The Outback!!

The next day we started our two day tour of the outback! As we kicked off the first day our guide told us that today we'd be driving over 800km! Our first stop was Kings Canyon, a huge canyon with walls over 100m high, for a 5 hour walk around the canyon. The first part of the walk was up "heart attack hill", named for the steep gradient you have to climb in usually searing heat (it was over 30 degrees in the shade and this was apparently a cool day!!). After conquering that we were rewarded by amazing views right across the canyon.

We visited the "Garden of Eden" for a swim in a very cold pool of rainwater and carried on round to a huge area of weathered sandstone domes that looked like a big city! That evening we camped out by the fire and ate BBQ food.

The next day was a REALLY early start at 4:45am so that we would make the sunrise at Uluru (Ayres Rock). Uluru is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory that is about 350m high and over 9km in cercumference. I wanted to climb the rock but it was too windy so we did the walk around the base. It was amazing to see the rock so close and strange to see something so big in the middle of nowhere with nothing for miles around! We saw the sunrise and marveled at the rock as it seemed to change colour as the sun hit different angles of it. After driving out a bit and taking the classic Uluru picture we headed to Kata Tjuta (The Olgas).

The Olgas are a group of huge sandstone domes very similar to Ayres Rock, that cover an area of about 20km squared. We took a walk through a valley in between two of the domes and got a close-up of the surface of the huge domes, which looked like the surface of the moon - only red!

It was then time to head home, with a quick stop to see Mount Connor, the highest peak in the area. That was our outback trip over, it was a truly amazing journey on which we saw some amazing natural wonders and cover about 3000km in only 7 days!




Looking down from the top of 'Heart Attack Hill', the carpark is somewhere down there!



'Get away from the edge', our guide screamed!



Looking into the canyon



An old tree at the top of the canyon



Looking out for miles from the top



Another canyon view, a big section fell off this bit about 40 years ago



You can see the remains of the section that broke off crumbled at the bottom...wouldn't have liked to be standing there when it fell!



A city of domes!



Ayres rock up close just before sunrise...



...and after!



The surface of the rock looks like red moon rock!



The classic Ayres rock picture



And again in portrait



The lesser known 'Mini Ayres Rock' :)



The Olgas seemed to glow red when we saw them up close



Looking out of the valley we walked through



The Olgas from far away

Darwin to Alice Springs Safari!!

The second part of my outback experience was the 1600km drive from Darwin to Alice Springs. Luckily there was lots to see on the way, and we had three days to make the trip....

The first stop was Katherine Gorge, where we climbed a hill to see the river wind its way dramatically through the rocky landscape. After that we jumped in the river to cool off. We were told we were swimming with freshwater crocodiles....after we got out! That night we made a big fire and ate BBQ food!

The second day we started off by visiting some thermal springs. As we were all lounging around in the warm water a snake slithered down from a tree and dipped its head into the water for a drink! Needless to say, the pools got very empty at that point! That afternoon we visited the outback pub of Daily Waters. This pub, in the middle of nowhere, had become a famous stop-off point for people exploring the outback. A strange tradition, travellers leave stuff to mark the fact that they have visited the place. Because of this the pub was full of junk, from t-shirts to flip flops to surfboards to car license plates...there was even a prosthetic leg!!! Pub pool rules dictated that if you lost without potting a ball you had to leave your underwear and you could play ten-pin bowling in the road outside!!

We spent that night camping on a horse farm. After dinner we built a huge fire and slept under a very starry sky in swags with our sleeping bags and the fire for warmth :)

The highlight for me was seeing the "Devil's Marbles" on the third day. In the middle of nowhere is an area of flat land covered in large, red, granite boulders. We were all amazed at how they could have got there and I had a good climb to the top of a big pile of spherical rocks. There was a lot of road between us and Alice springs so we braced ourselves for a big drive but our guide had a surprise for us....she suddenly pointed out a big green splat on the road and cryptically asked us what we thought it was. Five minutes later we arrived at Wycliffe Well - the town with the most UFO sightings in Australia! It was a strange place with alien pictures and statues...and people with very 'open' minds... Anyway we got on our way and that evening we crossed the tropic of Capricorn and headed to Alice Springs for dinner and some much needed sleep...the next two days would take us to Uluru!

P.S. I forgot to mention that we went to a few places relating to the Peter Falconio murder. Basically, the guy was a British tourist travelling in the outback with his Mrs. and was, his girlfriend claims, murdered by a bloke who flagged them down with a problem with his car. The body was never found and the case got a lot of media attention. Some people think he faked his death, some people think she was in on it.... anyway to read about it properly follow this link:

Falconio Murder

we went to the last petrol station he was seen alive where he supposedly filled up with only 20 liters, which wouldn't get you far in the outback. A common thing in the pubs in the outback is to leave money, which is pinned to a board and signed by the person who left it. When that person passes back through, they re-sign the money, to prove it is theirs, and therefore have money to buy some beer with incase they are short of cash! Anyway, there is a $5 note that Peter Falconio left just before he disappeared pinned to the board of a pub we went to....spooky huh!






Our chariot for the 1600km journey



Katherine Gorge



The hot springs, before our group invaded it!



Daily Waters Pub



Someone decided to park their helicopter here...I think they've been in the pub a long time!



I couldn't find anyone who could tell me what was going on here!



Lots of flip flops left at the pub...



...and licence plates...



...and money...



...and other random junk!



Bowling in the street...car!!



A huge bull on the road



Luckily we didn't have to go this way!



This road went right to the coast...it was a long way though...with no petrol stations



Sunset near Devil's Marbles



The camp fire



A couple of the Devil's Marbles



With the strength of only one finger I had to hold this one up!



I split this one in half with a swift karate chop...



Just relaxin on my marble...









I saw aliens too!



Wycliffe Well was a very scary place




Until this trip I thought the outback was bare but there are lots of low-lying shrubs everywhere!



Money on the wall of the pub



Peter Falconio's $5 note...spooky!

Kakadu Pictures!

So I'm back from the outback! Just got into Sydney last night and already found a place to live :) Time to find work now....boooooo!

Anyway, here are the pictures from Kakadu National Park, I'll write about it all over the next few days!



The skull of a saltwater crocodile, its 1.1m in length which means that the croc would have been about 7m long!! scary...



This termite mound was about 7 meters high. Apparently they grow 1m every 10 years...



This bird then proceeded to swallow that fish whole!!



The first of many crocs we saw, a 4m long 'freshy'!



A sea eagle searching for pray



An aboriginal painting of a warrior hunting



The rocky view over Kakadu



Looking out over the wetlands



Sunset at Yellow Waters

Back in Australia....and off to the Outback!!

So....the last few days have made me feel like a pilot.... On the 3rd I flew to Sydney from Bangkok and had a little look round Sydney for jobs and somewhere to live etc. Upon enquiring about an outback trip, myself and Sara got a bit carried away and ended up booking a seven day all inclusive outback trip from Darwin right down the middle of Oz to Alice Springs.

Not only did we spend all our money, but we also booked our flight to Darwin the same day!! So it was a rush to get everything ready before boarding yet another flight to the Top End of Oz. Our Outback trip comprises of three mini tours; two days in Kakadu National Park, three days from Darwin to Alice Springs, and two days at Uluru.

I'm just back in Darwin after the two days at Kakadu National Park - it was amazing fun! The park is on land that has been given back to the Aboriginal people and is rented from them by the Australian Government so that it stays open to tourists. It is managed mostly by Aboriginal people so it was a great chance to find out about their culture as well as see a spectacular area of the country.

The first day we started off at 5:50am (aaaarrrgghh!) and drove to the Mary River for a little boat cruise chasing crocodiles. I'd been on a croc cruise before and saw a couple of crocs from a long distance so was expecting much of the same.....however, in the first 10 minutes we'd already seen two crocs! The river gets fed by the sea when the tide is high so contains freshwater AND saltwater crocodiles! We saw about twenty crocs in total, one about 4 meters long, and lots of eagles and other birds of pray. One of the best bits was when we saw a Jabaroo (a huge bird) catch a large fish and swallow it whole! After that we went to see some aboriginal rock paintings, that were thousands of years old, which showed stories and food that they hunted. We then climbed up to the top of the rocks for a 360 degree view of the surrounding wetlands and cliff areas.

The next day we went to Jim Jim Falls, a 150m high waterfall with a big swimming hole at the bottom, which runs dry at this time of the year. The whole area is completely underwater in the rainy season (making it impossible to access) and can contain dangerous crocs. For a couple of months after the wet season they search the area for saltwater crocs to make sure its safe for swimming before the area is opened to the public. They still leave the freshwater crocs in the area though as they are supposed to be less aggressive!!! We had a nice paddle in the huge swimming hole at the bottom of the falls and chilled out on the small beach at the bottom....didn't see any crocs though! After a quick stop at the Aboriginal Culture Center we headed back to Darwin for a night. Tomorrow we start the three day trip through the Outback to Alice Springs, hoping to see some more cool stuff!! I'll add all my pics later so keep a look out!