Jul 6
The Outback and Darwin
We started our adventure in Alice Springs where we met up with our friend Danny whose warnings that the town would be barren and slightly dangerous proved true. The town is surrounded by dessert and has a much higher population of Aborigines, definitely a change of scenery.
The next morning we were picked up by our empty tour bus before the sun rose gathering fellow travelers as we went. I fell asleep as usual and when I awoke we were rushing past red sand and small shrubs and plant life. Our first stop of the day was at a camel farm where Claire and I rode a giant beige camel for a couple minutes. Both of us were a little nervous that we’d either drop off the edge of the hump or get spit on but we had to try it out.
We drove on and arrived at our next destination, the Valley of the Winds in Kata Tjuta. Our group climbed the rocky terrain in between the huge red brown rocks until we reached the perfect spot where the wind rushed past us and cooled us off.
Our last stop of the day was by far the best . . . watching the sun set on Uluru (Ayer’s Rock). We drank cheap champagne and struggled to get the best shots as the sun turned the massive red rock to a dark brown. It was so surreal seeing something you’ve seen in pictures and on post cards and suddenly you find yourself standing right in front of it. We got our second glimpse of the deserted giant the next morning after a chilly night under the stars. After the sun came up we divided into two groups, Claire joining the group that climbed it and me taking the long walk around it. I say that it was out of respect for the Aboriginals’ wishes that no one climb it but anyone who knows me must know its really just my GIANT fear of heights J
The rest of our second day was filled mostly with a long drive to camp. The driving must have affected our brains because before long our entire group was singing along to tunes from the movie Dirty Dancing. Carrying this good mood along we decided to get drinks for the evening. However fun this was at the time, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea because in the middle of the night as we layed beneath the stars in our swags we each suddenly found the urge to go to the bathroom. The problem is we had visitors in our camp . . . dingoes who constantly howled, sometimes from within our small circle of tents. I wasn’t going to move for anything.
The next morning on our third and last day we climbed King’s Canyon for some great views and a long walk. We arrived back in Alice Springs and decided to go out as a huge group. Our two favorite people on the tour, two guys from Holland, Rody and Olaf, stayed out with Claire and I as we laughed, drank, and sang along to some oldies.
You may think this sounds like a lot for three days but this was only the first half of our trip. Our second portion of the tour kicked off yet again before sunrise. As my Mom used to say when it came to me and mornings, “Miranda, you’ve got one speed and it ain’t fast.” Luckily for me our group consisted of five people and one awesome tour guide, Virginia, (also known as “Ham”) so we were able to spread out and sleep. I woke up and looked out to see the best sun rise of my life. Virginia noticed me trying to take pics and decided we should stop. So the six of us climbed on top of the trailer on the side of the road and snapped away at the sun, pausing only to wave at oncoming traffic J It was a great start to an awesome tour.
We made various stops like at a store that had injured animals such as a wedge tail eagle and dingoes, a shop that sold authentic Aboriginal art, and the weirdest . . . a café decorated with aliens and wallpapered with clippings about the unearthly beings. As Virginia put it, “Sometimes when you’re in the outback and there’s nothing to do you have to find things to do. I guess even if it means making your own paper mache aliens.” After we made our wise cracks at the alien shop we went to the Devil’s Marbles which are huge round rocks made from lava that had cooled in pools beneath the earth. Our final resting stop of the night was at a cattle station that had a curfew at 9:30 and an evil goat named Gertrude that suddenly turned on us. The night was still fun and I even learned how to play the didgeridoo.
Our second day was filled mostly with driving with occasional stops at odd spots in the middle of no where to refuel. We had fun stopping at these little places where the locals were friendly, once even having to jump our bus after it died. Some housed animals like colorful birds and gators. We went on to handle a black headed python who lazily wrapped himself around us and after that to the thermal springs. Our overnight stay was in the middle of a field housing an older couple, a one-eyed dog, and a massive spider known as the Huntsman.
The third day we enjoyed Katherine’s Gorge canoeing to a small beach where Aboriginal drawings on the rock could be seen. I was slightly nervous as we were notified the Gorge housed the smaller freshwater crocodile and the occasional larger saltwater croc! I paddled as fast as I could.
Sadly our trip had to end so we headed off for Darwin along the way spotting bushfires and HUGE termite mounds, some twice as tall as me! Our group had so much fun together we decided to keep it going and after everyone checked into their hostels we agreed to meet up and go to the market where we searched for the man who played four didgeridoos. Although we never found him we did come across an Aboriginal man who was slightly drunk. Virginia handled it really well and we left without confrontation but things could have gone worse. From the moment we arrived in Alice Springs the increase in the Aboriginal population could be seen. Until the 1950’s Aborigines were classified under flora and fauna and tension is still prevalent. The way of life for them is natural, sleeping in the bush and getting everything they need from it. But in today’s Australia, adaptation to today’s way of life is often demanded of them.
Mine and Claire’s tour ended but our days in Darwin had just begun. Our friend Sam became our tour guide for a couple days showing us around the place. The warm weather and palm trees were a nice change. Later we went to a bar where a band blasted tunes somewhere between AC/DC and Motley Crue. It was fun but made the morning hard as Claire and I got up to take a tour to Lichfield National Park.
The first stop was a Jumping Crocodile tour on the Adelaide River which houses thousands of saltwater crocodiles. We watched as huge chunks of raw meat were dangled over the edge of the boat and the huge beasts (sometimes 9-12 ft. long) jumped out of the water for a morning snack. We visited a couple of waterfalls even swimming in one until finally we headed back to Darwin for our last night.
This morning at about 3:00 a.m. Claire and I got up to catch our flight feeling pretty sleepy. However our adrenaline suddenly got going as a cockroach the size of Texas fell out of a towel I was about to fold and put away. Claire performed some gymnastics doing the splits between the two bunk beds as I danced around the floor with a shoe as my weapon of choice looking for the monster who climbed from bag to bag. Suddenly we were awake and on our way to Cairns where we are now about to go to sleep and wake up to check out the Great Barrier Reef. I apologize for any errors because I’m pretty sleepy right now and my brain is about to shut down. We’ve been traveling like gypsies lately and going on tomorrow. Thanks for reading and I’ll write the next chance I get J
Miranda