|
WhereAreJanetandRick Australia |
The Alice Springs Circuit
The Alice to Yalara
Our next stop was Central Australia in the Northern Territories.
Rick couldn’t find another Ostrich to ride so he gladly assumed the Outback way of riding through the desert! (There are 1/2 million wild camels in OZ!)
Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)
Ahhh, here is what we always see photos of in the desert; that beautiful red rock known as Kata Tjuta (or the Olgas in English).
Uluru (Ayer's Rock)
As you can see we really grew long watching the beautiful desert sunset!
After viewing from sunset we ate a great barbie dinner (BBQ) at our campsite before retiring for a few hours of sleep. The sunrise viewing of Uluru (Ayers rock in English) was worth getting up for!
We then walked the 10 km around Uluru before the heat of the day (which incidentally reached 41 degrees Celsius). The Aboriginals consider the mountain a sacred site and strongly discourage and request that you do not climb. The walkabout was spectacular. In the cultural center we learned many of the stories about the site. This was the result of one of the ancestors during “dreamtime” (Creation) getting angry and rolling down leaving parts of itself behind.
As they heat and sun came up, the flies came out!
There are ancient cave paintings in the caves of Uluru. The circular drawing on top depicts a water hole. We bought some art and a definition book of the stories the art tells to remind of this beautiful area.
Kings Canyon
On the drive we saw this magnificent Ghost eucalyptus tree. The trunk is white, however, in drought, the tree sacrifices 'weak' limbs to keep the rest of itself watered - the sacraficial limbs turn black and eventually fall off. Never park under a ghost eucy.
This is Kings Canyon. We again started out before dawn and the heat of the day. Thankfully the wind and our Guide’s fruitcake at top gave us comfort (no chocolate here folks!).
The Road Back to The Alice
Desert oaks; So majestic ... how do they survive with no water...long roots and other amazing evolutionary adaptations to the climate.
This sand twister was viewed on our final drive back to Alice Springs.
As all good things must come to an end and we must move on…..our bloke Rick drinks to a farewell in the setting sun!
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
