We had a brilliant flight into Alice Springs. The view rapidly changed from a cloudy Cairns to a sunny red desert. It made us realise just how massive and empty Australia is. We picked up a campervan on arrival and set off into the desert, which has a lot more vegetation that we had expected. Still, the outback is relentless. We drove on a deserted highway constantly on the lookout for road trains. These beasts are up to 50 metres long and roam all over the highway, if one approaches you have to pull well off the road to avoid being hit. We drove towards Kata Tjuta (The Olgas). As we aproached we saw a huge red rock and Lou was fooled into thinking it was Uluru (Ayers Rock). Unfortunately it was a fake and we still had 4 hours of driving!! Kata Tjuta are a number of huge dome-like boulders that are higher than Uluru. Some would argue that they are more spectacular than Uluru. We had a nice walk through ‘the valley of the winds’ which enabled you to actually walk on the rock and around the huge perimeter. We then drove at a sensible speed to Uluru for sunset.
Sunset was magical, it’s not often that you can stare at a rock for an hour. The colours changed dramatically from a dull red to a vibrant orange. We had a brilliant view too, with the campervan backed into a space, we opened the boot and sat inside with a beer. We had strapped the camera to the table to get the best photos and Jonty shifted some Germans that were spoiling our view!! We then drove into the desert and parked up under the stars for a great night’s sleep.
It was an early start the next morning for sunrise. It was just as spectacular. Uluru dominates the landscape and draws your attention. It starts to glow and no photo can really do it justice. Lou had a great view sitting on top of the campervan. We stayed after the masses had left for a cup of tea in our still-made bed and just marvelled at the sight. A great start to the day. We joined in with a Park Ranger walk around the base of Uluru. She educated us on the Aborigine lifestyle and influences in the area. We enjoyed our time there. The whole national park was an unforgettable experience.
We drove onto Kings Canyon. Jonty loved this place. The drive there was on the straightest road we’ve been on. We must have gone for 50km without having to turn the steering wheel! Let alone meeting another car. The walk around Kings Canyon has been one of the best we have had on this trip. It started with a steep climb to the top of the canyon and we then walked along and around the ridge. It had spectacular views and cliffs for Jonty to climb up and dangle his legs over. (Scaring the bejeebers out of Lou and some Italian tourists who were saying “Crazeee Eengleesh!”) Great fun.
We were lucky enough to coincide our trip with the Henley-on-Todd Regatta, Alice Springs’ premier event. It takes place on the Todd river, which only flows about 3 times a year. The brilliant thing about this regatta is that it is the world’s only dry regatta. Boats are bottomless, powered by legs and in some cases they are on rails and you have to paddle your way along the sand with a spade! Is this Australian ingenuity at it’s finest? The Aussies are completely crazy! But it was the best fun. We spent the morning along with 5,000 other spectators bathing in the sun, laughing at other’s attempts, before finally deciding to take on the challenge ourselves. The boat categories were numerous. They had 4, 6 and 8 man boats. Some with sails and some long boats. Having been canoeing with Jonty before, we went for the 1 man Kayak category. (He can’t paddle for toffee, and Lou felt it safer with his 2 big left Yank feet to go it alone!) Jonty had Ato Boldon in his heat and failed to qualify. Lou sailed through to the finals where she took on Australia’s finest to become Henley-on-Todd Kayak Champion 2007. (World Champion) The event finished with huge battle ships launching water, flour and fireworks at each other from cannons and slingshots. It was so much fun! A stupid, brilliant day.
The following day we caught The Legendary Ghan train to Adelaide. (Is it legendary for hitting kangaroos or being late we wondered! It did both on our experience.) It is a 19 hour (25 in our case) journey through the desert. We were entertained with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, endless desert and some tumbleweed. That’s all really.
We arrived into Adelaide and were met by the sunshine and a car to take us to the hostel.
