Alice to Adelaide….Part Deux
We left behind the ‘Red Centre’ having seen the sunset over Uluru on the 12th December. Having done lots of walking over the previous 3 days and getting up really early after 2 nights under the stars, there were some tired limbs that climbed back onto our minibus for the 500km trip south down the Stuart Highway (that of Falconio infamy) to our next stop, Coober Peddy.
During the drive we took in ‘Fooluru’ (aka Mt Connor), a rock very similar in shape to Uluru, but without the red glow and used by tour guides to trick people doing our tour in reverse (and consequently arriving here before the rock itself). After that it was pretty much head down and drive for 6 hours or so, watching the scenery change from bushy scrub land to barron desert, the only entertainment on route trying to dodge the numerous Kangaroos skipping into the road, and watching the less fortunate ones who hadn’t followed the green cross code being pulled apart by the massive, impressive wedge tailed eagles.
We arrived in Coober Peddy in the early evening, this place has to be one of the most bizarre places we have come across so far on our travels. It is the opal capital of the world, and the surrounding area is full of holes, and piles of rubble where people have dug exploratory mine shafts. There is some wierd agreement in place with the state government which means that each mine can only be owned by 1 individual, therefore keeping any large mining companies out of the area. In return, Coober Peddy is populated by colourful characters from around the world seeking their fortune from a lucky find. Due to the heat, and the number of holes in the ground, the people live underground in ‘dugouts’ made from converted mine shafts…..if that wasn’t strange enough, you could buy dynamite in the local Supermarket, and due to the loose nature of law enforcement in the area, the locals apparantley have the propensity to light the odd stick or two to settle any arguments! This place reminded us very much of the set of Mad Max, which is probably because it was the set of Mad Max! We took in a opel mine tour, before enjoying a pizza followed by a few beers at the underground bar before getting our head down in the underground backpackers!
The next day was another early start, and after a qucik visit to the local Police station to report the theft of a camera from our digs overnight, it was back on the Stuart Highway heading south to our next destination, on a local sheep station. On route we passed through the dingo fence, which keeps the ferrel dogs out of South Australia to enable sheep stations to operate. The sheep / cattle stations themselves are ridiculously big, the largest one we travelled across was roughly the same size as Belgium! We also stopped off at Lake Hart, a dried up inland salt lake used by the Aussie military for bombing practice. As we walked down to the lake to get a closer look we quickly realised why the tour group recommended closed shoes for walking, as the brains of the operation (a.k.a. Charlotte!) stubbed her big toe on a rock causing our first real injury of the tour to date, at least it justified carrying the medical kit around for the last 7 months!
The following morning, another 4.30am start and a short drive through the flinders ranges, we arrived at Wilpena Pound where we took in a hike up to the summit of Mt Ohlsen-Bagge. On route we saw looks of wild Emus, Red and Grey Roos and Rock Wallabies, the creatures over here are so much more interesting than back home! In the afternoon we stopped off at some Aboriginal rock painting sites and some more dreamtime stories from our knowledgeable guide, Mark. We then got back into the van for another marathon drive for our final overnight stop before Adelaide, a small outback town called Parachilna, population 5. The town consisted of a pub, a train station, an ‘overflow accomodation centre’ and about 4/5 houses for the residents. Our evening meal was an outback barbie, where we sampled such gourmet delights as camel sausages, emu burgers and Kangaroo steaks! After weighing up our options for evening entertainment, we decided on a night in the local pub, from where we took in the famous (apparantly) Parachilna sunset, and the local highlight of the evening, the freight train passing through town (all 250 carriages!).
The final leg of the trip saw us take in a winery visit in the flinders ranges (where the owner seemed partcularly put out by a bus load of backpackers turning up!) before cruising into Adeliade and the first sight of civilisation in six days! We checked into our digs before meeting up with the group for a final farewell meal and drinks.
The trip was a fantastic experience, and gave us a completely different perspective of Australia from that gleaned during our stay in Sydney. The shear size of central Australia is stagerring, and the environment has to be one of the most inhospitable on earth. The heat is baking (45+ most days) and with no relief from sunrise to sunset it is easy to imagine how tough it would be to survive here without the comforts of an air conditioned minibus and constant supply of cold water (although apparantly it is only the Poms who are daft enough to visit at this time of year!). The trip also gave us our first real insight into Aboriginal culture, a fact that is sad given we have been over here for nearly 3 months now and and in complete contrast with the integrated Maori culture in New Zealand.
Tags: Australia
Chris and Charl
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