avelog

In a faraway land, long ago – specifically, in Victoria, four weeks ago – I wrote my last post, leaving you hopeful of a last, dazzling month in Australia filled with fun, adventure, thrill after thrill, and lots and lots of chocolate. Wonder no more my friends, that’s exactly what happened and I’m here to make my report. As on the last occasion at which I made such a delayed report, I will cut it in two in order split the delirious dose of joy you get in order to avoid an overdose. The first (see below) details the Great Ocean Road journey, the grievous separation from our campervan, and our laidback days in Adelaide. The present post details our nine-day tour through the Red Centre, Darwin, and Kakadu NP and our last days in Australia. Enjoy!

Late in the afternoon on July 3rd we hopped on a Greyhound bus for the twenty-hour ride up to Alice Springs in the Red Center, and woke up in the morning to the unbelievably flat and desolate outback scrubland stretching to the horizon in every direction. Having seen no human habitation since dawn except the occasional roadhouse, we rolled into the dusty outback city of Alice Springs in the early afternoon and dragged our bags into the hostel provided for our scheduled nine-day Red Centre and Darwin tour.

An outback ambulance; our twenty-hour transport to Alice Springs

The first three day segment was based out of Alice Springs, making a big circle to visit Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) and Kings Canyon. The first day involved a five hour drive down to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, with a quick roadhouse stop for optional camel rides. After lunch at the permanent campsite, we stopped at Kata Tjuta to admire the great big red rock domes and hike for a couple of hours up between the domes on the Valley of the Winds walk. We had finally out-paced the rain, with not single white puff marring the wide blue sky. The rocks at Kata Tjuta were very different from those of famous Uluru close up, composed of many different little pebbles solidified into a conglomerate. Back in the bus, we paused at the sunset lookout to take a few quick photos before racing over to Uluru for the real sunset, whereupon we sipped champagne from plastic mugs as the setting sun rendered the Big Red Rock brilliant shades of orange, red and gold. Liz and I opted to the night beside the campfire in swags, zippered canvas bags complete with thin mattresses into which you slide your sleeping bag. The moon and stars overhead were almost too bright to sleep, but we eventually awoke from peaceful slumber into chilled five o’clock darkness in order to get out of camp and on our way.

The view from the saddle on the Valley of the Winds walk; Liz and I in the Valley; the domes of Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) from afar; Liz and I at Uluru (Ayers Rock) sunset

Uluru (Ayers Rock) at sunset

Kieran taking sunset photos at Uluru with campagne gla–, I mean cup; Liz with her favourite lizard; Liz and I in our swags under the stars

Sunrise found us starting out on the Uluru basewalk, our options limited both by high winds that forced the closure of the Uluru climb and respect for the wishes of the local aborigines that people not make the climb, as it is an aboriginal sacred site. Following a few hours gawping upwards at the rock, we drove another five hours to our next permanent campsite at Kings Canyon. The evening was spent cooking chicken, potatoes and vegetables in big iron pots in the fire, eating marshmallows and exchanging stories before another night in the swags.

Sunrise on Uluru (Ayers Rock); and again; the hadrail up Uluru; a wave-like erosional cave at Uluru; our permanent campsite at Kings Canyon

In the morning, we headed to Kings Canyon and embarked on a three hour walk up the Canyon wall skirting shattered rocks and ghost gums as we trekked around the Canyon rim. Although the waterfall at the end of the Canyon was completely non-existent during our dry-season visit, we did pass by a hidden little green oasis in a hanging canyon above the main drop; an odd site in the middle of the outback.

Various Kings Canyon shots; the birds are rock pigeons

Following another night at the disappointing hostel in Alice Springs, we boarded the bus for our second three-day stretch, this one a hard-driving journey north from Alice Springs to Darwin, a distant 1500 kilometers away. This made for a pretty boring three days for the most part, with stops at anything remotely interesting, including the Tropic of Capricorn and the historic telegraph station at Barrow Creek, and the roadhouse at Wycliffe Well, Australia’s goofy UFO sightings capital. Slightly more interesting were the impressively round boulders piled on top of eachother in a jumble at The Devil’s Marbles, and a character-filled visit to the Daly Waters Pub, the ultimate outback pub according to travel writer Bill Bryson, filled with grungy Australian memorabilia and whatever little scraps of themselves people felt they could leave behind (old driver’s licences, police badges, national flags, panties, shirts, student cards, etc…).

The Tropic of Capricorn monument; telegraph station at Barrow Creek; our bus and stereotypical outback guide, Will; a cracked Devil’s marble; Kieran benchpressing a giant boulder

Broken egg; Liz showing off; playing in the rocks; aliens at large; Kieran contemplating the long road ahead

Daly Waters, incl police presence

The major event of the three days was supposed to be our visit to Katherine Gorge where we could either go on a river cruise or rent kayaks. Due to some terrible blunder by our tour company (Adventure Tours Australia), there were no kayaks to rent, and we went instead on a lookout hike and gorge swim. The hike turned out to be quite hot and boring, unforgivably souring the three days for most of our fellow passengers. We stopped in at a hot pool for a quick swim before getting to Darwin on the third day, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the dull and disappointing trip, and a blunder with the tour accommodation in Darwin made for another couple of hours of stress and disorder.

Katherine Gorge

Fortunately, the group’s Alice-to-Darwin woes were temporarily forgotten when we all met up for plenty of beer and free pub dinners at the Vic Hotel in Darwin. With hundreds of people crowding the big bar, our little group cheered loudest to win our representative a $200 didgeridoo. The disappointment of no-sharesies on the didgeridoo was somewhat softened when she bought a few rounds of jugs for us all. We then went on to dominate the pub quiz, capped by my winning performance on-stage in the bonus treasure hunt round, clinching for us a $150 bar tab with which to fund the rest of the evening.

Due to some scheduling difficulties with the tour company, Liz and I had a rest day in Darwin during which we did a little window-shopping and some laundry before we set out on the final three-day leg of our tour with visits to Litchfield and Kakadu National Parks. These three days definitely made up for the middle three, as they were chock full of action and adventure.

We roared out of Darwin in our sixteen-passenger 4WD truck pre-dawn darkness and drove a few hours into Litchfield NP to visit Buley Rockhole for a swim. An hour was spent splashing about in a series of little waterfall pools, jumping in (see Kieran’s patented Super Star Jump in photos), and swimming hard against the current only to float gently back once giving up. After a short drive, we stopped for another swim at Florence Falls, a real waterfall with big drop and big pool (read: much less intimate and more crowded). Both of these swimming spots are apparently at too high an altitude for crocs to reach them, as crocs are quite inept at climbing hills. The afternoon was then spent on a two-hour crocodile-spotting cruise on the Mary River (several hours away from the swimming holes!), with magnificent views of the Mary River wetlands. Many different birds and other wildlife were spotted, including both fresh- and saltwater crocodiles. Our guide informed us that during the wet season, the water level in the Mary River wetlands rises ten meters, creating a ten-kilometer wide body of water.

Frolicking in the water at Buley Rockhole

Florence Falls (x2); freshwater croc on the Mary River; big freshie; the Mary River wetlands

Jabirus in a tree; a saltie at last; sunset on the Mary River

After a night at another permanent campsite, we were greeted by an almost unheard of sound. Rain in July in Kakadu NP, something that hasn’t happened for twenty years according to all the gossiping guides and rangers everywhere we went. We drove for an hour and spent the morning admiring ancient rock paintings at Ubirr in Kakadu NP. Many of the paintings were quite intricate, and we were informed that Ubirr was a teaching site where grandparents taught their grandchildren lessons through stories illustrated on the rock. Australian aboriginal rock art is classified into four time periods, the most recent of which is called post-contact. See if you can spot the white man in the paintings below! We then drove another couple of hours to Maguk Falls, including a very brief four wheeling experience through a little creek. Along the way, our guide told us all about how saltwater crocodiles (freshies aren’t a threat to humans) get into the swimming holes during the wet season, since water levels rise many meters, allowing them to swim over big boulders they would otherwise be unable to climb. The park rangers then have to fish them all out once the wet season ends so that tourists can walk about and swim without being eaten. It made us all feel absolutely safe when we were informed that several crocs had been pulled out of the Maguk Falls pool this year, but that it is quite deep and the rangers are never quite sure. Imagining all the crocs in the dark water below us, we swam about for a while and jumped off some more rocks.

Aboriginal rock art at Ubirr: spot the white man!

Liz and I over Ubirr; Maguk Falls; and the croc sign!!

In the morning of our last day, we four-wheeled it for two hours in to Jim Jim Falls (150 high). As late as two hours before arrival, we weren’t sure whether the walk and swim would be open because the rangers still hadn’t decided whether they’d yet gotten all the salties out. Well, it was our lucky(?) day, and they declared it open for the first time this season, having pulled eight sizeable crocs out since the end of the wet season. Our fear of crocs wasn’t quelled much by the croc trap right near the falls and the “No Swimming” signs that the rangers hadn’t yet had time to take down. In the end, nobody was eaten and I was able to swim up under the falls and sit on a ledge under the pounding, furious water for a few minutes.

Four-wheeling it towards Jim Jim; Golden Orb spider; Jim Jim Falls in the distance

The croc trap below Jim Jim Falls; a very pretty moth; Liz bouldering at Jim Jim

We made our way back to Darwin with a brief stop at a little cultural centre to attempt some understanding of the history of the area, followed by a pause to examine one of the giant termite mounds that dotted the landscape.

Liz and I in the 4WD; giant termite mound; giant termites! (just kidding)

We took at midnight flight from Darwin to Brisbane and then the train down the coast to Burleigh Waters on the Gold Coast. Ten relaxing and pleasant days on the Gold Coast were spent doing whatever we pleased, with a fair bit of sunshine and happiness. Liz had a tough time fitting all of her collected possessions into her bags, but we eventually closed all the zippers, said our goodbyes, and hopped on the bus/train overnight down the coast to Sydney.

Party on the Gold Coast!

We have now spent three days in Sydney at a little boutique hotel (standby winter rate!), with free continental breakfast every morning. The first day was spent exploring by foot in a big circuit that included the Botanical Gardens, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Circular Quay, downtown, and Hyde Park. We ate out at a little café (splurging in our last days?!?) before heading back to the hotel for the night. The second day included a morning visit to the world-famous Bondi beach and some shopping, before bussing it back to Circular Quay to take a ferry around to Darling Harbour. The harbour views from the ferry were breathtaking, but photos of Sydney will have to wait until I have somewhere to upload them. We then bumbled (although Liz claims not to be a bumbler) about the impressive Sydney Aquarium for two hours in the evening before picking up a pizza on the way back to the hotel.

Today we did some more shopping, with a stroll through the Sunday markets at the Rocks near Circular Quay, and a return visit to the shops at Bondi Junction. Unfortunately, much to Liz’s disappointment, we didn’t end up buying anything! We’re now about to nip out for a bite to eat and possibly some jazz before getting some sleep for our big flight back to Canada tomorrow!

It’s tough to accept that the journey is nearly over. How can we expect to go back to normal lives (especially Liz since she’s been in Australia for eleven months)? Keep tuned for more exciting news, as I’m expecting to make a big personal and career-related decision during the next two days! I will also post pictures from Sydney and possibly a thoroughly embarrassing picture of me from our victorious pub night in Darwin.

See all you Canadians soon!