The Red Centre

Ayers Rock, The Olgas, Kings Canyon, and the West MacDonnell Ranges is collectively called the mighty Red Centre of Australia. Yet what we found, was not what we had expected at all! An endlessly flat, barren, and obviously red terrain is what we had in mind. Instead, we were surprised it was not flat at all, and the vegetation was quite lush (which can be attributed to good rainfall of late, so we learnt). So, from the comfort of your lounge room, devoid of dust, mice, rats and persistent flies, we hope you enjoy the Arid beauty of the Red Centre as much as we did! 

AYERS ROCK

Happy to be leaving Coober Pedy behind, we began our 750km dash to Ayers Rock. Somewhere along the remote road, we stopped at a roadhouse for lunch, (which turned out not to be such a good idea for a pregnant lady still fighting nausea). Imagine this... A group of pigeons hanging around you that look like they have flown through fire and possibly barbed wire. They looked SO manky and disgusting. Avoiding the hideous, inbreed, deformed pigeons, you decide to look only at your feet as you walk across the grass. That turns out to be an even worse idea as there are dead mice all over the grass which you have to side step. As you approach the car and camper, your husband then sweetly asks you what you would like for lunch!! Needless to say, that was the final straw... I lost all contents of my stomach! 

Recovering from the roadhouse trauma, we pushed on and as we got closer, we caught our first glimpse of Ayers Rock!... Or was it?...

Who knew there was another rock near Ayers Rock that looks similar! This was actually Mt Conner, not Ayers Rock. I felt Ayers Rock was not so special now, knowing it had a look-a-like cousin nearby! 

20kms from Ayers Rock is Ayers Rock Resort. It is the only place you can camp and we were amazed at what we found. It was like a small town in the middle of nowhere! It had multiple motels, restaurants, cafe's, a shopping centre with an ANZ bank, post office, hairdresser and IGA Supermarket. We also had full phone service. It was the most civilised place we had been since leaving Adelaide! 

The following day, we decided to relax as I was not feeling great. Geoff returned from the shops with a gift to keep me occupied...

It was a book about real life-threatening situations that locals and overseas tourist have faced while travelling around Australia - and it was AWESOME! A lot of the places where the dramas unfold, we have been too which just made it all the more thrilling. Only problem is, it's not the best book to read before going to sleep! Some of the stories, I have heard about before, some of which on our travels around Australia. Why would you read this, you ask? Well, at least I'm informed now about what NOT to do in certain situations!

 I shall tell you one story about an Austrian couple who in 1998 drove to Lake Eyre along the same rough track that we did. They hired a 4WD, and informed the staff at the William Creek Hotel of their plans to drive out to the Lake for 2 days. They arrived at Lake Eyre around 5.30pm on Monday and as they reversed their car, they got bogged in the sand. They had no real training in how to handle a 4WD. Karl knew he needed to deflate the tyres, but he didn't deflate them sufficiently. They spent the next day desperately trying to dig themselves out, but to no avail. The temperature in the shade was 40 degrees and in the sun 15-20 degrees hotter. By Wednesday afternoon, they were starting to freak out and decided to walk 70kms back to William Creek along the corrugated track with no shade. They walked late into the night, then stopped to rest for a few hours. At 2am on Thursday morning, they continued walking but Karl began to feel ill and couldn't keep going. Gabriele reasoned that she was better at tolerating the heat and so she would keep walking. Karl decided to walk back to the car where there was plenty of food and water. On Saturday, back at the William Creek Pub, they had been so busy with other tourists they hadn't checked the log book to see if anyone was missing. They forgot all about Karl and Gabriele. The following Tuesday, two German tourists travelled along the same rough track to Lake Eyre. Tragically, they discovered the body of Gabriele who had died from heat exhaustion. Sadly, in her quest for help, she had walked past water bores, water troughs, and a 400L water tank that was half full. Not too long later, the police found Karl with the car, still alive. The worst thing is, the police simply let the tyres deflate sufficiently, and spent 10 mins digging out their bogged car and simply drove out effortlessly. Moral to this story: ALWAYS STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE. 

Geoff also returned from the shops with a 6 pack of beer, which I later learnt costs $38!!! Not happy.

After our day of rest and relaxation, we drove to the famous rock (now officially known as Uluru) to check it out. It was SO amazing, photo's don't do it justice. It was HUGE, yet so strange having no folage on it at all. Its the largest sandstone rock in the world! Geoff says it is the most awe-inspiring thing he has seen on our trip so far...

38 people have died climbing Ayers Rock, mostly from heart attacks and a few falls. It is SUCH a steep climb and safety seems to be 3rd world standards. But it was a mountain that needed to be conquered, so we gave it a go. It was tough, but the 360 degree views from the top were totally worth it...

You can see the degree of steepness here when you compare it to the horizon...

One morning whilst staying at the Ayers Rock Resort, my loving Husband was kindly making me a fried egg on toast for breakfast. I overheard him say to himself, "If MasterChief was about cooking eggs, I reckon I'd give it a crack!"... obviously impressed with his culinary skills!

THE OLGAS

The next day we drove 50kms to The Olgas (now officially known as Kata Tjuta, which means 'many heads'). We did a walk into the Walpa Gorge.

 On our last night at the Ayers Rock Resort Campground, Geoff was approached by a man who said, "Do you remember me? Back in Coober Pedy I lost the tyre of my roof. I saw you here and recognised you and just wanted to thank you again". After chatting for a bit, Geoff discovered Steve was actually from the small town of Wagoon (where Geoff had found a bunch of long lost Adams relatives). Turns out Steve knows all the Adams we met! Small world. He also gave Geoff $40 to buy some beer to say how grateful he was for the tyre thing. Turns out that ridiculous $38 6pack just got paid for! 

We moved on from Ayers Rock and headed to Kings Canyon. Along the way we spotted our first wild camels. I asked Geoff if he knew what a group of camels is called. He quickly replied, "A Range. A range of Camels... Cause when you look at a group of 'em, their humps look like a mountain range!". 

Google suggests it to be a herd, a caravan, a flock or a train of camels. 

Paddymelons line the sides of the roads. You can't eat them though. 

We also spotted our first dingo.

KINGS CANYON

The most amazing thing about Kings Canyon is the different rock formations. We did a 6km hike around the rim of the canyon. Im afraid about half way, I had the hugest, projectile vomit of my whole pregnancy! Thankfully there were no other tourist around at the time. I found it to be a tough walk because I was feeling sick but it was so scenic and once again safety was not a priority. Just a sign here and there suggesting a giant cliff edge. 

WEST MACDONNELL RANGES

We took the Mereenie Loop from Kings Canyon to Alice Springs. A permit is needed to travel on a section of this road that is owned by the Aboriginals. We had to laugh at their humour for their road signs. Before a sharp corner, there was an old, rusted drum with hand painted words, "Lift um foot", and after the corner another drum, "Put em back down". 

We found the most stunning free camp along the way on the Finke River. It was so serene, and beautiful we decided to stay 2 nights and just enjoy God's beautiful creation. This was the view from our camper...

(We even braved a swim in the freezing Finke River late one afternoon)

Not being huge bird enthusiasts, we actually really enjoyed watching all the bird life around us. Especially these Whistling Kites protecting their big nests. 

Geoff enjoyed reading his book, whilst I decided to sketch our stunning view.

Can you find the dingo in this photo??

Throughout the night, we listened to many dingos howling whilst we waited for our damper and stew to cook.

Whilst packing up the next morning, we were approached by a ranger. We were both thinking, "Uh Oh ranger danger!" but couldn't think what we had done wrong. Turns out she was warning us that today was actually Territory Day, which is a public holiday for the Northern Territory. It's also Show Day in Alice Springs and the only day you can legally buy and light fire crackers. She said where we were currently staying could become pretty wild, but also Alice Springs is going to be crazy. She also taught us quite a bit about the local wildlife and terrain. 

Back on the road again, there were so many things to stop and look at. Which is great if you are not feeling nauseaus, so Geoff did most of the scenic walks solo. 

This gorge may look ideal for swimming, but it smelt so so bad. The edges was lined with dead fish. 

These are the Ocre Pits where Aboriginals used to come to paint themselves for ceremonies due to all the different colours...

ALICE SPRINGS

We arrived in Alice Springs late yesterday and we were glad for the warning from the ranger. She was so right - it was CRAZY there!! As we drove into town, it sounded like gun shots going off. There were gangs of Aboriginals everywhere. There were fires on the sides of the roads, in parks and on front lawns. As it got dark, we drove to a lookout and everywhere you looked there was firecrackers going off. As we drove back, people were also lighting firecrackers in the centre of the roads, and Aboriginals lined the road yelling out as we passed. The ranger had also warned us not to walk around Alice Springs at night as 2-3 tourist are bashed every week, and that's just the ones that end up in the paper! She said the general rule was, if an Aboriginal asks you for a cigarette, you're about to be beaten up. We were so very glad we had prebooked into the BIG4 Caravan Park as we felt safe there! It's a 25 acre park and we were right in the middle. Phew! 

Knowing it was going to be a long night, Geoff pulled out a DVD that he had secretly bought along the way. If you can imagine Steve Irwin, Bear Grilles, the Gall Boys and Malcom Douglas all piled into one person but slightly more crazy, that's Keith Flexmore Adams. He made a documentary of his northern Australian safari in the 1950's. Geoff was slightly frazzled as he watched it and I had to turn away for some parts. We both agreed he had a death wish! It definitely helped us pass the hours late into the night when the firecrackers finally ended. 

Geoff is currently enjoying a game of golf, whilst I blog. We plan to stay in Alice for a couple more days before heading north into the wild again. Until next blog, hooroo.