The Outback

Adelaide to Alice Springs

Adelaide to Coober Pedy – Wednesday March 23rd

Today started super early in a rainy Adelaide joining the Groovy Grapes Rock Patrol. I will be quite honest today was a driving day…………… nearly 14 hours from Adelaide briefly stopping in Balaklava and at Lochiel for the ‘Pink Lady’ salt lake that has an amazing pinkish hue. Onward with multiple fuel and bathroom stops and we soon realized that yes we are headed to the outback. With more 4x4’s and dogs and people with camping gear soon became the norm. Now this is a place where 4x4 are truly useful! Towards Port Augusta for a wrap in the park lunch and a bit of a get to know everyone since we were all finally awake and were even able to spot a couple dolphins in the port. With dirt becoming a truly vibrant orange and clay like, with eucalyptus trees scattered amongst the desert. This is really a place that could be dangerous if you ran out of water, fuel or blew a tire! With massive outcroppings in the distance the desert and road stretch on straight. With no curves or bends in the road for hours on end it was a long drive but our tour guide, Adam, did a great trip! With an immense sky that cleared from rain to beautiful clear blue sky. With grids on the road for cattle and sheep stops every now and again the sleepers on the bus would jolt awake and they were required as we nearly smacked some sheep at one point! We passed along through Pimba to Lake Hart, a salt lake that normally is just a dry salt bed but since it has rained so much it actually is filled with water. Passing through Glendambo with a population of 20 people, 22500 sheep and 2.3 million flys. Boy they were not kidding we had flys in our ears, eyes, nose and mouth. Definitely will have to invest in a fly net hat in order to go for a walk. Apparently for all the rain there is a great deal of sitting water that equals massive amounts of flys. Tonight we got into Coober Pedy just after sunset and enjoyed a lasagna out at Jack’s Pizza bar before heading to our underground bunkhouse for the night. We are all looking forward to a lie in, the opal museum, and not sitting on the bus all day tomorrow. Here’s hoping for nice weather!

Coober Pedy to dry river bed creek – Thursday March 24th

After sleeping overnight in the underground bunkhouse, the group meshed with an outing to explore Coober Pedy (which in the Aboriginal local language means whiteman’s underground). The exploring of Coober Pedy took all of 10 minutes tops, which took in the opal museum, grocery/pharmacy stores and a look in both directions  We were able to buy our most prized possession for the rest of the trip…………… a flynet ! This $5 purchase saved me from inhaling many a bug and it’s attempts to sneak in my ears, nose, mouth and eyes. We toured the Umoona Opal mine and underground house and museum. There is quite the process of looking for opals, lot of luck too! Our tour guide pointed out how she and most of her family live underground…. With little air circulation, no light of day and feeling claustrophobic living underground is not really for me, I’ve decided. Before leaving Coober Pedy we made a fun trip to Josephine’s Aboriginal Art Gallery & Kangaroo Orphanage. We got to be up close and personal with several Eastern red kangaroos around the 2 year old mark who have been brought up there since their moms were hit on the road over a year ago. Bella & Seannie, the females, are grey and the 2 males are redder. Seannie is named after my former tour guide who found her on the side of the road in her dead mom’s pouch. Because these particular roos have become so humanized they will not be released back into the wild. For example, Minya does not really know how to jump and just stands in the rain, instead of hopping out of the way, and cries. She also tried to roll into one of the joey’s holders and somersaulted right over as she is clearly too big for it! We also got to see the joeys, baby kangaroos, being bottlefed. First they roll into their pillowcases like their mom’s pouches and settle in for the warm milk. Louise (the female) and Azza (the male) were absolutely adorable and I was lucky enough to hold Azza (could have cuddled him all day!)

As we left Coober Pedy, the piles of rock dug from underground by the opal hopeful enthusiasts were scattered everywhere along the highway. Even though we were clearly in the outback, we crossed a floodplain that actually had water due to the extreme amount of rain that has happened this summer. It makes sense when you look really close at the wondrous iron oxide orange sand that has traveled from North of Broome across the expanse of the outback. There simply is no way to have anything absorb back into the land/rock, just does not happen! One of the best parts of the day was coming to a complete stop on the highway about 40 minutes north of Marla, Adam aka Cavemen our driver, backing up at least 250m with a trailer attached behind (impressive in itself to keep it straight) and then pulling off the highway along a dirt path & stopping at a dry river bed. Time to get out & we all looked at each other………….. okay. We unloaded the trailer of swags amongst gum trees and orange sand while others looked for firewood and built a fire for our spaghetti Bolognese dinner. Of course by now the group knew I was a nurse and it didn’t take long for my first patient to pop up. Adam managed to step on a piece of ?Marsel wood, an extremely poisonous type of wood that can kill you quicker than some snakes venom. Good to know………. And possibly a good reason to wear shoes, my friend!! As Adam continued to point out most things, animals, insects and plants in Australia are aimed to either harm or kill you. With splinter removed we told stories in our swags by the fire, roasted marshmallows and fell asleep under the magnificent stars and gleaming shining moon of the southern sky with chirping cycadas. (Side note: Adam told us the next morning that he had a snake slither over his swag in the middle of the night chasing a frog………….. ahhhhh haha oh the outback!)

Dry River Bed to Uluru (Ayers Rock) – Friday March 25th

With an early wakeup with sunrise over the creek bed and galahs circling and chirping, it was a great morning. Although it was a long driving day, we of course made it fun taking pictures along the Southern Australia and Northern Territory border and setting our watches back 30 minutes. This was only the beginning of time changes and confusions on time differences to our respective home countries and families back home. We stopped at every petrol station/café/picnic area/homestead/police station, which means we stopped 3 times with hours and hundreds of miles inbetween. Another round of firewood collection and we were onto our Ayer’s Rock campsite with actual toilets and showers! With a hangout at the pool and setting up our swags for the night we headed off for sunset at Uluru, it really is so immense! Another great under the stars, one minus to this evening someone stole my sleeping bag aka lost their own and therefore took mine, meaning I created the double swag = lying in the first small one and layering it with another longer one. Other than waking up completely covered in dirt in the morning, I slept surprisingly well! On for another day in the outback!

Kata Tjuta & Uluru – Saturday March 26th

Up early for a spectacular and surprisingly chilly sunrise with Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Uluru is also known as Ayers Rock and Kata Tjuta as the Olgas just to clarify and I apologize for using them interchangeably. Uluru appears to be one solid massive rock where as Kata Tjuta is comprised of 36 domes. The rest of the morning consisted of our 7km walk through the Valley of the Winds with the fantastic orange domes of the Olgas and the contrasting green trees, shrubs and grasses of the Valley. Along the Karu and Karunga lookout points we had great explanations of the creation of the land of Australia, the expanse of the outback, the rivers, the trees and wildlife by our driver/tour guide Adam. This guy really is one with the land and actually loves to sleep on the trailer so that he can be closer to the stars! After a restful afternoon (me dozing to try to get over a nasty cold/sinus bug) and then off to the Aboriginal Cultural Centre to learn about Aboriginal history, roles of men and women, bushtucking, story telling about ethics and laws and the importance of painting/art. Adam took us on a cultural walk pointing out the paintings, symbols, and wave cave washed out by former inland waves and winds. He also noted that most of the stories of Aboriginal importance are not shared with others, only the children’s learning stories, which are still quite fun and interesting. Such an immense piece of rock! Another great Uluru sunset and off we went for another swag night under the stars! Still double swaggin it 

Uluru walk to Kings Creek Station – Sunday March 27th

This day started with another great Uluru sunrise and Adam and I discussed the wing tipped eagle and how fast it can diver, knocking pigeons right out of the sky in one shot! Off for another great walk, this time along the base of Uluru with the group taking in Aboriginal paintings, sacred sites and the gorgeous contours of the rock. With lunch and pack up we were off from Ayers Rock on to Matarrka (King’s Canyon). Another firewood round up that included camel tracks and dried bones (not even kidding) and being mindful to not get scratched or stabbed with the wood. With a yummy BBQ fettucini meal at our fire Adam filled us in on the workings of the Kings Creek Station where they round up and break in wild horses and camels. They also have a helicopter on sight for scenic flights. He wrapped up his stories just in time for one of the local cowboys (picture young guy with jeans, red plaid shirt, boots and cowboy hat) to join us for our nighttime fire! I think he was hoping for more action than he got out of our crew  Fun times Oh and Adam found me a sleeping bag from one of the other groovy grapers tours, which made me SOOOOO happy and warm for my last night under the stars!

Kings Creek Station to Alice Springs – Monday March 28th

Up for sunrise and out to Kings Canyon and Gorge for a great fantastic walk. Starting up a steep staircase to a great plateau showing layers of compressed sand dunes that are brittle and break easily, hence always needing to stay at least 2m from the edge. Always good advice, Adam! The ghost tree with such a white bark and black knob endings do their own form of triage. The tree determines where the next route of growth should be and will cut off its nutrients/water supply to areas that are no longer required creating areas of dying tree and eventually these round knobs. Peculiar but smart. These trees have such a stark contrast to the orange of the surrounding rocks. Adam went into more detail about the birds, lizards, trees and how the canyon and gorge were formed. I convinced others to join me in swimming in the garden of eden, a pretty cool swimming hole with steep overhangs. Then on and up to the sand domes of the Lost City where we practiced our echoing as a group through the canyon. A really fun spot with the groovy grapers group. Back on the road for a long drive back to Alice Springs passing through Erldundra, the actually wet river of Finke River before stopping for a camel ride at the Camel Outback Safaris stop. Much like riding a horse but even more awkward haha. Bruises are already forming on the inside of my knees, I was just not a person meant to ride in saddles. Once into Alice Springs showered and laundered up, it was a last dinner out at an actual table with clean utensils and food made for us. Truly amazing! The group enjoyed ourselves and went on our groovy ways  For me it was a one night only in Alice Springs…….

 

Alice Springs to Cairns – Tuesday March 29th

After the BEST sleep ever on a mattress of all things! I explored Alice Springs noting the dry Todd river bed and all the Aboriginals everywhere with apparently not a lot to do. I enjoyed examining the different Aboriginal art galleries and even purchased a couple items to post home. After some free internet it was on to the airport with its walkout tarmac and 4 gates, the Alice Springs airport was everything I hoped it could be. Once on my flight, Qantas Flight 1948 1720 to Cairns, I relaxed in my seat and left the 30 degree dry heat of Alice Springs up over the MacDonnell Ranges with dry river beds that look mistakenly like tree lined roads. Still so surprisingly green due to so much rain. It was also one of the coolest longest lasting sunsets as we flew to Cairns with the brightest oranges and vibrant reds. With a thunderstorm off in the distance it was a great way to land in Cairns, even better that it wasn’t raining in Cairns when I did land and made my way to the YHA.