The Other Side of the World Day 7–Springing Around in Alice

I awoke early in Yulara at the Ayers Rock resort to take in the sunrise over the desert and the magnificent rock features one last time.  For this viewing, I just wandered alone through the paths around the resort to a couple of the viewing outposts.  The one in the center of the resorts’ ring road seemed more isolated, but the campground vista appeared to be the most popular.  After sunrise, I made a meandering path back to the hotel where we checked out and had breakfast before catching our shuttle to the airport, which was closed.  You read that correctly…it had to be the first time I’d seen an airport with strict operating hours, so we had to wait about 10 minutes before being allowed to enter and go through the pre-flight rituals. 

A bug staying at our resort

Operating hours of our airport

The flight from Ayers Rock airport to Alice Springs is just a 45 minute hop, so we were at our new destination by lunchtime.  After a brief lunch stop at the hotel and getting things organized in our rooms, we were picked up for the days’ sightseeing tour. 

View of the dried up rivers near Alice Spring

The parents exiting the airplane

Harry, our local guide, gave us an afternoon bus tour of the highlights of Alice Springs.  It started at ANZAC (Australia & New Zealand Army Corps) Hill, a war memorial monument sitting atop a hill overlooking the city.  From here, the guide could point out most of the notable city locations. 

View of Alice Spring (photo credit: DPH)

The Memorial (photo credit: DPH)

Next we moved to the Royal Flying Doctors Service where we were taught how they provide medical care to those isolated in the outback. 

A replica of a plane they currently use

Then we moved into the town center for a stop at an Aboriginal art museum (no photos allowed) before stopping at the School of the Air.  School of the Air used to be conducted via radio, but is now up to date with internet communication technology and is how (mostly primary) education is provided to children isolated in the outback.  The Alice Springs school provides service to 120 children currently spread throughout an area roughly 2x the size of Texas.  Learning about the logistics of life in the outback was enlightening and the exhibits were very well put together.

The excursion ended with a trip to the original telegraph station outside of town which is also the location of the city’s namesake spring.  However, Alice Spring was all dried up, as were all the rivers in the city, and is not a spring at all, merely a rainwater collection basin.  Also interesting is that Alice, the wife of the boss of the founder of the city, never visited her namesake city.  So, the remote outpost original founded to forward telegraph messages passing the middle of Australia is named for a woman who never saw it and a spring that does not exist…only in Australia.

Telegraph Station (photo credit: DPH)

The “spring” (photo credit: DPH)

The telegraph station is located in a natural park area outside of town, and we were blessed with an eagle-eyed guide who spotted a black footed wallaby and two euro kangaroos…the first wild kangaroos we have encountered thus far on the trip. 

Black-footed rock wallaby

Euro

After the tour, we were dropped in town for a little shopping and dinner at a cowboy themed bar named Bojangles’ Saloon.  It was a fun spot with live music and a good sense of humor.  Although we were early compared to their prime-time crowd, we enjoyed the ambience and the music with a couple pitchers of beer before heading back to the hotel for the night.

Our dollar bill to be put on their ceiling

There it is (in the very middle)

Our outback grill platter (camel, kangaroo, crocodile, buffalo)
    
Having some fun on the saddles

Tomorrow we have a leisurely morning before catching a midday flight back the the edge and urban Australia as we make our way to Sydney for the remainder of the Aussie portion of our vacation.

The Other Side of the World Days 5 and 6–Into the Outback

Wednesday morning started with a muggy overcast sunrise run in Cairns before our last visit to the Cairns McDonalds and the hotel buffet breakfast.  After breakfast, we bid goodbye to our Pacific International Hotel room and checked out to wait for our airport transport.  It was a bit damp and rainy for our drive, a good time for it to rain since we had no plans to be outdoors in Cairns today.

Domestic air travel in Australia is easy with the lack of ridiculousness that is American airport security measures, so we breezed through efficiently and settled into the common lounge to await our departure.  The flight was on time with no issues along the way, and after a few hours we were descending into the Ayers Rock landing strip.  Our descent offered aerial views of Uluru (aka Ayers Rock) and some of the other surrounding geological features. 

Ayers Rock from the Air

As we hopped off the plane we were greeted with pleasant 80 degree temperatures, but did not expect this to last.  Some recent rains have brought the temperature down, but now that they’re out of the way, the temperature will be climbing back to the mid-90’s soon.  However, since we arrived on time to have the afternoon open and the temperatures seemed ideal, we moved our planned afternoon/evening visit to Uluru to today and quickly prepared to see the rock.

Our first stop to see Uluru up close

Uluru is a monolith, a single piece of rock, about 1000 feet high with a nearly 6 mile circumference that rises out of the desert floor in the middle of nowhere essentially, which is what makes it so dramatic.  The iron content in the rock causes the surface of the rock to rust, which gives it a reddish tint that is heightened at sunrise and sunset.  Our excursion took us around different viewing posts of the rock and included some short hikes and history of the aboriginal culture here.  At the cultural center we encountered a large snake making his way down the path and were told it was a taipan, one of the most poisonous in all of Australia. We have not yet confirmed it to be true, but the snake did look impressively menacing either way as it slithered only feet away from us.  The evenings trip concluded with wine and snacks at the sunset outlook as we watched the effect of the setting sun on the rock surface. 

        
Uluru at sunset (photo credits:  DPH)

Sunset

We returned to the resort after dark and were dropped off at the neighboring hotel for dinner, where we dined with a couple from England who were in the middle of a trip around the world.  We had crossed paths with them throughout the day, so decided to make them dinner companions.  From here, they were heading the opposite direction as us, so it was interesting to hear about where they had already visited.  Thursday was scheduled to be a very early morning since we were viewing the sunrise, so we were in bed immediately post-dinner.

At 4:35AM, our next day began and we re-boarded the same bus from the previous days’ excursion and returned to the national park.  After coffee and snacks while viewing the sunrise (on the opposite side of Uluru), we made our way another 25 miles or so into the desert to Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), another nearby geologic feature in the desert. 

Uluru at just before 5 am
       
Uluru during the sunrise (photo credits: DPH)

Ulura (right) and Kata Tjuta (left, in background) at sunrise 

One of the many, many photographers at Uluru at sunrise

Kata Tjuta is actually a range of “mountains” that jut up to 1700 feet from the surface of the desert, but include another nearly 18,000 feet hidden below the surface of the earth.  They had valleys and gorges included, and somewhat reminded me of the area near Zion national park in Utah, but more isolated.  As with the previous excursion, we hiked a bit, visited a couple outlooks, and learned of the lore associated with the mountains before returning to the resort as the heat was rising for the day.

The two geographical options for viewing

Kata Tjuta up close

…and far away

A pictorial depiction of the multitude of flies

After a multi-hour excursion in the desert, we arrived at the hotel at only 9:15AM, so caught the end of breakfast service at the hotel before returning to the room for naps. 

The rest of the day was low-key at the Ayers Rock Resort grounds, which included a shopping complex, a series of trails to various observation points, and nice pool courtyard at the hotel.  Susan had wanted to ride a camel, so we rode the resort shuttle to the camel farm only to find it runs limited hours in the down season, and had closed earlier.  The camels were still visible in their pen, so Susan was at least able to interact with them for a bit. 

Susan feeding a camel
   
Turkeys and chickens (left), camels (right)
A small lizard near our hotel

Evening at the resort consisted of having dinner at the Outback Pioneer Grill, which offers you the opportunity to choose your meat options from a counter where they are given to you raw.  Then you can cook your own food on the large grills nearby.  The sides, salad, and dessert were provided buffet style.  It was a fun way to mix up the dinner experience.

The directions for the restaurant

The meat selections

Some of the cooks in our family

Back home again

Tomorrow we head to another Outback post at Alice Springs for a full day of scheduled sight-seeing.   

The Other Side of the World Day 4–Karunda and the Australian Rain Forest

Our last full day in Cairns began with a leisurely morning walk to check out a different area of downtown Cairns near the convention center.  There was not too much to write home about in this area and we soon found our way to McDonalds for our morning internet access, followed up by breakfast at the hotel.  It’s amazing how much time you have in the mornings to get prepared for the day when you are waking at 6AM or so (and going to bed by 10PM). 

Around 8:30, we regrouped with the family in the lobby to await the arrival of our transport to the SkyRail.  The SkyRail is a gondola that takes you from a small town just north of Cairns to the Karunda village, with 2 observation stops along the way.  It climbs to the peak of one of the nearby rainforest mountains for the first stop, then transverses the Barren River Gorge with a waterfall view at the second stop.  The final destination is an old mining town that is now a nature preserve and village catering to tourists known as Karunda.  While en route, we were able to spot a couple local birds and butterflies, but not much else from our perch above the rainforest.

The skyrail

The roadway below (photo credit:  DPH)

Us in the skyrail (photo credit:  Dad)

Upon arrival at Karunda, we caught a shuttle to the main drag of shops and attractions and made our way immediately to Koala Gardens, essentially a very small zoo featuring indigenous Australian animals.  It was a required stop for us in Karunda since it gave Susan (and her mom and sister) the opportunity to cuddle a koala bear.  They also let us get a family shot with Jaunita, the koala who was cuddled.  Other highlights of the gardens were freshwater crocodiles, a walkthrough reptile house, and a kangaroo and wallaby “petting zoo” and feeding pen.  They pack a lot into a small area at the Koala Garden, but it’s worth checking out if you’re looking to interact with Australian animals.  Below is a compilation of some of the animals we saw and interacted with.  Note the joey in the wallaby’s pouch.

           

After the Koala Gardens, we grabbed some lunch at the Rain Forest View Café, also the only spot we saw with any air conditioning in Karunda.  Susan ventured a try of a local cuisine in ordering a meat pie and found it to be quite delicious.  Then we commenced wandering the village to check out the small markets and shops.  Shopping offered the standard variety of cheesy tourist souvenirs, but also included some local crafts and aboriginal art that was impressive, albeit expensive. 

   

Once satisfied with our shopping experience, we descended the main road back to the train station.  To get a different experience on our return trip to Cairns, we grabbed the 2PM Karunda Express train down the mountain.  This train takes the same route that was initially established to connect the mining community to the valley below and includes 15 tunnels, a variety of winding track sections and views of the Barren River Gorge from the other side as was seen on the SkyRail.  The train cars are all between 60-100 years old and are well kept to maintain their period feel.  However, the old train is also slow and quite noisy.  The trip all the way into Cairns was nearly a 2 hour journey.  I found the leisurely train ride to be a lot of fun in a quaint sort of way, but it definitely wasn’t an efficient means of travel. 

Our train back to Cairns (photo credit:  Dad)

Stony Creek Falls (photo credit:  Jeff)

Our train entering one of the many tunnels along our route

Once back in the lowlands, we returned to the hotel to relax poolside and recharge before cleaning up and heading out to dinner.  With the proximity to the Asian continent, Australia has a large selection of Asian inspired dining.  So, we chose a Chinese restaurant and enjoyed a quality dinner.

Since we bid adieu to Cairns tomorrow, the rest of the evening was organizing photographs (since we have 3 photographers in tow) and getting our luggage prepared for departure.  To be able to continue enjoying leisurely mornings, bedtime was around 10PM again. 

Tomorrow we head the the red center of Australia, into the real outback, as we visit Uluru (Ayers Rock).