Day 1: Alice Springs - walked around
town, bought a few postcards and souvenirs, hiked up ANZAC hill, booked a tour
to Desert Park. Alice Springs is the central-most location in Australia. Really unique landscape- red dirt
and wispy gum trees. Saw some new birds; ringnecked parrots and crested pigeons!
Day 2: Desert Park – listened in on an aboriginal talk on culture and survival in the outback. Amazing how people were able to survive in such a harsh environment. Watched a great bird show featuring galahs, a tawny frog mouth, a brown falcon, and a barn owl. Learned about characteristic features of the outback- spinifex grass (lots of energy and effort into producing oils, easily catches fire, burns to prevent overcrowding) and red dirt (rocks contain lots of iron; years of erosion have caused it to rust, turning red). Later we stopped at the reptile house and got to cuddle a python and pet a perentie. We were lucky to be in town for the annual Alice Springs Beanie Festival, which was adorable. Saw some very impressive beanies - loved the creativity!
Day 3: First day of The Rock tour! Up bright and early for 6am pick-up. We were a total of 21 people on the tour (mostly european backpackers). Our tour guide, "Wookie", kept us very entertained the whole time - funny guy. We drove out 3 hrs from Alice Springs to get to King's Canyon, our first stop. The hike took us about 2 1/2 hours; got to see some incredible scenery. Learned that King's Canyon is bigger than the Grand Canyon, having actually been formed by the movement of earth's tectonic plates rather than years of erosion, as with the Grand Canyon (carved out by the Colorado River). The Grand Canyon is classified as a gorge.
Fossilizes ripples - proof of ancient inland lakes
After a long day of driving and hiking, it was time to start setting up for camp. We stopped on the side of the road to collect firewood from Mulga trees, which we later learned contain toxins that the aborigines took advantage of to take down large prey like kangaroos and emus. No wonder Wookie warned us it was very important not to accidentally poke anyone with the braches we collected.
It was nice to finally settle down at the end of the day. We cooked dinner (chili con carne) on the fire and learned how to set up our swags. A swag is an aussie camping necessity, used for extra insulation and protection in the outback; sleeping bag goes inside the swag. It's basically a soft cardboard box made of sturdy canvas in the shape of a body bag. Anyway, that night I crawled into my sleeping bag wearing a single pair of socks, 3 pairs of pants, 2 cotton shirts, and 2 fleece sweaters. I have never been so cold in my l i f e. That night was probably one of the worst night's sleep I've ever gotten. I fell asleep around 11pm, and woke up at 2am because my feet were so cold they hurt. I couldn't fall back asleep because I was in too much pain haha and was just counting down the minutes 'till we'd start the day. The temperature in the outback fluctuates drastically- we had beautiful, warm, sunny, 75 degree (F) weather during the day, and at night it literally plummeted to 32F, freezing.
I was glad to be up early the next morning to be able to finally warm up. Brekky was cereal/toast and coffee/tea. We were off to see the Kata Tjuta rock formation, or "many heads" in the Anangu language. The native people of this area prefer to be addressed as the "Anangu", so that's how I'll be referring to them. Kata Tjuta is breathtaking - huge red rock formations towering over grassy green valleys and twisting streams. We spent 3 hours hiking/walking Kata Tjuta and I still couldn't get enough. It's truly like being on a different planet- no where else in the world can you find such a unique environment.
WILD PARAKEETS/BUDGERIGARS!
We stopped for lunch before heading out to the Cultural Center at Uluru. Learned a lot about Tjurkurpa, the belief system that dictates how Anangu interact among themselves and with the environment; a system based on respect and care for one another. The Anangu believe that knowledge should be earned and sought out. Wookie took us on a "Mala Walk"around Uluru, where he stopped and explained certain aspects of Anangu culture- gender roles and responsibilities, belief systems, history, and art. I was so interested to learn about a people I knew so little about. Mind boggling to think the Anangu are one of the oldest societies on earth. I learned Uluru is the biggest monolith in the world- the largest in-tact rock. It's massive; spanning about 10km around the base (6 miles), 348m high (1141 feet), and about 6km deep into the ground. All we see is literally the tip of the iceberg.
Some very interesting geology behind the formation of Kata Tjuta and Uluru:
http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/uluru/nature/geology.html
Moonrise over Uluru
That night we had a lot of fun bonding as a group- an american lady taught the italians how to make s'mores and they were experts by the end of the night. I had a nice time chatting with some funny germans, talking about our travels and plans and learning about each other's cultures. When it came time for bed I knew what to expect this time around and was prepared with 2 pairs of socks, hiking boots, 4 pairs of pants, 2 cotton tops, 2 fleece sweaters, and my winter coat. I had a much more comfortable night's rest.
The following morning we were up earlier than usual to go catch the sunrise at Uluru. We had a beautiful morning. We went on a 6 km base walk around Uluru and headed back to Alice Springs that afternoon.
Well preserved cave art
The climb has been a very controversial installment at Uluru and the Anangu kindly ask visitors to refrain from participating out of respect for the land and its culture.
We stopped on the way back at a camel farm; got to pet a dingo and ride an aussie camel! Arrived at Alice Springs around 5:30pm, just enough time for a nice hot shower, then it was off to dinner in town with the rest of the group for a proper goodbye.
I had an amazing time learning about the unique environment and ancient cultures of central Australia, as well as getting to know the rest of the travelers on the tour. Everything is better with good company.
What a memorable trip.
After a long day of driving and hiking, it was time to start setting up for camp. We stopped on the side of the road to collect firewood from Mulga trees, which we later learned contain toxins that the aborigines took advantage of to take down large prey like kangaroos and emus. No wonder Wookie warned us it was very important not to accidentally poke anyone with the braches we collected.
It was nice to finally settle down at the end of the day. We cooked dinner (chili con carne) on the fire and learned how to set up our swags. A swag is an aussie camping necessity, used for extra insulation and protection in the outback; sleeping bag goes inside the swag. It's basically a soft cardboard box made of sturdy canvas in the shape of a body bag. Anyway, that night I crawled into my sleeping bag wearing a single pair of socks, 3 pairs of pants, 2 cotton shirts, and 2 fleece sweaters. I have never been so cold in my l i f e. That night was probably one of the worst night's sleep I've ever gotten. I fell asleep around 11pm, and woke up at 2am because my feet were so cold they hurt. I couldn't fall back asleep because I was in too much pain haha and was just counting down the minutes 'till we'd start the day. The temperature in the outback fluctuates drastically- we had beautiful, warm, sunny, 75 degree (F) weather during the day, and at night it literally plummeted to 32F, freezing.
I was glad to be up early the next morning to be able to finally warm up. Brekky was cereal/toast and coffee/tea. We were off to see the Kata Tjuta rock formation, or "many heads" in the Anangu language. The native people of this area prefer to be addressed as the "Anangu", so that's how I'll be referring to them. Kata Tjuta is breathtaking - huge red rock formations towering over grassy green valleys and twisting streams. We spent 3 hours hiking/walking Kata Tjuta and I still couldn't get enough. It's truly like being on a different planet- no where else in the world can you find such a unique environment.
Some very interesting geology behind the formation of Kata Tjuta and Uluru:
http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/uluru/nature/geology.html
Moonrise over Uluru
That night we had a lot of fun bonding as a group- an american lady taught the italians how to make s'mores and they were experts by the end of the night. I had a nice time chatting with some funny germans, talking about our travels and plans and learning about each other's cultures. When it came time for bed I knew what to expect this time around and was prepared with 2 pairs of socks, hiking boots, 4 pairs of pants, 2 cotton tops, 2 fleece sweaters, and my winter coat. I had a much more comfortable night's rest.
The following morning we were up earlier than usual to go catch the sunrise at Uluru. We had a beautiful morning. We went on a 6 km base walk around Uluru and headed back to Alice Springs that afternoon.
I had an amazing time learning about the unique environment and ancient cultures of central Australia, as well as getting to know the rest of the travelers on the tour. Everything is better with good company.
What a memorable trip.
