Thursday, 1st February 2018 – till Saturday 3rd February 2018
What an early start! We were going to be picked up at 6.am by our 4WD truck to start our adventure to the Red Centre of Australia and learn more of the Aboriginal culture of this country. It was still dark when we were outside our motel and sharp on time, a big 4WD drove down our street – we were the first pick ups for the trip. Dean introduced himself and seemed to be a very typical outback type of a man – a well weathered Aussie cowboy hat, blue shirt and jeans and well tramped Aussie cowboy boots …… and a long beard!
Our 3 day trip Uluru started off by picking up the next group – a Danish mum with 2 small boys who were still fast asleep and so we left Alice Springs through the Gap and picked up the Stuart Highway. After some repetitive scenery, I fell asleep as can be seen in the photo group below and only woke up when we had our first stop at the Camel Farm.
Camels were first brought to Australia in 1840 and then again in 1860 first from Tenerife and then India and Pakistan and used for building the Telegraph and railway system from Darwin to Adelaide. Much later when cars and trucks were being used there was no need for camels any longer and most were set free – hence wild camels roaming around the centre of Australia. There are still some camel farms mainly for camel milk and also for camel trips in the desert.
Back on the road again and this was one long grey asphalt with red sand on both sides till we reached Erldunda Roadhouse – very special place here as here is the mark of the centre of the Red Centre of Australia. By that time we were more awake and could continue enjoying the views
Our next stop was at our camp site – some 440 km away from Alice Springs and four hours’ drive. We were glad to arrive at camp and we could choose our tent cabin for the night before having lunch. While we were having lunch Dean went to pick up some more guests who were joining our group and in total we were 11 of us including 4 children.
After lunch we were complete to start our first trip to Uluru – first a visit to the cultural centre to get an introduction to the Anangu Culture and desert environment. The Uluru Rock is a great sacred place to the traditional owners – and we are asked to respect their wishes and not climb their sacred Uluru – but walk at the base – by April 2019 no one will be able to climb the rock as it will be prohibited by law. Our afternoon at Uluru was very interesting and informative..
After having visited Uluru, we drove to Yulara (according to Dean, this was town!) – there were other groups from the same organisers and certainly so many young back packers! This whole trip, exploring the stunning landscapes, the local Aboriginal cultures and the unique pioneering history of Central Australia is certainly not to be missed when visiting Australia. I know Gerry has offered up the coastline for a few days but I am sure he also appreciates this massive interior also known as the Red Centre.
Towards sunset, Dean drove us to a spot where other tourists were also gathered to watch the sunset over Uluru. It was such a lovely gathering – every guide had his/her group and pitched a table with drinks and nibbles including bubbly Pinot Noir for the adults and fruit juices for the kids. It was all very amicable! However the sunset was not as it should have been – clouds deterred the colour effects on the rock. But Dean took care of us – we had sparkling Pinot Noir wine and snacks whilst we watched the colours changing.
Came back to Camp to find that dinner was ready for us – Pasta Bolognaise……… with kangaroo meat! Wasn’t too sure to eat it or not – Luckily the vegetable sauce was separate so I could go vegetarian but then I just wanted to have a taste and I must say it tasted rather good – but then that’s because it’s minced – no way I would eat a kangaroo steak especially as not so long ago, I was petting one of these sweet natured animals ……
It was such a shame – it had started raining and our camp fire was soon out and we had dinner indoors – it rained all night! No one slept in a swag but rather in our camp tents
The following morning our roll call was at 4.30 with music – Cat Steven’s Morning has broken….(just in case you cannot remember the song just press on the link) followed by other songs getting louder. We really slept well in our tent cabin which had proper beds and a step higher than the ground. We were going to drive back to Uluru to watch the sunrise and the effect on the great rock. Dean had toasted bread and also cereal and coffee ready for us. All of us were really sleepy heads especially the kids! Anyway we all did what we were told to do and Dean drove us away. Again some disappointment as the clouds hindered the sunrise. Straight after we left for Kata Tjuta, 40 km further away.
Kata Tjuta or as previously known as the Olgas has some 36 domes and when we arrived there, Dean took us on a hike of about 7.5km along the Valley of the Winds and taking just over 4 hours. This was quite an achievement for both of us as we were the oldest of the group and kept the pace going over lose rocks but the views were breathtaking. Climbing up and down the pathways, we could constantly hear the wind blowing and hence the appropriate name for this walk. However the last part was to climb a steep rock wall and then also come back down again and when I saw this, my common sense told me that I could climb the rock wall but I would never get down it again as it would mean putting a lot of pressure on my hip which was recovering from the hip replacement surgery 6 months ago! However Gerry, with Dean’s help did climb up the rock wall while I relaxed next to a small waterfall and cool creek full of tadpoles.
We then drove back to base camp after dropping off the Danish mum and 2 boys as well as a middle aged couple at the Uluru Airport. Here once again, the women prepared the salads and the men barbecued burgers and sausages – real outback meals! Dean then explained we were leaving this camp to drive to Kings Creek Station where we would be spending our second night right in the middle of the bush – but luckily or us in tent cabins, open air showers and curtained flushing toilets. He also warned us that we would need to stop on the way to gather firewood so that we could cook dinner in the evening. Apparently he had a very good place where to get wood, however we were not the only group there! Still we had enough and so made our way back at the camp
The drive to Kings Creek Station took some three hours however we stopped for firewood and then at a gas station to fill up our 4WD ( we also bought some white wine to go with our evening meal).
After a few hours we arrived at our new camp site at Kings Creek Station. On the way we had also stopped at a red sanded dune not far from Curtin Springs Farm to admire the Fuluru (Fool Uluru) or rather Mount Connor and next to a great expanse of a salt lake with a hard crust but if you were to walk on it you would sink in slowly. We also had a brief encounter with the dragon lizard – a spiky lizard that eats only ants and drinks water through capillary system – the dragon lizard would stand in a puddle of water and the water creeps up its legs and into his neck and he only has to stick out his tongue to capture the drops of water – ingenious……..
Finally at Kings Creek Station, we certainly needed the 4WD to get to our camp as it was only a dirt road to where our camp was situated – in the middle of the bush! Robert immediately started the fire with the firewood we had gathered. It took quite some time to get the fire going as it had rained a few nights and the wood was quite wet. At this camp we met up with Megan, a Dutch girl from Rotterdam who was working her way in Australia but was starting at Deloitte in Melbourne next month, she helped with the cooking as did Robert and of course they were a couple – she an accountant just finished university and he a carpenter!
By the time we were settling in at Kings Creek Station, it was nearly sunset and Dean suggested we take in the views of the George Gill Range opposite the camp grounds. This was spectacular – especially as we had missed the sunset at Uluru. By the time we walked back to our camp, dinner was cooking on the open campfire ashes. Dean is a really outdoor man and showed us what he had prepared – with the help of Megan and Robert who did all the cutting and chopping!
The menu for that evening was a chicken casserole, baked potatoes, boiled rice and freshly baked bread all to be prepared on the charcoaled wood. There was plenty of food for the six of us – The other family travelling with us was also Danish who had taken a 9month sabbatical.
After an excellent dinner, we finally had a good shower and were ready for bed – and fell asleep straight away – never heard anything till next morning at 4.30 when we were woken up to Cat Stevens “ Morning has Broken”. Once again it was an early start and this time we were off to the Kings Canyon for an early hike –
Gerry and I did the South Wall Return walk, which began with a demanding climb up to the south wall of Kings Canyon and offering stunning views of the park’s geological features. This was a 4.8 km hike, which took us up to 3 hours (but then we were taking a lot of pictures of the fantastic views). The rest of the group walked The Kings Canyon Rim walk under Dean’s guidance. We did not do this as the steep climb to the top is called the Heart Attack Steps – some 500 steps climbing steeply to the top. This was a 6km loop taking some 3-4 hours. Anyway at the end of our hike I was so glad to soak my feet in the cool water of the creek which was overflowing due to the heavy rainfalls in the last few days.
What an achievement! As Gerry keeps on saying certainly his children won’t believe him that he’s done so much hiking – this was such an exhilarating experience even though our muscles ached afterwards and certainly for me coming back down the canyon wall, my legs trembled quite a bit……..but we arrived back at base without any major problems – we were glad that the others were still hiking so we could catch our breath and feel somewhat fit again…..
The rest of the group joined us within an hour and also for them especially the kids the hike was strenuous but they too were compensated with beautiful views. Dean started up the truck so that it would be somewhat cooler with the airco on – it was just gone 11 am and it was 36 degrees!! On our way again, Dean had told us that he was going to take a short cut through a dirt road – a 100 km red sand road which cut down our turn time to Alice Springs by an hour. I could only think of the Dakar races – only sand around us and the bush and the bumpy road – no way we could sleep again……. We made it to Alice Springs by 16.30 and we stopped at the Welcome monument to take our last pictures – of course I needed to take a picture of Dean and his 4WD truck – we had driven some 1.500km in 3 days and spent some 10 hours hiking some 20km in the Red Centre of Australia.
In my mind I have awarded both Gerry and myself a gold medal!!
