things worth doing in 'the Alice'. 1. the Desert Park 2. have a drink
in Bojangles Saloon 3. get out! And go for a tour of the Outback,
which we did for 3 days. So, this top 5 (in order of preference for a
change) is going to consist of the top 5 sights on the Outback tour.
But first the two things that are worth doing in Alice:
1. Desert Park - about 6K outside central Alice it is basically a
patch of desert which has been manipulated to give you an opportunity
to see all the wildlife that lives in the desert up close, which is
something you don't get to do in the vast untamed desert. It actually
retains a fairly wild feel and has not really been theme parked and we
did see a lot of reptiles, birds and mammals we hadn't been able to
see while on tour. Very glad I did this after the tour though - I
never would have slept outside if I'd known about the number of
snakes, lizards and rodents which roam about! You also get a good view
of the MacDonnell mountain ranges from the park.
2. Bojangles Saloon - a cattle ranch themed bar in Central Alice with
a fun collection of knick knacks, decent Northern Territory food and a
good atmosphere (hard to come by in Alice). It also has the bar
permanently broadcast via webcam which is a novel way to get in touch
with home! Another unusual feature is that the Northern Territories
radio show SunFM is also broadcast live from the bar and you can
request music to be played live on the station. The inevitable
dedication to Paul & Lilly of 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' followed! I
also had an interesting mixed grill dinner - kangaroo (yummo), emu
(yuk), camel (yummo), buffalo (ok), crocodile (yuk). The best place to
spend an evening in the town.
Now for the Red Centre Top 5. The area totally exceeded my
expectations as I was expecting endless vistas of red sand and not
much else but as you will see from the Top 5 there was much more to it
than that - the difference between the dry deserts of Africa and the
Middle East and the semi-arid deserts of Central Oz I guess.
1. Kings Canyon - despite Ayers Rock's worldwide reputation this is
the most impressive thing on the tour. This is largely due to the fact
that rather than being a massive monolith it is alive with creeks,
trees, fossils, watering holes and of course a large canyon. The walk
itself is a good one too as you really get into the canyon rather than
just skirting around it. The cross-bedding rock is also more
interesting to look at than some other more uniform rock types. My
favourite part of the walk was definitely the dip in the Garden of
Eden watering hole. Not too cold but lovely and refreshing!
2. Ayers Rock/Uluru - knocked down to number two because unlike Kings
Canyon it is difficult to interact with it as it is basically one big
lump of rock. Having said that it is a massive lump of rock and looks
very impressive from a distance especially at sunset and I also loved
the challenge of walking up it. Although it is only alledgedly 1K to
the top it is mostly so steep that they provide you with a chain to
heave yourself up. We decided to do this (optional part of the tour)
as we were heading into the hottest part of the day at 10ish and so it
was really hard work! It is worth it when you get to the top though -
great views of table mountain, the Olgas and a real sense of
achievement. As Paul has explained the Aborigines prefer it if people
don't climb so I hope we aren't cursed now! If you don't climb you can
do a base walk which we also did at sunrise which has some nice
moments and is a much more gentle walk.
3. Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) - the first thing we on the tour and
basically a range of domed composite rocks. It was a pretty tough walk
in the heat of the afternoon, but a good introduction to the red sand
and rock that makes the red centre. The view down to the valley from
the 'Saddle' was pretty awesome too. The distinctive dome shapes also
look good from a distance.
4. Stars - the best night sky I have ever seen. Best enjoyed while
lying on a 'swag' (glorified sleeping bag) after a long day's walk.
Only got bitten 6 times during the night and only by mossies so could
have been worse!
5. Sunset - our first night sunset was at the main Ayers Rock view
point and was a bit overcrowded. Not a patch on the second night one
which was from a view point near our campsite and from where you could
see both the Olgas and Ayres Rock. Some aged hippies added atmosphere
by playing music on a collection of new age instruments. Peaceful and
beautiful.
(5a. The Thorny Devil - the cutest reptile I have ever seen with dinky
little paws and a slightly drunken walking style (3 steps forward and
1 step back to replicate the motion of a falling leaf to put off
predators). Captured by our tour guide it bends its head forward which
causes a fake head to pop up which can be bitten off by predators
without causing the devil too much trouble. Cute and clever!)
A quick warning to anyone considering going on this tour: in order to
cover the ground on the road and avoid the heat you do have to get up
very early (6am, 5am, 3am to be precise!!). Some of the walks are also
very hard work especially if you decide to add in the Ayers Rock
climb! Due to an itinerary change we did have one afternoon to lounge
around by the pool in Alice Springs resort without which I might have
died! I still feel stiff 2 days later! We did our tour through
Adventure Tours - not for the faint hearted - but totally recommended.
I have already uploaded a selection of scenery photos taken on my
phone, which are much easier to upload than photos from the camera.
One day we will put some more personal and high quality photos up.
Promise!
On to Brisbane!
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