Driving thousands of kilometers just to see a big red rock may seem like a strange adventure, but arriving at Uluru just in time for sunset I had no doubt whatsoever that it had been a fantastic idea. A truly stunning sight stood before me as the huge monolith towered above the flat plains around it and glowed a deep red as the sun went down. Surely one of the most memorable sights Australia has to offer.
Camping down the road at Yulara I busied myself for a couple of days by generally gazing at the rock, passing hours by walking around it, joining an excellent and interesting ranger tour to learn about the local indigenous cultures, and getting up at both sunrise and sunset to see its colours change throughout the day. Without doubt a spectacular experience and with the multitude of sacred aboriginal sights found all around it, there was an inescapable appreciation for the importance and allure Uluru has held over local inhabitants for thousands of years.
Unable to join my tour group friends for their couple of days sightseeing (insurance purposes you see), I conducted my own tours and walked as much as I could. The heat was by now getting rather extreme which meant only one thing – flies. My least favourite animal in Australia was now causing me some serious grief and even pausing to take a photo of a big rock would result in at least 3 of the little ba5tards succeeding in getting up my nose or in my mouth. I accepted defeat and joined the ranks of wannabe “tourist bee keepers” by buying a strange net for my head. It worked fantastically (although drinking was problematic and messy) and once again I was able to actually enjoy the sights rather than sprint round them in an effort to get back to the car as quick as possible.
Whilst Uluru claims the lion’s share of the regions publicity, equally stunning walks and landscapes compliment it just down the road at spectacular Kings Canyon, and the arguably more impressive Kata Tjuta. With head net now a permanent fixture I enjoyed both immensely and chuckled repeatedly as all the confused little flies failed with every one of their nose raids.
The weather, as was becoming the norm, was very definitely against me so I made a well timed dash out of Kings Canyon and crossed the creek only hours before the floods trapped everyone on the other side of it for 2 days. I was still on track and made it up to Alice Springs again to co-incide with my tour group buddies. This was the end of the road for their tour, and also our time together so, claiming my portion of free “end of tour” food and beer, I joined the fine folk for their big night out. Now, I don’t like to boast but becoming the Alice Springs Limbo Champion November 2007 whilst holding a jug of beer in one hand and a pint of beer in the other throughout the tournament, is without doubt one of my more notable achievements in life. My celebrity status ensured for the night, I was awarded another silly hat and followed up my flexible exploits with a respectable, if unsuccessful performance in the Macarena dancing competition.
My work in Alice Springs done, I had enough time left to learn how to mother baby kangaroos (who often survive in the pouch after their mother has been killed by traffic), and how to make some very strange noises in a didgeridoo class. Leaving Alice Springs felt like the end of a phase of my Australian adventure, one route completed and another begun. This one, as is now the norm, would also involve a lot of driving, and a lot of countryside, but at the end of it I should find some rather old friends, if they’ll excuse the phrase – mom and dad.
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