G'day --
Cultural notes:
And we thought we had seen red dirt in Western Australia! As we flew into Ayers Rock the landscape became redder and more barren (if possible). They call the middle of Australia the Red Centre (Ayers Rock and Alice Springs) and it is situated in the state of the Northern Territories (NT). As one of the local t-shirts stated: Hard Rock Cafe (Alice Springs) -- all rock, no cafe.
Ayers Rock (now more properly called Uluru, its aboriginal name) is truly in the middle of nowhere. There is only the Rock (a monolith -- one big rock -- with a base 9.4 kilometers (6 miles) around and a height of 348 meters (1400 feet)), the Olgas (a conglomerate of bare domes (max 546 meters tall) made up of boulders cemented together with a sandstone mortar), and the Resort (a huge complex owned by one company made up of everything from five-star hotel to lowly hostel). We stayed in a block building with a corrugated tin roof housing four rooms (each called a "cabin") and made our meals --except for the Pioneer Barbecue. This seemed to be the center of nightlife in the whole resort. A large area contained 6 huge griddles (remember: Aussie barbies do not have actual grills). You bought then grilled your own main (we tried chook, filet steak, and emu sausages). Surrounded by beer and wine guzzling tourists who couldn't barbie to save their life, you could easily burn your main to a crisp and not even notice (or mind). Fill the rest of the plate with baked potatoes, and a choice of 6 salads and...yum. Sure was a nice break from the ramen noodle regimen.
Things start hopping early here. The plane left Perth for the Rock at 6 a.m. The sunrise-over-the-Rock bus trip picks you up at 5 a.m. We were on the bus by 7 a.m. for a walk around the Rock. Years ago, the big thing was to climb to the top of the Rock, a rather strenuous trip aided only by a single chain hand-hold for part of the way. However, since the area has been given back to the aboriginal tribe which originally lived nearby and the Rock is considered a sacred religious site, tourists are strongly urged not to climb it (but not forbidden). Instead, we took a five hour, 9 km guided walk around the base. Di was really looking forward to this....she wanted a guide who could talk about the geology, aboriginal religious significance, local flora with its medicinal uses, and how the aborigines hunted and survived in this desolate place. We had a young man who covered it all...well read and eager to pick up new info from one of the Rock-enthusiasts in our group. Later we took a shorter walk with a native ranger who was able to explain some more of the sacred stories (called dreamings). On this walk our group was followed by a television crew shooting a special called "Natural Born Wonders" -- Tim was filmed asking the guide a question and he had to sign a release form -- they told us the special would appear on PBS later this year--- maybe you'll see us on tv!). Parts of the Rock are fenced off and it is unlawful to walk through or even photograph these sacred areas. Lots of similarities between the myths, law, and family life of the aborigines and our native americans.
We also did a walkabout in the Olgas. This required some tricky foot work over a steep solid rock incline and some rolling rocks but incredible scenery (and hopefully photos). It is a tradition to watch the Rock at sunset as its colors change from red/brown through purples to dark night shades. It's hard to describe this area.....mostly flat with this huge rock dominating the landscape...certainly unforgettable.
To get to Alice Springs, our next stop, we took an all-day bus trip that stopped for a hike called the RoofTop Walk through King's Canyon. After a long steep incline, we found ourselves at the top of the canyon and we able to walk all around it (about 6 km). This trip included a sighting of wild camels (more on camels later). Then on to what the locals call "the Alice".
Alice Springs, the center of the Red Centre. The springs of Alice Springs are seasonal as is water in the Todd River that sometimes flows through town. This is not the first time we have seen on our maps blue colored lakes or rivers with dotted outlines -- often dry lakes and rivers. In fact, the Alice has a big celebration with a "race" down the Todd. Since it's dry, they race on foot in bathtubs or boats with the bottoms taken out. The Aussies essentially shut down the country over Easter weekend (it's a four day school holiday from Good Friday to Easter Monday). That means almost nothing is open. We were lucky enough to get in on Holy Thursday and very successful in finding two pieces of aboriginal art, which we have been searching for all over. One is a line painting of redback spiders done with natural colors on bark. The other is a dot painting called "Emu Dreaming" showing the aboriginal symbols for emu tracks and sitting people...they are considered primitive art but we really like the simplicity and designs. Both galleries said they would send us information on the artists themselves.
Leaving Alice Springs on Good Friday, we took another historic train trip back to Adelaide, in the state of South Australia (SA). This train is called the Ghan...named after the Afghans who were brought over with hundreds of camels to help transport goods and railroad building materials across the Red Centre. Only camels were able to survive the long trips through the arid red desert and only the Afghans were able to control the camels. Even though the Afghans were a lifeline for communities like Alice Springs, they were treated shabbily....as a recognition of their effort, the train was named after them. A few camels escaped and today there are thousands of wild camels all over central Australia. Their breed is considered so pure and so hardy that they are being captured, bred, and sold back to countries like Saudi Arabia from whence they came.
The next day we spent in Adelaide touring the S. A. Museum. As we walked though an exhibit, we noticed a U.S. map with the city of Muskegon labeled on it. It seems that in 1883, P.T. Barnum brought an exhibition of "wild Australian aborigines" around the Midwest and stopped at our home town. Actually, the aborigines agreed to go to America but really didn't know what they were getting into.....they were treated as circus freaks and all suffered premature deaths. The Aussies considered them kidnapped. The recent return of the body of one of these poor people was treated with much religious ceremony.
Easter weekend found us on Kangaroo Island, offshore of Adelaide. This island is about the size of Puerto Rico and has been kept free of the nonnative foxes and feral cats that have destroyed native wildlife on the mainland. We saw lots of roos, wallabies, two wild koalas, one echidna (spiny anteater), a very tame emu, and one giant lizard (over 1 meter long) called the gondwana (road kill, unfortunately). The island is mostly made up of fairly corrugated (washboard) dirt roads but the car rental agent said just stay under 60 km/h and you probably won't slide off the road when you brake for animals that dart in front of you. The island has three small towns and three remote lighthouses. We stayed at the head lighthouse keepers cottage on a small peninsula, rented through the national park. The cottage had simple furniture, only an emergency phone, and an extraordinary setting...a short distance from the lighthouse, a huge natural bridge, a hangout for a colony of New Zealand fur seals, and some huge climbable rock formations called the Remarkables. As I made breakfast I watched a wallaby eat the shrub outside the window. I'd come back here in an instant. At night you could see millions of stars and hear some unidentified animal scratching to get into the chimney. Rocky land with scrub vegetation, difficult access to the ocean shore, isolated from all but the other two lighthouse keepers and their families, with supplies coming in only one every three months....how lonely and hard life must have been here for everyone. I wonder why anyone would volunteer but its seems there was always someone to take the job.
The last day on the island was spent sampling the local specialties. First the Island Pure sheep dairy. Here we sampled and bought some cheese (like feta) and honey-laced yogurt made from sheep milk. Creamy, tasty, less allergic reactions, and lower fat/cholesterol than cow's milk. If fact (we were told) more sheep milk is used world wide than cow's milk. Wish this stuff was available at home.
Next marrons and yabbies. A marron is a lobster-like crustacean with edible tail and claws. The yabbie is a smaller version of the marron. Both are great eating but lots of work (like eating crab legs). Raising both are becoming an island industry and one of the hot gourmet items on the mainland. We visited a marron/yabbie farm where the owners have done an excellent job of creating an entire ecosystem. They raise the marrons and yabbies (which will eat almost anything), also raise trout to help keep the ponds clean, use any pond muck as fertilizer for trees that serve as food for the critters and tie into the existing water and hills around the area. Very impressive, and all-self taught.
Finally, the pure bred Ligurion bees and their honey. We had some honey ice cream and politely refused a hive tour. Unfortunately, it is unlawful to take honey across the stateline so we couldn't buy any. There must be a pun here somewhere but it escapes me.
Then on the late ferry back to Adelaide (arrival at 10 pm) and off the next morning early back to Sydney via overnight train. And that's where I'm writing this right now. More adventures ahead as the Blue Mountains and East Coast are next on our schedule.
We're still healthy and not yet tired of traveling, although we have certainly kept the Australian Post in the red with all the souvenirs we are sending back. Keep in touch and we'll talk when we get back to Sydney.
-- Di and Tim
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