: Alice Springs. Tomorrow morning - 450 km x 4 x 4 to Uluru...
Fiske river
P1080743, a photo by thewideblueyonder on Flickr.
Crossing the Fiske river on the Ghan train. I think this was a couple of hours South of Alice Springs. There is barely a puddle left in it after the rains from earlier in the year. The organised tour to Uluru and other outback places would bring us back to the Fiske river.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Hahndorf near Adelaide
Hahndorf is an historic German settlement near Adelaide and reminds of Irene near Pretoria, Clarens in the Free State, Dullstroom, Pilgrims Rest.. See the Flickr feed in the right column for more pics.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Adelaide today
These are our first pictures of Adelaide - taken around North Terrace. It is a very attractive city laid out in a grid pattern, with many sandstone buildings and a clear green belt separating the inner city from greater Adelaide.
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