Travelog

Got to sleep in today. Still up at 7:30am or so. One of the girls in the room works in the hostel, so she was up fairly early, which roused me.

No real agenda for the day. Did laundry when I got up, then met up with the tour mates to exchange some photos, as one of the girls, Kristina, dropped her camera at the first stop on the tour, rendering it unusable. A few people left before me, so I said goodbye, then headed into town to get some food from the grocery store. sHeaded back to the hostel to go for a swim, and did some reading by the pool. Airport pickup was at 3:30pm for a 4:40 flight to Cairns.

Flight was quicker than I expected, as I thought Cairns was in the same time zone as Sydney, but was in fact only a half hour ahead of Alice Springs, and still an hour behind Sydney.

Got a drive into Cairns to the Dreamtime Hostel, as recommended by Emma. Walked into town from there, and am sitting in an internet cafe now, about to copy these journal entries to the blog. Cairns is very humid, so it feels hotter than the desert. I think I’m going to switch to another hostel in the evening, as John, Max, Teresa and Barbara are staying there. It’s a pretty luxury hostel, but costs the same as Dreamtime, whose biggest downfall is a lack of air conditioning in the room. I’m meeting John and Max at noon anyhow, so I can check in then. I’m off to get some dinner now, then I’ll probably head back to the hostel and read.

So where are the pictures? I inserted my camera’s memory card and all of my photos from Uluru are gone. This is not very good. I’m going to try downloading some recovery software and hope for the best. Wish me luck. Or pray, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Update: Photos recovered! Phew!

The wind picked up at about 3:30, which made sleeping a little tricker than hoped for, but since we had to be up at 4am, it wasn’t so bad. We headed to Uluru once again to see the sunrise. We were in a location that made it a little difficult to get any pictures that weren’t simply silhouettes, though. We had breakfast there (same as the day before, but pears instead of peaches). After breakfast we dropped some of the Asian contigent at the Uluru airport. Headed home from there, having lunch at about 10am. No wildlife spotted this time, but I was more familiar with the people I was travelling with, so there was a fair bit of conversation. The heat on the bus was knocking most people out though. I’d fall asleep, leaning over into the aisle and waking myself up when I was pretty much horizontal. Should make up for some of the yoga I’ve been missing.

Got to the hostel and had a much much much needed shower. Covered in the red sand from the desert. Popped on the internet to wish my mom a happy birthday (a few hours late, but the tour was back later than planned). Met a few people from the tour at the hostel pool afterwards. At 7 the group met up for dinner in the hostel bar. Chicken Parmigiana this time. Nothing to write home about, but I’ll do so anyhow. We were all pretty exhausted from being up at 4am so we retired to bed fairly early.

It’s my mom’s birthday, so happy birthday to her! Ulla too!

We were up at 6am to head to Katja Tjuta, AKA the Olgas. Breakfast was en route, and was mostly just bread with various spreads, and some canned peaches. Geographically similar to Uluru, we had a choice between a longer hike or a shorter one. I figured it was probably my last time ever there, so I opted for the longer tour. It was a few degrees hotter than the day before, but probably not quite 40 degrees. A few of my tourmates were getting a little annoyed with the tour guide, who didn’t seem all that interested in touring – leaving us to find our way on our own (not that it was a difficult trail to follow, but it seemed silly to leave some solo hikers alone on such a hot day. He was also a little less than patient when it came to certain people asking questions, which riled a few people as well. I think we’d have complained if it wasn’t his last tour. I had no altercations with him, so I wasn’t overly upset. His insistence on teaching us geology lessons while the hot sun beat down on us was a little tiring, but I think he just enjoyed drawing maps in the sand.

After the Olgas, we headed to Uluru for lunch – which was sausages, corn, and salad. The men were in charge of lunch, and I was in charge of the sausages, so I got to spend some of my time over a hot barbecue. We drove around Uluru once, and did a short walk through some of it before heading to our campground for the night. A little classier than the last joint, this place had showers and a bathroom. It also had a pool, so a few of us swam for about half an hour before we were whisked back onto the bus to watch sunset over Uluru. The viweing area for sunset was filled with tourists on their buses. They’d obviously paid more than us as they had tables with wine waiting for them, and fancy buffets. Our dinner was chicken curry, but unfortunately a major ingredient, curry, was missing, so instead of eating while the sun set we took some photos of the rock, and sat around. We headed back to the campground and had dinner (quite tasty), then sat around chatting for most of the evening. We had to be up super early in the morning, so we climbed into our swags before midnight for some rest.

Getting up at 5:00am proved to not be so bad, considering Alice Springs is one hour and 30 minutes behind Sydney time. Checked out, and grabbed some toast with jam and nutella in the hostel kitchen. Shigeru was supposed to be in my tour group, but was asked to delay his departure by a day as he had some extra travel days that another person did not. Alone again!

The 21 passenger bus was full. The ad for the tour clearly stated the bus was air conditioned, but sadly there was an issue with the air con. so we had to suffer without it for most of the trip. With the windows opened it wasn’t too bad, but desert winds can be pretty hot. Our first stop was a Camel ranch, where you could ride a camel for $5, or walk around and look at the domesticated dingo, or the emus and kangaroos in cages. There were no introductions on the bus, but meeting people was fairly easy. Kevin from Glasgow, Scotland was the first to offer his hand, and a hello. He’s been travelling with his girlfriend of seven years, Karen since September and they expect to be gone for about a year in total. There was a large Dutch contigent, with Carlijn and Emma (sisters who met up in Alice Springs); and Evelien and Else, who were travelling from Brisbane. One German, Kristina; two Alpean Frenchmen, Max and Jon; Barbara and Theresa from Innsbruck, Austria; Naoyuki from Japan; Mari from near Kobe, Japan; Amy, from Illinois, USA; Hannah from England; a Taiwanese couple whose English wasn’t outstanding, and whose names I never got. Another Asian couple; and another Japanese girl. Our tour guide was Australian born (near Melbourne), Glenn, and this was going to be his last tour – as his girlfriend was tired of all his days away from home.

The drive was mostly desert. A surprising amount of vegetation, although nothing looked too hearty. I scanned the scenery for wildlife, but only saw one wild camel for all my effort.

We made a few pit stops to use the toilet and fuel up, before reaching King’s Canyon. Our hike through the canyon was over 3 hours in 36 degree heat (but it’s a dry heat). I’m not really one to have my breath taken away, but there were some breathtaking views, none the less. Halfway through the hike we took a small detour to a small billabong, for swimming. The water appeared black, almost like oil, but our guide assured us there was nothing in it’s depths that would kill us (but it should be noted that he didn’t go in). We spent a half an hour swimming in one of the nicer areas I’ve ever swum before finishing our walk.

From King’s Canyon, we drove for an hour and a half or so to a gated off area (apparently a cattle ranch – but I only heard them, didn’t see them). This was our campground for the night. With Mt. Conner on the horizon, the men built a fire (not too difficult with such dry wood) while the womenfolk worked on dinner, which was Chili Con Camel (although we only found this out after the fact). The dinner was exceptionally good – although I’m not sure how much the camel meat factored into the flavour. We all slept in swags, which was an interesting experience – especially with our guide’s soothing “I make no guarantees, but chances are you’ll be safe from snakes and the like.” With no light pollution, the stars were amazing, and I spent a fair bit of time just staring up into the night sky. The quarter-moon sits quite low this side of the equator, so that was interesting to see as well.

When you fly west from Sydney, with the ocean at your back, the google earth below you starts as city and houses, then bush, then more bush  with occasional houses, but before long you hit red or bleached red for the rest of yout trip.  Arrived in Alice Springs, and done a walkabout the city with a Japanese student studying in Melbourne.  Hot and dry, but it’s mostly the dry that’s having an effect.  Drinking loads of water seems to help (go figure).

 Could be another day without photos, but I’ll probably get some up on Wednesday when I’m back from the great big desert.   Looks like I can burn dvds here too, which could prove handy.  I’m off to drink some water, and maybe go for a swim (hostel has a pool) but wanted to check in, while I look up flights to Cairns.

I’ve been relatively lucky with flying so far. Got three seats to myself to Alice Springs, so I was able to stretch out and enjoy myself. A shuttle to Annie’s Place Hostel was waiting at the airport, so I hopped on that. After check in, I threw my bags in the room and chatted with Shigeru, a Japanese guy who’d been studying in Melbourne, and was taking advantage of a week off to visit the Red Centre. We both needed some food and water, so we got directions and walked about fifteen minutes into town to visit the Todd Mall. It was Sunday, so a lot was closed, but we managed to find something to eat, and I was able to pick up a wide brimmed hat to help keep the super Australian UV Rays at bay.

Had dinner with Shigeru in the hostel bar that evening – they’ve got a few $5 meals, so I took advantage of that. I passed on the Chili Con Camel, though. Figured I wouldn’t really be able to taste the camel anyhow. There was a camel burger for $12, and I figured I’d have that on Wednesday.

Had to be up at the crack of dawn (earlier, even – check out was at 5:30 since I was on the tour), so I went to bed pretty early.

Short entry today, as I’m going to shower and head downtown to see Louvelle perform in front of about 100,000 people.  Should be good.

Got up early, did laundry, and went for breakfast with Louvelle, then  headed to the Glebe market where I picked up a sarong, which I plan on using as a beach towel for the rest of my trip.  The actual towel I did bring is just too bulky for my bag, and the sarong should dry pretty quickly.  Also booked my flight to Alice Springs, where I’ll head out and see Uluru.  I may have something to post tomorrow, but after that I’ll probably be incommunicado for a few days, as we’re camping out in the bush.  The temperature there is 40 degrees, so it’ll be toasty.  I’ll try  not to complain too much about the heat, especially for the Canadians reading this.

After breakfast I headed to the Broadway Mall with the hopes of picking up an hat to wear while in the desert.  No such luck, so I’ll have to get one in Alice Springs.  Also picked up some blank dvds so I can start mailing some photos home.  I’ve taken far too many, as I’m sure you can tell – and I don’t even put them all online.

Got back to the house and dropped everything off then packed up my beach gear and took a long two hour bus ride to palm beach.  Passed through a bunch of beach towns along the way.  I didn’t bring my camera, so sadly there’s no photos – I was worried about it getting pinched while I went in the water.  Turns out it was quite cool at the beach, and I didn’t spend much time in the water anyhow – but all in all it was a worthwhile trip.  Got some reading done, so I’m onto book four or so of the trip.  I should keep a list going.

As I said earlier, I might have something to say tomorrow, otherwise you probably won’t hear from me until Wednesday or so, unless I happen across a dingo with an iPhone or something.

Also, it’s Mindy’s birthday, so happy birthday to her!

Got up at the crack of dawn to head down to Doc’s hotel to catch my tour to the Blue Mountains. I was hoping for more backpackers, but the tour was mostly older couples. I seem to have a knack for attracting that sort of crowd.

After a quick drive through Sydney picking people up at various locations, and allowing me to see some areas I haven’t been to yet, we headed to the Featherdale Wildlife Park. Filled only with native Australian animals, the zoo was pretty interactive, allowing you to pet owls, and snakes as well as small emus, koalas, wallaby’s (wallabi?) kangaroo and a few farm animals. I’d seen a lot of the animals at the zoo previous, but there were a few, like the echidnas and the Tasmanian devil that it was nice to see. Also witnessed a crocodile feeding that was a bit of a letdown. The croc’ wasn’t being much of a showman. After the park, the driver gave us a boomerang throwing lesson. Turns out he was also selling the boomerangs, but after seeing how little luck he was having getting one to return to him, I wasn’t completely sold.

From there we ventured 100kms from Sydney to the Blue Mountains. So named because the eucalyptus that is evaporated into the air gives off a blue tinge when the sunlight hits. We passed an area with a bunch of destroyed rooftops. Seems hail the size of tennis balls had fallen about a month earlier (Note to self: buy helmet). We stopped for an all you can eat buffet, first, then headed to Echo Point which has a nice view of the Three Sisters rock formation.  Met an Austrian by the name of Johannes who was also on the tour alone.

After that we took a cable car across the canyon, which overlooked Katoomba Falls. We then descended into the rainforest, where we were allowed to walk around on an elevated boardwalk.  Headed to the town of Leura afterwards.  Small shops and an outrageously priced candy store.  Last, but not least, the bus took us through Olympic Park.  Sadly we didn’t have time to stop, but I think we saw the interesting stuff from the bus.  We were pushed onto a ferry that lead us back to Sydney’s Darling Harbour – and I walked home from there.

Louvelle is out at Dance rehearsal – she’s dancing with the Spanish Harlem Orchestra tomorrow, which is a big deal, indeed.  Largest Spanish orchestra in the world.  It’s part of the Sydney Festival.  If I’m still around, I’ll try and check it out, but I’m a bit of a loss as to what I should do in Sydney tomorrow, so I might make an early departure.  I’m torn between heading north up the coast, or flying to Alice Springs to see Uluru.

I figured I’d taken enough photos of the outside, it was about time I got a look at the inside. Woke up and headed to the Opera House to sign up for a tour. It was a little pricey, but I was keen to see how it looked. The majority of the people on the tour were seniors, so they asked questions I wouldn’t think to ask like: “How often do they wash the windows?” (twice a year), “How many steps do we have to climb?” (150 or so), and one woman who asked several times what wood was used to make whichever wooden finish she spotted (Brushbox for everything, it seems). Also, the notion that listening to a headset could mean you’ll talk louder was lost on them. All in all it was good fun, but I’m not sure I’d recommend the tour. The halls are nice enough, but the outside is where the building really excels.

I planned on grabbing a ferry to Watson’s Bay following the tour, but the next one wasn’t for nearly an hour, so I checked out the Contemporary Art Gallery, available for viewing at the low low cost of zero dollars and no cents (Speaking of cents, I should mention that Australia has done away with the penny. Everything is rounded!). The gallery was small, so it didn’t take much time to walk through, so I had plenty of time to sit quietly and wait for the ferry at the wharf.

Watson’s Bay wasn’t much more than restaurants and a big park. However, on the other side of the park lay Inner South Head and Gap’s Bluff. The area was originally inhabited by the Australian Artillery, to help defend Sydney, as it’s located where the southern harbour meets the ocean. The view on the ocean side of Watson’s Bay was quite nice. There were also some great views of the Sydney CBD and the surrounding area.  Apparently Gap’s Bluff is a popular place to off yourself (certainly one of the prettier places to do it) – which explains the makeshift memorial I saw.  I walked around there for a bit before grabbing some fish and chips. I ate in the shadow of a giant tree near the water, and was immediately hounded by birds hungry for a taste of my lunch.

Grabbed the last ferry out of town and returned to Circular Quay, then grabbed a train and a bus to Louvelle’s.  She got home a little later and we hemmed and hawed over going to see “American Gangster” at the theatre.  It was opening night (they’re a little behind on acquiring films down here, it seems), so the 8:20 show was too full, but we got seats for the 9:10. Had dinner (ordered the danish salami sandwich, got the Double Decker Club sandwich – I don’t think people understand my accent here), and checked out the movie.   Not too shabby, maybe a touch too long.   Doc managed to get me a discount on a ticket to the Blue Mountains for tomorrow morning, so I’m off to bed.