George’s Adventure

Wednesday 15th November 2006

On Friday 10/11 we set off on a ferry to Koh Phi Phi from Phuket Town. At the ferry port they gave us yellow stickers to indicate that we were getting off at Koh Phi Phi Don.  There are two islands that make up Phi Phi.  The ‘Don’ island as I like to call it is the bigger of the two. When we arrived it was hot and sunny but raining slightly.  It seems that the rainy season is just coming to an end but still it rains a bit in the late afternoon.  Plenty of time to catch some rays in the evening though.  When we got off there was caos, people are everywhere.  Instead of trying to get us into a tuk tuk, here they just want you to stay in their hotel or get on their boat.  Mayhem.  Eventually we found a guy who took our luggage and we followed him on foot through the various stalls and shops to our resort.  The man in charge tried to tell us that there were no rooms available but since we had already paid I put up a bit of a fight and he backed down.  When we got to reception they booked us straight in.  We even got air con, a mini bar and a TV when we had only paid for a fan – bonus!! 

The beach was about a 2 minute walk from our room.  Beautiful sand and warm water which we swam in every day.  On the second day it rained in the afternoon but we still swam and played frisbee in the rain.  In the evening the place is fairly relaxed and quiet.  The most excitement culminates in fire shows. We managed to see three just walking from one bar to the next.  I am now sick of fire shows. 

I had two massages while I was on the island. One with oil and one with Janine next to me which was just a thai massage. I am still a bit achey but it was great.  Thai massages are very different to the ones we are used to back home. 

Yesturday we got the ferry back to Phuket and then a plane back to Bangkok. 

Thursday 9th November 2006

Arriving in Phuket was surprisingly easy.  We had arranged it so that we got picked up from our hostel in Bangkok and transfered to the airport where our flight was with Bangkok Airways (‘Thailand’s boutique airline’ dont you know!!).  We got given noodles on the plane they were great.  Anyway, we got picked up at the airport too which took all the hassel of sorting out a taxi for ourselves once we got there.

We are staying at ‘Sandy Beach’ on Patong beach in Phuket.  ‘Sandy Beach’ is about a two minute walk to the beach.  It’s great.  We have spent most of our time just lazing on the beach.  The most taxing thing is saying ‘no’ to various thai people who try to sell you all sorts of things from fruit and ice creams to sarongs, tops and wooden elephants.

Muay Thai boxing is big here.  We got to go to our first thai boxing match.  The atmosphere was amazing.  We were right in the thick of it with all the thai men waving their hands around and getting all excited with their betting.  So much fun.  We saw 8 matches ranging from young boys right through to the big boys with one girl fight in between, which i didnt like (something about girls fighting like men that isnt right).

Today we visited Phuket town.  We got a bus from the beach front which costs 20 baht.  The bus takes an hour but its much cheaper than a tuk tuk and quite an experience being packed in like sardines in the bus.  Phuket town itself is pretty much non existant and a bit of a let down for us.  There is supposed to be some good portuguse architecture here but we werent overly impressed.

Monday 6th November 2006

We arrived at the new international airport in Bangkok.  Last time I visited they only had one part which everyone flew into.  Now they have a part for domestic and a part for international.  We queued up in the metered taxi rank queue and a lady came to ask us where we are travelling to.  I had written the place we wanted to stay down so she looks at it and writes on a slip of paper where we want to go in Thai.  This lets the taxi driver know where we want to go – sometimes their English is not so good.  Travelling at night accross Bangkok is great.  You can see all the different roads, winding on top of each other and the traffic is tremendous, I had forgotton what a race track the roads are here.  Then there is the hooting – it’s great.  We eventually arrive at our destination – the good old, Th Khao San, the Khao San Road to you and me.  This place is pumping, filled with all sorts of people walking up and down, street vendors trying to see you all sorts of different noodles and rice dishes and the fruit and clothes and just things – too many things to take in.  I have a huge backpack on and my back is killing and we are trying to find somewhere to stay amongst the crowd.  Eventually we find a place – the smallest bedroom in the world, smaller than my room at home (it must be tiny I hear you cry!!!).  Still, its a bed and has a hot shower (not that you want a hot shower – only a cold one) and a toilet.

In Bangkok we have caught the skytrain, BTS, from the National Stadium near Siam Square to Mo Chit.  This is where the Chatuckak weekend markets take place.  This place is amazing – i loved it.  Ive decided that we have to return before we leave so I can buy loads of stuff (ok rubbish that you fall in love with here and never use or need when you get back home).  We wandered around Siam square, taking in the place and wandering through the huge MBK – a big shopping centre.  (Kristin you would be in heaven here).

Yesterday was temple day for us.  We decided to take a tuk tuk (motorised transport in Thailand that takes you quickly and smoggily to whereever you want to go – normally a hair raising experience which is overpriced.  Still, we got to see The Golden Buddah, The Grand Palace and the surrounding buildings and Wat Pho – this is my favourite buddah ever.  A huge and gigantic reclining buddah – everyone should see it in their lifetime – totally amazing.  Yesterday was also a special day because it was the day of a certain festival where you buy a ring of flowers, light the candle and incense sticks on it, make a wish, and throw it into the river.  The idea is that you will have good luck for the rest of the year and you are throwing away the bad things down the river.  Janine and I got one and watched it float off down the river.  There were also boats floating down the river with all sorts of different music coming from them and they were all ornately decorated and lit up.  Very impressive and fun.

Wednesday 1st November 2006

Well our last day in Sydney and we have managed to cram in a trip to Bondi beach where we checked out the beach, had some fish and chips and then we caught the bus back to Sydney centre to go for a loop on the mono rail. Just a short little loop around the town and you get to sit in separate carriages, nothing like the one in Bangkok which I thought it would be. Then we walked to Darling Harbour where we walked and walked until our feet hurt. This meant some recovery was needed in Gloria Jeans Coffee – they seem to be everywhere here. Tonight we are off to the side bar in central Sydney and then we will be up early tomorrow morning to catch our flight to Thailand.

Tuesday 31st October 2006

Melbourne feels chilly. I think i have literally stepped into a fridge when i get off the bus. Melbourne is a bustling and vibrant city that is bigger than Adelaide but not so big that you cannot get around easily. Melbourne have trains, buses and trams galore. This is also a place where if you want to turn right at traffic lights you get into the left hand lane to turn – weird!!

My first day in Melbourne led me to the Old Melbourne Gaol. Janine insisted on calling it ‘gool’ for some reason. I did try and tell her. The jail was interesting as you get to look into the cells and walk around the prison and imagine what the conditions were like and you learn about the different inmates including the famous Ned Kelly.

We caught the free city loop tram. It just does a loop around the city. We did this and then got off to walk along the South Bank Arts and Leisure Precinct, then back along the river to the otherside accross Queens Bridge street to Rialto Towers and Melbourne’s Observation Deck. First we watched a short chessy film on Melbourne – it had the best 80s hair cuts in it. It encourages tourists to visit the different attractions in Central and the surrounding areas of Melbourne. We took a lift up to the main observation deck which gives you a 360 degree view of the city, 253m high.

At 6pm Janine made sure I was positioned in Melbourne Central Station, a massive train station filled with all sorts of levels from cinemas to expensive shops and food places. In the middle there is a clock which chimes at 6pm and moves around – quite amusing.

In our hostel that night we went down to our bar, Roo Bar. There was a pjama party going on. Very funny. I missed the bit where Janine put on some PJs and danced – haha!

Other hightlights of Melbourne have to be eating a mild bratwurst from Melbourne’s first bratwurst shop at the Queen Victoria Markets. A big market selling everything from fruit and veg to clothes.

Wandering around Federation Square where live music was being played I stumbled into the ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image). A place dedicated to the moving image. After thoroughly depressing myself by watching a short film on a teenage girl who ends up loney I thought it best to get back to the hostel and Janine.

On Monday Janine and I visited St Kilda for the day. A beautiful beachy place. Fairly small but very happening. Lots of cafes and best of all, cake shops! We walked along the Esplanade there and the famous pier.

Last night we went to the famous Neighbours night. Well, we couldnt come to Australia and not do something related to Neighbours. It was hillarious! We got picked up by a shuttle bus that took us to the ‘Elephant and Wheelbarrow’ pub in St Kilda. You get one free drink and the chance to meet some stars. We got to meet Ned, Dylan and Sky. Being a bit of an old skool Neighbours fan and not having seen it that recently – some of us work you know – I did feel a little nervous about meeting them but it was fine. I had my photo taken with all of them. There was also a trivia quiz – just general knowledge – we didnt win obviously!! There were also various competitions that you could enter and then once it was all over the music started pumping and a dance floor emerged. Overall, a great night!

Saturday 28th October 2006

On Tuesday 24/10 my adventure to The Grampians and The Great Ocean Road began.  I had decided that this part of the Australian coast was something that I really wanted to do and Janine wasnt too bothered and couldnt afford it so I decided to go it alone. 

There were 7 of us on the tour bus and as always, outnumbered by the guys, as there was 1 guy (and he was married!).  Our first stop on the bus was at Keith where we had a bakery stop and got free tea.  As I poured the milk into my cup the lid came undone and it literally spurted out in my cup.  I mean i dont mind milky tea but pleeease.  Good start, impressing my new found best friends.  You will all be pleased to hear that my clumsiness still exists.  We then went to Bordertown where we stopped at a wildlife park to see white kangaroos.  I have never seen white kangaroos before.  Apparently it is a gene thing and not because they are albino.  We stopped at Frances for an alcohol stop and then passed into Victoria officially.  We had to change our watches again, back half an hour.  The clocks also change again tomorrow for us for daylight savings.  After lunch we climbed down to view the McKenzie Falls.  These were impressive, the spray was great and climbing down the 260 odd steps was great.  Only on the way back did i begin to feel the strain.  On this first day we also visited The Balconies.  Named because the rocks jutt out like a balcony does.  The view from these rocks is wonderful.  Unfortunately much of the scenery is a bit singed as in January there was a massive bush fire that devastated much of the forestry in the area.  On the way to The Balconies we spotted an echidna.  This is a creature that looks a bit like a hedgehog.  If you go to www.flickr.com/photos/foxgeo you will probably spot it in the Australia section (once i have put this pic up on the site).  I also noticed regrowth occuring in the burnt out forest.  These are yakka trees.  They have seeds in them that crack when the fire goes through the forest.  The ash left after the fires allows the tree to flourish as it provides nutrients.  They look very funny.  In the evening we stayed in Halls Gap.  I kept thinking this was a place called Hell’s Gap – i have no idea why?

Day 2 of the trip and I am ready to face Borona Peak.  This is a 3.2km walk up a mountain.  It wasnt too strenuous but it did take us 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to the top.  No bad going.  When I got to the top there was a spectacular view of The Grampians and on the other side of the peak you could see Halls Gap.  For lunch we stopped at Tower Hill Reserve which is a volcanic area.  You could see the layers of rock in the sheer drops as we drove down to the reserve.  The irish used to own the land here and planted potatoes.  However, they stopped doing this and used it as a dumping ground for rubbish.  Eventually the land was passed back to the Australians and they replanted the area with vegetation that would have eventually inhabited the place.  Naturally animals began to live inthe area.  It is now a protected reserve and while we were there we spotted wild emus (which I dont like) and koalas, sleeping and munching away in the trees. 

After lunch we hit The Great Ocean Road.  There are three sections to the road.
a) The Rocky coast (shipwreck coast)
b) The Green coast
c) The Surf coast

We began our trip seeing the Bay of Martyrs.  This is where many aboriginees were taken and massacred, literally thrown off the cliff top there.  Many locals know this and the stories are passed on by word of mouth.  Next we visited The Rockies and The Twelve Apostles.  Now The Rockies are part of The Twelve Apostles:
2 (The Rockies)          6 (plus 2 eroded)                  4 apostles
                  —-x—-                                 ——-
————–LAND————————-LAND———–

If you look at my beautiful diagram above you have to imagine that the numbers are part of the apostles and they are in the sea.  The 2, 6 and 4 make up the Twelve Apostles.  However, there were 2 others which you can still see but have eroded away.  I did a ten minute helicopter ride above the apostles which was amazing.  I think i spent the first five minutes in shock that i was actually in a helicopter as i have never been in one before.  I had such a smile on my face.  That night was spent in Port Cambell after watching the sun set over the apostles from ‘x’ on my diagram.

Day 3, final day of the tour and we got up fairly early and off to see the Loch and Gorge where i ran down onto the beach and climbed into a cave.  I loved it and I was the only one who managed not to get completely soaking wet on the way in and out – all about timing.  The story associated with this is that Tom and Eva were stranded, shipwrecked, at the Loch and Gorge.  Tom kept Eva warm after saving her and cuddled her all night to keep her alive and warm.  The next day he got help.  Tom asked Eva to marry him, she declined, he went off and died in his third or fourth shipwreck.  Tragic!

The Green Coast is where I did Maits Rainforest walk.  Just an easy going walk looking at palms and on the way around I spotted a very rare black snail.  They are rare because they do not reproduce enough.  We moved the snail off the path.  Free the snail!!  For lunch we stopped at Apollo Bay and had fish and chips followed by a walk up the road and then onto the Surf Coast where we made a stop at Cape Patton Lookout and Mount Defiance Lookout.  The Great Ocean Road took 14 years to make.  It was made by soldiers.  The road is 240km long and it is said that one soldier died every 1km.  We stopped at a view of Split Point Lighthouse.  Those of you who used to watch ‘Round The Twist’ as a youngun like me will remember the lighthouse.  We also visited Bells Beach along this stretch, Australia’s most famous surfing beach.  Yes, I did see surfers!!  A great walk along this beach was a must.  The sand just sank into my feet and the waves were phenominal.  Our last stop before hitting Melbourne was at Torquay, home of Quiksilver and Ripcurl. 

Sunday 22nd October 2006

The first thing noticeable about Adelaide is that the temperature is undeniably cooler than what we have been used to in Central Australia (outback). It gets cold in the evening, a bit like our summer evening’s at home. Also, in the day, it is nice to sit in the sunshine, but in the shade it does get a bit chilly. Maybe I am just a whinge bag and had got acclimatised to outback weather – I dont miss the flies though. Ug, they are everywhere in Central Australia and are so annoying. No annoying flies here!

In Adelaide we have visited the State Library, bought matching mood rings (I know it sounds pathetic but it was sooo funny – I think you had to be there!). We hopped on the free city loop bus, which does at it says on the tin, and got off to visit Adelaide’s Art Gallery, which has so many paintings and such a vast array of art work I had no idea where to look. In the evening on Thursday we watched ‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ which was made in 1994. It was great to watch this as it contains lots of scenery and landscape from the outback and Kings Canyon, which is where we have just been. It’s such a funny film too.

On Saturday we got up early for free breakfast at our hostel and, of course, Haigh’s Chocolate Factory. At this factory you can go on a free tour and learn all about how they make the chocolate. They do not export internationally so we thought it only right to sample as much as we could while we are in Australia. Yummy it is too. We bought some small chocolates from the shop and ate them in the park opposite. We then visited the ‘JamFactory Contemporary Craft & Design’ shop and exhibition gallery. This is supposed to be the best Australian designer made glass, ceramics, jewellry, textiles, wood and metal objects. We actually saw glass blowing being done there. We had lunch in my own chain of fast food restaurants, ‘Hungry George’s’ – funny really – I seem to get everywhere. We then decided to go and chill by Adelaide River. We drank coffee and chatted all day. At about 7pm we decided to move and went to Adelaide’s Central Markets. In these markets, which were still buzzing, and it seems continues to do so until 9pm, there are loads of fresh produce and food. Anyone living here has absolutely no reason to visit the supermarket, its great. They sell fruit and veg and everything else in these markets and the smells are great. We decided to have dinner here, by Chinatown and we got the biggest portion for $6.00. Very tasty and cheap. In the evening we watched ‘The March of the Penguins’, a lovely film about penguins – quite random.

Monday 23rd October 2006

On Saturday we got up and made our way to Adelaide’s Central Markets.  We bought some fresh food there and went and sat in a park nearby and had a little picnic.  We had the best day just chatting and lazing in the sunshine.  In the evening we watched ‘Walk the Line’ which is a film about Johnny Cash. 

Yesturday we got up early to go on a wine tasting tour of the Barossa Valley.  We began our tour stopping off at ‘The World’s Largest Rocking Horse’, even though it doesnt actually rock.  It is very big though.  They have a toy factory there where they sell all sorts of different toys made from wood.  We then visited the ‘Whispering Wall’.  This is actually the Barossa Dam and it acts a bit like the gallery in St Pauls Cathedral where you can stand at one end and say something and someone at the other end can hear what you are saying very clearly.  Our first winery was Orlando, at Jacob’s Creek.  We were told of the history of the winery and how they make the wines there.  Janine and I then had our first ever structured wine tasting.  It began with a sparkling rose and progressed from white to red wine and then finally a port.  As this was our first wine tasting I felt that it only proper to taste as much of the wine as possible, following in my Fox footsteps I believe.  The second winery we visited was named VineCrest Wines and was run by a married couple.  This winery was on a much smaller scale but I thought that the wines were the best of the day.  The third winery was Richmond Grove.  Another big winery which took us on a tour of their place and showed us the presses that they use and explained how they make the wines.  We then stopped for lunch here where we had a BBQ – good old Aussie favourite I think.  The fourth winery was named Bethany winery.  Here, they do not do a structured wine tasting, you simply go up and ask for the specific wine you wish to taste.  Some of the wines were simply delish!  When we got back to our hostel we were both very hungry so we nipped out to a cafe that sold the best risotto and lasagne. 

This morning I got up and went on a free guided tour of Adelaide’s Botanical Gardens on my own.  Gillian, my guide, was very informative and explained lots of interesting facts about the trees and plants they have in the gardens.  It is also a glorious day today, bright sunshine and much hotter than it has been the last two days.

Tonight we are off on an evening tour of the town.  Tomorrow I go it alone on the Great Ocean Road for 3 days, hopefully reaching Melbourne at the end of it.

Thursday 19th October 2006

Yes, I have finally made it to Adelaide. I have spent almost a month just travelling in the outback – it feel like an eternity – but it has been fun.  On Tuesday 17/10 we got picked up at our hostel at half past six to spend the next two days in a 4×4 just to get down to Adelaide.  It wasnt all bad though.  We stopped off at Eldunda where Janine and I have been twice before on our Uluru tour.  We do love covering old ground it seems. We also stopped at the ‘Welcome to Southern Australia’ sign as a moment to celebrate passing from Northern Territory to Southern Australia.  It suddenly got colder.

There were 9 of us on the tour plus our guide, Mike, who was a jolly Aussie.  Why do they always shout at the top of their voices?  I can hear perfectly well I thought.  The 4×4 was crampt and the pipes underneath the floor were boling hot so my feet just felt like they were on fire the whole time but we were rewarded at the end of the first day’s journey with seeing Coober Pedy.

Coober Pedy is famous for its minining of opals.  They have lots of shops selling opals and people live in this town, underground.  They live in a cave basically.  Their rooms remain at a constant temperature and when they turn out the lights at night it is completely pitch black.  We went on an Underground Mine Tour that explained how people live and how people mine the area waiting for their lucky find of opals.  After the tour Janine and I went wandering around the town, which seems to have a large population of Greek inhabitants, and found a shop where a lovely Greek lady gave us a bag of stones with an opal in it.  I am sure it is worthless but she insisted we take it and told me about when she moved to Australia from Greece.  That night the whole group went for a Greek meal.  The tzatziki tasted amazing, just like the stuff you get in Greece.  Different!  We slept underground that night ourselves.  It is the best night’s sleep I have had in ages and we were woken at 5am by our guide playing the didgeridoo, which sounded great in an underground cave.

We watched the sunrise from Coober Pedy and headed down to Adelaide.  It was a long journey but on the way we stopped off at Lake Hart, which is a big salt lake.  It looked like Christmas cake icing to me.  It tasted salty though.  We also saw eagles on the way, a monitor lizard and a stumpy tail or sleepy lizard on the way.  We stopped off at Port Augusta after lunch and then Snowtown.  Our guide only told us after we had left and devoured a delicious ice cream that Snowtown is a famous town in Australia for some murders that took place.  Known as the ‘Snowtown murders’ or the ‘Bodies in Barrels murders’ as there were bodies found in a disused bank there in 1999.  Eight bodies were found in plastic barrels.  Four people were charged with the murders.  Nice.  We arrived later that evening, at about 7.30pm, in Adelaide.  It is much cooler here.  Just in time to grab a take-away pizza and watch ‘The Da-Vinci Code’ on DVD in our hostel.  Not as good as the book i might add.

Monday 16th October 2006

We left for our 3 and a half day Uluru trip from Alice Springs on Thursday 12/10.  The day before we had spent getting all our stuff ready for the trip and having a look around Alice Springs.  I had assumed that since we are in the middle of Central Australia there would be absolutely nothing here but desert and red sand.  Well there is red sand and it does get very dry like a desert but the town is quite big and has a life to it.  There is a lot to do in this town.

We began our Red Centre Safari tour by meeting our guides, Tim and Karen, who took us to Kings Canyon on our first night.  We stopped off at the Outback Camel Farm where you can ride a camel for 5 minutes for $5.  As i have already riden a camel before and as camels are not actually native to Australia i wasnt really all that bothered.  Instead, i just had a look at a few.  I couldnt even bring myself to touch them – they are quite strange creatures and i didnt fancy getting spit on myself really.

We drove along a road that seeemed to last forever, seeing the gorgeous ‘George Gill Ranges’ and eventually stopping to spend the night in camp with a camp fire and sleeping in swags watching the stars.

The next day we got up at 5.30am to conquor the Canyon.  The Kings Canyon walk takes 4 hours to complete and it is very steep in places.  It was worth the hard slog in the heat though as the views of the sheer cliff faces and the scenery is spectacular.  During the walk you reach the ‘Garden of Eden’ which is a water hole where you can go for a swim.  A couple of the guys in our group braved it but i decided not to – it was freezing.

We also travelled to Yulara to experience the sunset over Uluru that night.  Unfortunatley the sunset wasnt all that good as there was a lot of cloud cover.  It does feel strange seeing Uluru though.  It does have a spiritual feel to it.

On Saturday we got up at 4.15am, oh how we love these early mornings.  We went to see the sunrise over Uluru and Kata Tjata (The Olgas).  Tim took us to a place where not many people go and see the sunrise so we got a good view.  We then went off to do a ‘Valley of the Winds’ walk which took about 3 hours to complete.  It was good to get this walk done in the early morning as it does heat up so much during the afternoon.  To cool off after our walk we visited the Cultural Centre where they have loads and loads of information on aboriginal culture and their way of life.  It was so interesting to see.  They even have a ‘sorry book’ which consists of letters and envelopes which people have sent to the rock (literally some envelopes are marked Uluru, Northern Territory – and they still arrive!!) to apologise for taking a bit of the rock when they have visited.  Many people noted that since they had taken the bits of rock and got home things have gone wrong and they believe it has cursed them.  The centre also drums home the message that aboriginal people do not like people to climb Uluru.  Uluru is a sacred site to them and they feel responsible for those that walk it.  Many of the elders of the aboriginal communities at Uluru will cut themselves if people die climbing Uluru.  33 people have died climbing.  That actually isnt a lot of people but when I saw the beginning of the climb (it is unbelievably steep) and after i had visited the cultural centre i started to have doubts about whether i should climb the big red rock.

We had lunch and a swim in the camp site’s pool and then headed off to Uluru for those who wanted to climb.  Three people in our group decided to climb, 2 guys and 1 girl.  They went off and climbed.  I was umming and arrghing about doing the climb when suddenly a ranger pulls up and closes the climb due to forecast rain.  The climb will close if there are adverse weather conditions such as rain, wind or if it reaches 36 degrees and/or above.  I felt like this was a sign to me that i really shouldnt climb so i am content enough to have seen this amazing rock and not have climbed.  The bus begins to drive off when we notice the girl who has begun walking up is now climbing down and is stuck.  Tim, our guide, has to go and get her from the rock and help bring her down.  The climb is so sheer that she had got so scared and found it hard to get down.  I have never seen anyone climb up so fast as Tim.  He got to the girl in about a nano second.  What a job!

Again, I felt glad that i had respected the aboriginal’s wishes and not climbed.

On Saturday night we all went to a lookout near our campsite to see the sunset.  We took nibbles and drinks and it all seemed very civilised considering we all felt really dirty from the sand and generally from camping out under the stars.  I played polka with some of our group.  I have never played before but on my first ever attempt i won – must be a natual.  Again, we slept in swags and in the night it tried to rain.  Just little spots but i could feel them on my face.  It cleared up though.

At 4.15am on Sunday we were up again to see the sunrise.  I was excited to see the changing colours of Uluru when the sun rises as I couldn’t quite believe that it actually happens.  In the National Park which surrounds Uluru they have dedicated spots for sunrise and sunset.  It was so busy.  Full of cars and vans and coaches and people were everywhere.  Firstly the sun rose the opposite side to Uluru so everyone is looking at Uluru and it is dark and everyone is thinking that nothing is happening.  At this point we have a guy from Texas in America in our group called Travis and he can really ham up his accent.  In his best southern drawl he shouts out, ‘Look, there’s a dog y’all!!’ and points.  Everyone in the surrounding area completely turns around to look at this feral dog and take photos.  It was hillarious.  By this point some people start getting back on to their buses as they think it’s all over.  But the sun rises slowly and it takes a while before you notice that Uluru is changing from a dark red to an orange colour.  Amazing.

After the sunrise we head off to complete the Uluru Base walk followed by the Mala walk.  These walks were so interesting as our guides told us stories relating to the shapes of the rocks, explaining why the aboriginal people believe the site to be so special.  The rest of the day was spent driving back to Alice Springs and in the evening our group all met up for some farewell drinks and dinner.

Wednesday 11th October 2006

We have now arrived in Alice Springs from Darwin.  We left Darwin on Sunday 8/10 after an early start of 5.30am to meet the bus.  The fact that we didn’t leave and the bus didn’t pull up until about 7.00am is another matter.  I think someone was having a joke at our expense – FUNNY!  The bus was full, 24 of us on this adventure through the Northern Territory.  There were only 3 English people on the bus, Janine and I being two of them.  The rest were German or French.  We were asked by our guide to write our names in permanent marker on the windows so that we could all see each other’s names and try to remember them.  Our first stop was Adelaide River at a place called the Adelaide River Inn.  This is the place where they have the stuffed bull from the film ‘Crocodile Dundee’ on the bar.  It was huge.

After our Adelaide River breakfast stop we reached Katherine.  Now Janine and I have, as you know, already visited here on our road trip so we weren’t very excited at the prospect of going here but actually we had such a fun day.  We went canoeing along Katherine Gorge.  Janine had never got into a canoe before and thought she would fall in but we didnt.  We paddled up the gorge and stopped along the way for a swim.  After we had got in we noticed a sign up the right of the sand bank saying it was a ‘crocodile breeding area’ and not to swim there.  Didnt notice any crocodiles at the time though.  Thank goodness.  The scenery along the gorge was wonderful.  It is magnificent to see the different colours of rock and great to have a breeze in your face as you are paddling along.  We spent about 3 hours on the gorge and afterwards we spotted some wild wallabys in the trees.  One had a joey in her pouch.  That night we stayed in permanently pitched tents with bunk beds in them.  It didn’t really feel like camping.  We were not allowed a fire as there was a total fire ban that day because of the temperature.  Hot hot hot!!

On Monday 9/10 we got up at 5.30am and it was still pitch black.  There is surely something wrong about this.  Reminded me of having to get up for work.  This was a great day where our first stop was at the Mataranka Thermal Pools.  These pools were originally built by soldiers for the more senior ranking men.  They are 32 degrees in temperature and it was like getting into a luke warm bath.  I think this was because the air temperature outside was so hot that getting into the baths didnt feel so hot.  Walking to the pools was interesting.  There is about a 5 minute walk through some vegetation which is inhabited by flying fox bats.  I have never seen so many bats in my life, and out in daylight too.  They were hanging and flying around and making such a screeching noise.  After we had all got out of the pools the rangers began firing shots to scare the bats away.  I think they are trying to keep the numbers of bats away but to me it just looked like it was creating a lot of noise and the bats were just flying around in circles until they stopped shooting.  Mad.

We stopped for lunch at the Daly Waters Pub in Daly Waters (pronounced Daily).  This place is famous because it sported Australia’s first international airport.  We saw the airstip and arrived at this crazy pub famous because there are things everywhere in it.  Whenever anyone visits they leave a piece of themselves behind.  There are T-Shirts, knickers, photos, stickers and all sorts left here.  Janine left a plaster with her name on and I left my Fijian phone card with my name and date on it. 

We continued our journey driving through Elliot.  This small town is interesting because there are 2 aboriginal communities that inhabit this town.  However, they do not get along with each other and things got so bad that an order had been placed on the town whereby each communities’ members can only visit the town on certain days so that they do not clash.  This seems very sad to me that they cannot get on but it keeps the peace now.  There are about 500 aboriginals to 100 white folk in Elliot and it highlights the fact that not only do some aboriginals not get on with white people but that they clash between their own aboriginal communities too.

We drove along Stuart Highway and our guide explained that a man named Stuart made about 6-8 attempts at getting from Adelaide to Darwin many years ago.  During this time he got scurvy and other illnesses but he did make it in the end.  At his funeral only 7 people attended as he was not very famous.  It was only after he had died that he was recognised.  Along this road we collected some firewood for our camp fire that evening before reaching Tennant Creek. 

Tennant Creek was the first place to have a Telegraph wire that connected Australia to London.  When they were building the telegraph station they found gold there and tried to look for more but could not find anything else.  Years later another man decided to have a look for some gold and employed an aboriginal man who found gold amongst another rock.  The man sent a message via the telegraph wire to his friend in Adelaide passing about 8 different telegraph poles along the way.  It sparked a gold rush.  That night we sat around the camp fire and slept near the fire in swags.  This was the first time I had ever slept in a swag and I actually quite enjoyed it.  It is like a matress with khaki thick material attached to it like a sleeping bag that zips up either side.  You put your sleeping bag inside the swag and zip up and away you go.  I went to sleep looking at the stars above me and woke up on Tuesday 10/10 moring with the moon still shining brightly in my eyes.

On Tuesday we visited The Devil’s Marbles.  They are named as such because of a man named John Lewis who stopped at this place with his cattle.  Overnight half his cattle had died and he believed that the land had a curse and so he called the stones there the ‘Devil’s Marbles’.  The cattle actaully died from eating a plant that grows there.  Aboriginal people explain the marbles through the Rainbow Serpent.  She came to lay her eggs here.  Her eggs are the rocks and the cracked rocks are explained by the eggs hatching.  Geologically, the rocks formed 150 million years ago due to erosion which still occurs today.  Rain and water seeps into the rocks and the ground causing the rock to crack and create the rounded shape.  The stones are so red due to water rusting the sand stone.

Near to the rocks are red gum trees.  They indicate that a water supply is nearby.  If an Aboriginal was in need of some drinking water they would climb a hill and look for these trees.  Once they had found them they would dig by the trees to find the water.  If they still could not find the water they would get the root of one of the trees and drink the water out of the root.  Frogs and crabs live near these trees too.  Frogs mate and drink basically.  When the rain arrives they drink lots of water and fill themselves up.  When the dry season hits they hibernate and slow their heart beat down to about one beat per day slowly drinking the water they have stored up.  They can last 5-10 years without any rainfall.  This is how they survive until the next wet season or rainfall.  From the Devil’s Marbles we walked to another set of rocks where the Devil’s Bollocks exist.  I am sure you can imagine why they are named so.

After the marbles we drove along the stretch of The Stuart Highway, towards Barrow Creek, where Peter Falconio was abducted.  This road runs for 47km with no turns!  There is just vast land here.  The reds of the soil are amazing to look at and when you look into the distance it just seems as if the road is never ending.

Barrow Creek Telegraph Station was so interesting. All Telegraph Stations had to be built near a water supply so that the 4/5 workers had access to water. The white people built this station and used the water supply without any consideration to the aboriginal people. They consider water to be very precious and sacred. So much so that they do not wash but only drink water. They were not happy that the water was being used in this way. They were also unhappy that the cattle on the land would drink the water and so they would kill the cattle for food. However, an agreement was made that cattle would not be killed and the white men could have use of the aboriginal women in return for flour, sugar and alcohol. This agreement lasted a while until the white men got greedy and wouldnt keep their end of the bargain. In revenge 2 aboriginals went to the Telegraph station one day and killed 2 white men working there. Their graves are just a short walk from the station. A man called Sam Galey was sent to investigate the murders and find the aboriginals who had done this. Instead, he just killed any aboriginal man in his sight. He killed about 100 aboriginals and was never convicted. A similar incident occured when a white man who had an agreement to provide tobacco in return for aboriginal women broke his side of the bargain. He was killed by aboriginals and a man named Willshire was sent in to investigate. Willshire was worse than Galey though in that he hated all aboriginals and went into whole communities wiping out not just the men but women and children too. He was convicted eventually but he could afford a good lawyer and got off, retiring on a good pension and having (still to this day) a street named after him in Alice Springs. Recently, his grandaughter and family went to the aboriginal community there and apologised for what Willshire had done.  This explains why there is some animosity between whites and aboriginals, and all this happened 100 years or so ago.

Before reaching Alice Spings, we stopped at The Tropic of Capricorn.  This is a 23.5 degree acute line separating the Tropic of Capricorn and Cancer.  The top, from Darwin down is classed as the tropical region.  I am now officially out of the tropics signifying a change from 2 seasons, dry and wet, to 4 seasons.  Half an hours drive from here is Alice Springs.  It used to be called Stuart Town but was officially renamed after a vote.  The spring nearby used to be called Alice Spring after the man who owned it named it after his wife.  Therefore some people called the town Stuart town and others Alice Spring.  A vote was called to officially name the town and Alice Springs won.