Outback Adventure - Day 1

Preface

This a travel diary of the 12 days we spent in Australia's Outback, travelling from Alice Springs in the central desert to Darwin on the north coast. We went there to experience nature and to gain some understanding of a culture that was completely alien to us.

We had a fantastic time, seeing things we will never forget. We hope these blogs will inspire you to do something similar.

Ready? Let's go!


Brisbane - Cairns - Yulara - Uluru

The big picture

The area around Alice Springs. Bottom left to top right is about 600 km.

Brisbane. We're up at 5:00 for our 5:30 taxi to the airport, which arrives exactly on time. Check-in is quick and easy. We have something for breakfast while we wait to board.

On the plane I get a window seat and have a lovely time looking at the islands off the Queensland coast. Get off onto the tarmac in Cairns. It's humid and bloody hot. Wait for our connecting flight and then its off to Yulara in quite a small plane.

I get a window seat again. The changing landscape is fascinating. Northern Queensland is a lush jungle green filled with meandering rivers. This gradually changes to khaki savannha, brown, orange and red-brown desert as we get closer to the centre All the earth colours are visible, from purple to red to yellow. From the air, one can also see the ancient, well eroded mountain ranges folded over the country. I spot Uluru from the air, along with several salt-lakes in the vicinity.

No problems with baggage. We booked a 2-night desert 4wd safari tour with Wayoutback Adventures as a way of getting familiar with the desert. Our guide is punctual to the minute and we're off.

The truck is full, so we get to ride up front with him. This is undoubtedly the best spot in the bus, since we have the best view and get to ask him questions all the time. Our guide is called Chris and is a Kiwi. We are only his second tour group. His first tour ended after only a day, when he was bitten by a snake and had to be taken to hospital in Alice Springs, 6 hours away in the back of a Land Cruiser, doing dirt roads at night. Despite being a Kiwi he is a very nice guy and we get on well. He is very enthusiastic and loves talking. Sense, mostly.

We stop at our campsite for lunch, which is a very basic site within a tourist camping complex. We get out of the truck and are immediately beset by flies. Fucking millions of them. They crawl into your ears, your nose, your mouth and your eyes. You swat them away, but they don't care, they just keep coming. I was warned about this, but I dismissed it as fear-mongering. Boy, was I wrong. After an orgy of slapping them, slapping myself, getting the fuckers out of my ears, etc, I get back into the truck. I briefly consider suicide, but then the guide assures us that there are fly-nets for sale at our next stop. Salvation! This turns out to be the shop at the Uluru cultural centre. Cost: $10. They could have charged $1000 and I would still have bought them.

The campsite: Dining Room, fireplace, kitchen, bedroom, garage.

Uluru itself is a vast monolith, with the top bit sticking out above the desert surface, but the majority underground. A bit like an iceberg. The earth magic is strong here, and I mean that literally. I had trouble tearing my gaze away from it. It is a big, friendly, welcoming rock. You could think of it as a manifestation of the earth-mother. The guide says this is normal and even the guides, after seeing it countless times, still fall under its spell.

Uluru from a distance.

We drive halfway around it and get out for some closer exploration. We walk into one of the many hidden valleys on the side of the rock, past ancient aboriginal rock-paintings. This is a place of huge importance for the local aboriginal people, who have many myths centered ouround it. To them, it explains the geography, history and features of the rock. One such is the myth of Kuniya, the serpent ancestor, and her fight with the Liru snake-warriors. We are shown where Kuniya rests to this day.

Look for Kuniya at the top of the pic.

We end up at a waterhole on the edge of Uluru, fed by infrequent rains, but kept from evaporating by the fact that the sheer cliffs prevent sunlight from falling here. This is a magnificent place. We are surrounded by the rockface. Every ten yards the vista changes as you look upward again. On the way back to the truck, we are told the myth of Lungkata, the fat lizard.

One of the waterholes.

A shaded valley

We enjoy the cultural aspect more, so decide to visit some more sites around the edge, while some members of the group decide to walk around the rock. We walk to another waterhole, this time on the sunlit side. It is very peaceful here and not much visited by tourists. We walk the 4km back to the truck, past various sites of significance, including the cave where Lungkata hid.

The closer you look, the more detail you see.

Another shaded valley.

The dark patch is caused by algae that grow when water runs down the rock.

One of the many caves along the edge.

We are driven to the sunset viewing area, but the sun is obscured by some clouds as it sets, so the sunset is less than spectacular. It is very welcome, though, because it means that the flies go to wherever they spend the night and we can get rid of the fly nets. We celebrate by drinking champagne from plastic cups, while we look at the light fading over Uluru.

Waiting for sunset...

Result!

Back to camp. The swags are rolled out in a spoke formation around the fire. The fire itself is built up from the excellent hardwood, Mulga mostly, found in the desert. Even the smoke smells of desert. Once the swags are unrolled we help out in the kitchen, take a shower an then relax with some wine, kept cold by the communal esky. Dinner is excellent and consists of pasta with kangaroo mince and a tomato sauce, washed down with some more wine.

Last light.

We are both very tired and hit the swags almost directly after dinner. We sleep under the stars.


More on Day 2...