Hey everyone! Well, I am back trying to finish out AustraliaView image
. This next trip I took was the best so far. I think that I liked it so much, because my liver was happy not having to process any alcohol for the first time in 4 weeks. I departed the northern city of Cairns by airplane to Alice Springs..................

Alice Springs is located in the middle of Australia. Alice Springs is mainly inhabited by Aboriginal people They are the “Indians” of Australia, how could I better explain them? They were the black people in the Crocodile films whirling the ropes above their heads and throwing spears. We’ll as you guessed it, they don’t really do that anymore. They pretty much sit around and drink. Kind of like our Indians, in North America. That’s not to say that it’s not our fault that they’re like that. Anyway, the Aboriginals really don’t like tourist. The next time I see you in person, ask me about the Aboriginal man, and what happened the night I went out to the movies in Alice Springs.
My first impression of Alice Springs was, “WOOOOW…its bloody hot here(40c/112f), it smells and there are 1000 flies around me!”. I wasn’t impressed. My hostel pool was my only escape from the heat and the bugs. I only had to put up with all this for one night, because the next day I was going camping in the outback.
The next morning at 6:00 am I met my guide HelenView image
. She was this really cool ozzy chick, who was knowledgeable about everything in the outback. She picked me up in a new Range Rover and we were off. We picked up a total of 3 people from Germany and we had plans to meet up with 4 more when we arrived 6 hours later at the Ayers Rock camping ground. The first 3 people in our group were from Germany. I though right away, great 3 Germans, just my luck the next 3 would be 4 Japanese. I guess you would have to understand why I would be thinking this. When you get more than one culture together everyone ends up breaking up into “groups” and speaking that language. I’ve seen this happen before. When we finally met up with the other half of the group, I was happy to find out that they were 3 American girls from California, and one man from Germantown Virginia. I was relieved to finally be place with some Americans. I have to say, we had a great group. The 3 Germanys were so much fun! I especially had fun over hearing what they were saying about us in German. The second day, I told them I could almost understand everything that they were saying, it was pretty funny! They even tested me in German to see if I was lying.
The First night we drank Champagne View image
and watched the sunset over Ayers Rock. Ayers Rock View image
is that big flat rock you see on every postcard of Australia. That night everybody slept outside under the stars in swagsView image
. A swag is a large sleeping mat with a small cover, its totally different then a tent. In a lot of ways a swag is much cooler to sleep in because the heat doesn’t build up like in a tent. That night the temp dropped down to a cool 32c with a breeze. I couldn’t have imagined being in a tent. It would have been hell, literally.
The next day, at 5:30am we got up in the dark, cleaned up camp and headed up to Ayers Rock to hike up it. We got lucky; most times the ranger doesn’t open the climb dues to too much wind. We started climbing at 5:50 and 30 minutes later myself accompanied by my new Californian buddy EmilyView image
, summited the rock right in time for sunrise!View image
We were the first ones up there that morning, we really ran up it! I have to be honest, it was a hell of a climb and that girl Emily was kick’n my butt through the hardest parts. It was so steep that you had to use a chain to hold on to. It made me laugh, here I am on this baby hill, and in 2 months from now I am going to be attempting a 19,438 ft peak! This was a wake up call for me. I need to get running again, and quick! I am so fat and out of shape, it’s all that beer. YUK!
Later that day we saw the Olga’s.View image
This is a very spiritual place for the Aboriginal people. The men usually climb this rock and perform circumcisions on their young boys. It’s also a place where the young woman go to be taught by the older woman, how to forage for food in the outback. The men and the woman have different rituals, and it’s funny because the men aren’t allowed to know what the woman do and vise versa. That way every member of a family has a responsibility. That night we drove to a very secluded area in the outback. We set up our swags, I made a nice fire and the girls prepared an excellent camp meal. I have to say that that night was one of the most beautiful nights I have ever seen. The moon was fullView image
, and you could see easy a 100 yards in the moon light. There was a really nice breeze over which you could still hear the dingos howling. I remember just lying in my swag and looking up and not even thinking, just enjoying.
The next morning we left at 4:30am in order to make it to Kings Canyon for sunriseView image
. Once again, it was an awesome site. I don’t know what it is, but I really enjoy a good sunrise or sunset. The canyon View image
was also breathtaking. I heard other people compare it to the “Grand Canyon” but only on a smaller scale. Actually, the Grand Canyon is actually a gorge, and this is a true wind blown canyonView image
. The tops of the rocks are all rounded off, from the wind. It was a very unique place. Once again the only draw back to these beautiful places was once the sun rose again, you had to put your head net back on to fight off the bugs. I am not talking about a lunch lady head net, I mean the full netView image
. At any given time you might have over 100 flies not around you, on you! Don’t go on this trip if you’re bothered by flies or extreme heat.
While in the outback, I got to meet a few Dingo owners. They told me the real story of the Dingos, and why they get such a bad rap. Here is Photo of me and a once wild DingoView image
. Honestly, he was so much fun to play with. I trust that dingo completlyView image
. I even let him lick my face....actually that was maybe a little stupid, but he was so cute!!!
On the way home I began feeling feverish. The heat wasn’t helping, by the time the 7 hour journey was over and I was back at the hostel, I had a 101 fever. That night, I went out briefly to say goodbye to my group and the following day I was on a plane headed for the coolest city in Australia, Melbourne. View image