Australia II

Australia part II, Into the outback ( map | part I | part III | JJJ Radio )

We left Cairns in our landcruiser on Friday July 20 and headed for the outback. First the Gulf Savannah (still in Queensland) and later on central Australia, the Northern Territory (NT). Please note that all photos are copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any way without prior permission. Š 2001 danny@ricin.com

En route through the Tablelands
Following the Gulf Development Road
Heading for the Isa
To the NT border and beyond
The great crossing along Plenty Highway
Through the Eastern MacDonnell Ranges to Alice
Alice Springs and the Western MacDonnells
Larapinta Drive to Palm Valley (Finke Gorge NP)
Along Ernest Giles Road to Kings Canyon (Watarrka NP)
Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)
Heading North along Stuart Hwy

July 20 2001: En route through the Tablelands

This morning we returned our rental car and took a taxi to Maui where we received our rental motor home. It's a little camper with 4WD capability. First we got instructions on how to operate it and then we headed for the supermarket to stock up food and the like. We made sure we had enough for five days if needed.

We left Cairns at 12.45 and headed South for Gillies Highway. It was a very scenic route through the Great Dividing Range. Some parts were very steep and had many turns. Some people drove like madmen putting not only themselves (and their family) but also other people on the road at risk. I can't understand that really. We took a short break at an outlook near the tops of the Range. Very pretty (see pic 1).

Then we followed Gillies Highway through the Atherton Tablelands. Around 14.00 we took another break and a short walk along Lake Eacham, one of the Crater Lakes formed 95,000 years ago. Many large birds live there, not just the common Australian turkey of which we saw plenty, but also the huge Casseopian bird (might be misspelled - a really big and even dangerous "Big Bird") - we didn't meet one though.

Then we went on South past Malanda and drove through the Millaa Millaa falls area. We stopped at all three falls - Zillie Falls, Ellinjaa Falls, and finally Millaa Millaa Falls (pics 4-6 respectively). Especially the last one was very beautiful and one could swim in the gorge, though nobody did because it wasn't that warm and the water was ice cold. Around 16.15 we drove on to Ravenshoe.

At 17.15 we took a brief break at the Innot Hot Springs site. We decided to drive on to Undara National Park, just after the junction to the Gulf Development Road, and spend the night there. Around 18.30 we were almost there and it was already getting dark. We were lucky to still get a camping spot, albeit in the day car park. We were not the only ones though. We quickly ate something, had a beer, and went to sleep rather early.

July 21 2001: Following the Gulf Developmental Road

Both of us slept quite well in our sleeping bags, and we got up just past dawn at 6.30. We found out that our little gas cask was empty. Ugh, no coffee. We had breakfast and flushed it away with orange juice (there's a small fridge in the motorhome). Before that, when the sun just started to shine, I headed for the toilet but first strolled along the walking track a bit. I met a big grey kangaroo there and I think it was even more startled than I was because it jumped up and took off in a flash.

We went to the reception to see if we could get a short tour through the famous Lava Tubes, considered a must-see. No such luck, unless we were willing to wait until 15.30 which effectively would mean spending another day and night there. They only run a few tours a day and most seem to be fully booked, not by daytrippers but by people on an organised tour. The whole place seemed to be catered mostly for them which is a shame really. Although they say they want to preserve the site, especially the caves (and I believe that) I must say that the Camping park which also had resort-like rooms in renovated train wagons was run in very commercial fashion. For example there wasn't any indication anywhere where the tubes actually are, you can only reach them in a bus by guided tour and pretty expensive too. Bummer. The first pic is taken early morning at Undara's camping site.

But well, we decided to leave and at about 9.00 we took off and followed the now totally sealed Gulf Developmental Road. Some parts were only a one-car sized strip of bitumen though with grid on both sides as you can see on pic 2. The landscape was very different now, real savannah. Day temperatures are in the high twenties in Winter and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We saw grassland with scattered trees, mostly gum trees, and many termite towers that look almost like rocks. Speaking of rocks, there were also scattered real rocks, most of which were almost round. I wondered if they originated from the time when this whole area was part of the sea. We also saw many prey birds, some very large ones.

We got fuel and gas for our stove at Mt. Surprise and then we drove on to Georgetown. Now Georgetown isn't even mentioned in the Lonely Planet (Australia edition) but it seemed bigger than the other towns and it had a roadhouse with a small supermarket. We had coffee there and then drove past the pub to stock up some cans of beer. This was around 11.45.

Further on we almost drove over a cat. Not a normal cat but a lynx I think it was. A little bigger than a housecat and with a leopard-like skin. Beautiful animal. I'm glad we didn't hurt it. We also met a few cows on the road (presumably belonging to local lifestock holders). The stupid animals aren't even in a hurry to get off the road. We also encountered two road trains, which are trucks with several wagons. They can be 50 meters long and they drive FAST so what you should do is get out of their way!

Between 13.15 and 14.00 we took a break and had lunch (pics 3 and 4). On our map, two parts of the road were drawn as unsealed but by now they were sealed. In fact the last part of the Gulf Developmental Road to Normanton, along the Gulflander Savannah railroad, was in a pretty good condition. We saw many parts though that were marked as "floodway" which means in the Wet they might be unaccessible due to flooding. At the small museum inside the historical Normanton train station there were some photos showing the flood of 1974, the same summer when Darwin was half destroyed by a hurricane. They showed that the Gulf area indeed can turn into one big pool of water. Of course now while its Winter (the Dry) almost every creek we crossed was dry, except for a few big rivers and some spring-originating creeks.

Just before crossing the Normanton River, we took a few more pictures. Finally, at about 16.15 we arrived at Normanton where we got a spot at the camping site. Normanton was to become a major port (though not sea) and gateway to the inland when the gold rush at the end of the 19th century came along. Its population peaked at 3000 (now about 1300, most of which is Aboriginal). We walked to the Victorian railway staion and saw the Gulflander train which takes tourists from Normanton to Croydon and back, shown in the last photo. Then we cooked our meal and had some beer gazing at the starlit sky.

July 22 2001: Heading for the Isa

We left Normanton at 8.45 heading across the Burke Developmental Road towards Mount Isa. I saw several kangaroos gazing at us driving by. The North-South part of the road is now sealed all the way and was in good condition, although there were parts which were more grid than bitumen. We also saw quite a lot of lifestock and many birds, prey birds and others feeding on kangaroos that got run over by cars. Jan saw a yellowish looking snake on the side of the road, presumably a "Brown Snake" of which there are several kinds. Jan said he was moving a lot, the poor animal might have been driven over by a car.

We had a short (pee) break at 10.30 (pic 1) and half an hour later we reached the junction of Burke and Willis Dev. Road. Again half an hour later we tried an alternative route to Mt. Isa via an unsealed track across the miners' settlement Kamilaroi. No such luck: no unauthorized entrance permitted after 1 or 2 km. So we drove back but we did take a photo as a reminder. Pic 3 was taken a while later along Burke Road. As you can see the landscape was getting more rocky. We also encountered more road trains although it's Sunday.

At about 12.15 we took a half an hour break at a picnic stop and had lunch and coffee. There's no coffee like your own! About an hour later we passed Cloncurry, the town which has the honour of reaching the highest temperature ever recorded in Australia, 51 degrees Centigrade! Well, this was in 1889 and you never know how drunk the local weatherman was when writing it down of course ;-) But even though it's the midst of Winter now it can get pretty warm in this region, easily into the 25-30 range.

We turned to Barkly Hwy for the last part of todays journey and at about 14.30 we took another short break and shot another photograph. About half an hour later we had a look at the Kalkadoon and Mitakoodi Memorial showing the Aboriginal flag and a text asking people to remember these peoples which were virtually wiped out by the settlers' police in the 1880s. Some insane people must have found it nescessary to vandalise the monument with paint. Not only that, but they painted swastikas on it and white power slogans. Really such people should be removed from society (shot as far as I'm concerned), what a bloody waste. Attempts have been made to clean the monument as can be seen in the rather morbid pic (number 5).

We also saw several road trains. I managed to videotape us overtaking one while another came along on the opposite side of the road. Cool :-) Then just before 16.00 we reached Mount Isa, or the Isa as people here call it. It's a prosperous town more or less at the Southern border of Gulf Savannah with some 23,000 inhabitants and it looks like it's growing rather fast. The Isa is the commercial centre of the mining industry in this region. It's 270 m long exhaust pipe can be seen from miles away. Mount Isa is the Western world biggest lead and silver producer and it also has zinc and copper mines. It's a young town, founded in 1924.

At about 16.00 we found a nice camping spot (pic 6) and two hours later we had our meal. Now it's almost 20.30 and we're having coffee underneath the stars. It's getting a bit cold now so I'll wrap it up for the day. Tomorrow we're heading for Alice Springs, a drive that we expect to take two days straight through the outback towards the "Red Centre" of Australia.

July 23 2001: To the NT border and beyond

We left the camping site at about 8.30. We made a pic showing the lead ore factory in Mt Isa before leaving. First we drove past a bottleshop to get some beer for the evenings. I tried twice to upload the rest of the photos and the pages of the past three days but our hosting provider seemed to be down (no ping reply is a good indication I'd think). Bummer, because further on we wouldn't have any GSM network anymore. Around 10 we were on our way.

We wanted to take the Diamantina Developmental Road (route 83) until Oban and from there the road to Urandangi and then further on to and along the NT border to Tobermorey where we would enter Plenty Highway. From Oban, all roads are unsealed. At first we took a wrong turn just before Oban, and we ended at a Range Company fence. Oops. Anyway, later on, around 12 we found the road we were looking for. It wasn't a very easy track and I'd recommend a 4WD vehicle if you want to travel it.

We took a half hour break and had lunch at 12.30 and headed along towards Urandangi. On our way we saw lots of wildlife, notably birds. Eagles, ibises, and Mr. and Mrs. Emu who got off the road rather reluctantly. Pic 2 and 3 were taken along this track. At 15.00 we reached the Aboriginal village Urandangi. There was a handwritten sign showing us we were indeed on the right track towards Alice Springs.

Just before 16.00 we reached the NT border (pic 4). We had to adjust our watches because the NT is in another time zone (half an hour earlier than Queensland). So then it suddenly was 15.30 again :-) About an hour later we reached Plenty Hwy which is an unsealed but relatively well maintained road. We saw two kangaroos on the road and after that when it was starting to get dark we saw many more. I managed to videotape a few too.

About an hour later we had to decide what to do. I thought it wouldn't be a good idea to drive through the dark and we sure wouldn't find a camping site anywhere near, so we turned to a sideroad and just ate and camped a couple of hundred meters from the highway. The complete silence and the immensly clear starlit sky (you can even see star nebulas as if they're clouds) was really an experience in itself. It got pretty cold too. The last pic was taken at dusk.

The outback is very beautiful but it's also very sparsely populated. You have to make sure you can survive for an extra day or two, should you run into trouble. This is no joke folks! We had food for four days, some 40 litres of water in our water tanks, warm clothes and initially 180 litres of diesel with us. It might sound like too much but it's not. You have no GSM network and no FM or AM radio there. We took an emergency signal emitter (through satellite) with us just in case. To give you an idea: we only met two other vehicles that whole day. Also, expect everything - and I mean everything up to your underwear - to get red from dust :-)

July 24 2001: The great crossing along Plenty Highway

We got up at 6.00 just before dawn. We had coffee and breakfast and took two photos of the beautiful sunrise. Before 8 we were already on our way, determined to reach the Eastern MacDonnells that day. We saw lots of wildlife, storks, emus, eagles and lots of kangaroos. Especially the grey ones seem to be rather curious and not very easily scared although they keep their distance. I managed to photograph two walking towards them. We also saw lots of cows, sometimes it was hard to get them off the highway. I also took two typically outback panorama pics. It was rather cloudy (and a bit cold) that day.

Along Plenty Hwy there's next to nothing except for a handful of mining stations. Just after 9.00 we passed the junction to Marqua Stn, and just before 10.00 the junction to Tarlton Downs Stn right before crossing the now dry Arthur River. It was quite big and during rain periods I'm sure the highway would be flooded as there's no bridge. We passed junctions to Lucy Creek Stn, Jervois Stn, the Marshall and Plenty Rivers (also dry as is almost every river and creek during Winter), Huckitta and Quarz Hill Stn and at about 13.00 we passed the Harts range Police Station.

After lunch (also took pic 6), just before 14.30 we took a 4WD route towards the historical reserve Arltunga. The bumpy and spectacular track took us over the outer North MacDonnell ranges (East section) and it took us about 3 hours to get on a somewhat regular unsealed road again. Now let me tell you, if you like an adrenaline rush then you should try a 4WD track. This was only level 1 to 3 (there's also 4 and 5 involving towing, crossing water, and the like), but it was very exciting and at times pretty scary. Pic 7 was taken at a very moderate point of the track. There were parts where we were almost at a 45 degrees angle and at first we were afraid that our vehicle would end up on its side and leave us waiting for help if any. Luckily Jan is an excellent driver and after a while it became fun. Driving a track like this doesn't only invlove mere horsepower but also just using your brain at times. It was a great experience and if given the chance we'll do it again. Our motorhome got pretty dirty but we think we can improve that ;-)

We drove through the Arltunga reserve (more about this in tomorrow's section). It was already sunset and we wanted to camp at the Arltunga hotel/camp site just outside the reservate. Bad luck. Apparently it had a new owner and it was no longer a camping ground. In fact the unfriendly woman living there had put numerous "keep out" and "private property" signs around her land. We weren't even allowed to camp on the very large asphalted parking space in front (which in my humble opinion and also according to an elderly couple we met there who were also looking for a camping spot, is public space). She told us we could camp anywhere along the road. What a bitch! Well, she managed to get one hell of a parking lot for her self paid with tax money. Great if nobody visits you, huh? I hope they will quickly remove the signs directing people to the former camping site and I also hope that there will be a new camping site soon otherwise the Arltunga reserve won't be visited much anymore because it's quite remote.

So we drove on in the dark and in a bad mood, heading West. After a while the road was sealed as it turned into Ross Hwy. We had a look at the Ross River Homestead which also has a camping site. We were greeted by a sign that said we were not allowed to bring our own food or beverages in, it ought to be bought there. It wasn't clear if this was also meant for people using the camp site but we immediately thought "no thanks" and headed for the Triphina Gorge camping site, a little further West and stayed there... At the wrong camping site we found out later - there were two, one for tents and one for caravans and the like - but at least we paid the fee the next day, which was to be put in an envelope and then thrown into a box. Things like that are hard to read when it's all dark and there's no reception though :-)

July 25 2001: Through the Eastern MacDonnell Ranges to Alice

Well, we woke up half frozen (heard on the radio it had been 1 degree above zero). We headed back to Arltunga at 6.45 and had coffee in a dry river bed half an hour later (pic 1). Arltunga Reserve is an old ghosttown dating from about a century ago when there were several gold mines. It was very interesting and the scenery was awsome. Between 8.30 and 10.30 we saw the remains of the Great Western Mine (pic 2), the old cemetery (3), buildings (4), Joker Mine (nice climb ;-) and Joker Gorge (5), the old police station and the jail at the right of pic 6, and the governmental works site (pic 7) where the bosses' residences were, as well as the battery site, a post office, a workers' hut, a blacksmith, etc. This is where they extracted the gold from the ore, using cyanide (yuck). All sites were at short distances from one another and there were self-guided tours with leaflets explaining everything.

At 11.00 we had a half hour coffee break and then followed Ross Hwy towards Alice Springs. The scenery was very pretty as can be seen in pic 8. We also took a look Jessie Gap and Emily Gap (pics 9 and 10) which were very pretty although with water running through them they would have been even prettier. I'm not sure if in the Summer they indeed have water flowing through the gaps, perhaps only after rain.

When arriving in Alice, we first went to the Maui/Britz deposit because we had a few complaints about our campervan. Most notably, shelves to make a larger bed were missing as were two curtains. Very uncomfortable, so while we had the chance to do something about it while in Alice we decided to go there and complain. Well, I have to say they solved it swiftly and they admitted that there are many complains about the Maui/Britz deposit in Cairns. They gave us a car so that we could drive uptown and spend an hour there while they'd fix things. Thumbs up for them!

Nonetheless we decided to sleep in a hotel for one night to get some rest, a proper shower, and get sorted for the rest of our trip. And of course it gave us an opportunity to use a phoneline which is good for you because now we can update this page :-) We took it easy the rest of the day. After so much travel in remote areas it's nice to be in a city again.

July 26 2001: Alice Springs and the Western MacDonnells

Today we slept "late" until 8.30 and an hour of two later we had checked out and did some shopping at Woolworths for the next few days. Then we drove up Anzac Hill which provides a nice lookout over Alice, as you can see in the first photo. You can see Stuart Hwy between the Eastern and Western side of the MacDonnell ranges and running through Alice Springs. On top of the hill there's also a war memorial, shown in the second picture. We also had our brunch there inside the campervan, because although the sun was shining all day it was pretty chilly with 15 degrees max and there was a strong wind.

Around 12.15 we were on our way along Larapinta Drive and we had a look at John Flynn's grave (pic 3). He's the founder of the Royal Flying Doctors Service. In 1952 one of the smaller Devils Marbles was flown over from the North and placed on his grave as a tribute.

Half an hour later we reached Simpsons Gap. We didn't see any of the rock-wallabies that live there but we took two pics of the beautiful scenery anyway. After a coffee break around half past one, I took a panorama photo along the highway (pic 6). As you can see the land is fenced off as it is Aboriginal Land - you can also get a hint of that when looking at all the rubbish like beer cans that have been thrown on the ground just before the entrances... and then they say that the white people pollute *their land*. Tsss.

At about 14.00 we went to Standley Chasm, which is on Aboriginal grounds. We had to pay a fee to get in (although our impression was that many of the tourists didn't). It was worth while because it was very pretty although the walk was certainly not suitable for elderly people. I think that after heavy rain the extremely narrow gorge is inaccessible, even now we had to walk through a bit of water here and there or go from rock to rock at some points. We took two pics trying to captivate the beauty of the site.

Just after 15.00 we left the Larapinta Drive at the turnoff to the Namatjira Drive. We had a look at the pretty Ellery Creek Big Hole which is also a gorge with permanent water, so it's very important for the wildlife in the area. You can see this in the last photo. The water was really freezing but we saw one boy who had actually been skinny dipping. Brrr.

We skipped Serpentine and Ormiston Gorge because the walks were too long and we were afraid that we wouldn't reach a camping site before dark. The campsite at Ormiston Gorge was full, so we drove a bit further West to Glen Helen Gorge where there was ample space. Tomorrow we'll have a closer look at it. At the time we had more important things to do, like cooking and eating.

It's just past 21.00 now and it's gotten quite cold. I think tonight it will be around zero degrees again, which is about as cold as it gets up here in the midst of Winter. We had a beer or two and soon we'll go to sleep and be up again just before sunrise so that we can see the gorge in all its glory (everything looks best in the early morning sun). Enjoy the photos!

July 27 2001: Larapinta Drive to Palm Valley (Finke Gorge NP)

We got up at 6.45 and had coffee to warm up a bit. It was really cold, around freezing I think. About 1.5 hours later we had a look at the beautiful gorge. We had to walk on rocks to get a good view because there was still some rainwater in the Finke's riverbed. We saw lots of birds but again no blackfooted rock-wallabies which seem to be rather shy. The first two pictures were taken here. Around 9.00 we had breakfast and we recharged our camera from our campervan's battery (we had power available but our converter plug was too big to fit in the socket. Oops).

We left the Glen Helen Gorge site at about 9.45 and an hour later we turned from Namatjira Drive back to Larapinta Drive heading west. We saw a dingo alongside the road looking at us rather stupidly but apparently (s)he was smart enough not to cross the road at that moment. Around noon we passed the Albert Namatjira Memorial (pic 3), who was the first Aboriginal painter to receive some Western recognition as an artist. The surrounding scenery had been his source of inspiration, according to the text on the monument. Further down the road we saw a white cross on the hills which might have been his grave.

Some 15 minutes later we passed Hermannsburg, an Aboriginal town and left the sealed road for the 4WD track to Palm Valley, on the edge of Finke Gorge National Park. It was a nice track alternating between sandy (riverbed) and rocky terrain. Quite bumpy at some points, definately not for conventional cars. There were also several river crossings and because it had been raining last week most of these involved driving through a little water. It took about 1,5 hours to reach Palm Valley through a wonderful wild scenery. Just like the MacDonnells, the Krichauff Range were once Himalaya sized but they have "sunken" down. I recorded some of the spectacular landscape (and driving :-) on videotape.

Palm Valley is a remarkable place. It's one of the few spots where there's still some vegetation remaining from millions of years ago when the Australian continent was still attached to the other continental plates in a time when dinosaurs ruled the world and rainforest was the most common vegetation. Now Central Australia is as arid as can be, but in Palm Valley there still is some tropical vegetation like palm trees (not many though) although it lies way below the Capicorn. We saw lots of eagles there too. Pics 4 through 6 show the valley, and pics 7 and 8 show some more of the beautifully rugged landscape. The last one was taken from the excellent picnic site halfway the track where we had lunch at about 2 pm.

Just before 15.00 we drove back towards Alice Springs where we found a nice place to camp as well as a nice cold beer (pic 9). We arrived around 17.00 and we first bought a longer power cord and a round converter that fit into the sockets usually provided at camping sites. Around half past 6 we had our dinner and had coffee. It was already getting pretty cold again, although not as bad as yesterday (maybe that's because now were not in the open or maybe the wind dropped a bit). Tomorrow we're heading for Kings Canyon.

July 28 2001: Along Ernest Giles Road to Kings Canyon (Watarrka NP)

We were up around 6.45 again, and again it was cold. We took a warm shower and had coffee and after we got our stuff sorted we left Alice around 8.30 driving South along Stuart Hwy. Around 10.00 we got new fuel (we have two 90 litre tanks) and had a quick breakfast.

Half an hour later we left the highway and turned to the unsealed Ernest Giles Rd. It's a "4WD recommended" road although with a conventional car it's possible to take this route without getting your car damaged if you don't drive too wild and if weather conditions are good (i.e. no rain in, say, the past four days or so). However without a 4WD it's probably a better idea to go to the Canyon along Lasseter Hwy (the road to Uluru) which is sealed.

We made an interesting stop just past the turn-off at the Henburg Meteorite Craters site, which can be viewed in a 20 minute walk. The craters originate from thousands of years ago and thus the typical edges one would expect have been eroded and are virtually invisible now. The 12 craters range from only several meters to 180m across and 15m deep (pic 1). They're of scientific relevance and have in fact been studied to understand more about craters on the moon and on Mars.

We also saw two identical Maui 4WD campers just like ours and the people turned out to be Dutch as well. En route along the road we kept passing them or being overtaken by them while having a coffee break (pic 2). The red dusty road still had some water pools on it and this gave us (and the other Dutch folks) a chance to get our campervan really really dirty - considered an achievement amongst 4x4 drivers ;-) You can see the result in pic 3, just before we turned to the sealed Luritja Road at 13.30. Not bad huh? We cleaned our windows then because we couldn't see much any more which is also a bit uneasy when videotaping.

Just before 15.00 we reached Kings Canyon in Watarrka National Park, where the deserts and the mountains meet. The canyon is some 100m high and there was a walking track that led all the way over it. The first 100m climb is quite steep and you may want to catch your breath several times (at least we did :-). We kept a steady pace and managed to finish the walk in just over 1.5 hours. We also took lots of photos as the scenery was very impressive. We also met Mr. Lizard who was happy to pose for me while basking in the sun (pic 5). Approximately halfway the walking track there's a gorge with a valley that just like Palm Valley has some tropical vegetation. Pic 13 shows this "Garden of Eden" as it's called, taken from the bridge that has been built above it crossing the gorge.

We drove back a little until Kings Creek Station, which has a beautiful spaceous camping ground scattered with Desert Oaks. We arrived at 17.00 so we had ample time to have a drink and cook our meal before dark. Tomorrow we're heading for Uluru. It's been another great day!

July 29 2001: Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)

After getting up at 7.30 (we overslept) we were on our way an hour later, following Luritja Rd and Lasseter Hwy to Uluru NP. Just before 10 we already saw Ayers Rock from a far distance. We took a break at about 10.30 and an hour later we arrived at the Ayers Rock Resort (Yulara) camping ground. We got our site and after having coffee we left for Uluru where we arrived at the Cultural Centre at 12.30. We spent some 45 minutes there sucking up some information. I asked if I was permitted to upload some photos to my website - not of sacred parts which are forbidden to enter or photograph by Aboriginal Law. For commercial redistribution one needs to get a permit. The girl at the information desk looked it up but couldn't find anything specific about strictly non-commercial reproduction on the Internet. She reckoned it would be OK for me to do so (hope I won't get sued over it afterwards ;-).

The Anangu people who own the Uluru and Kata Tjuta grounds have some guidelines that tourists should abide to. Especially Uluru is very important to them as it plays a vital role in their law of nature and creation stories, the Tjukurpa. Some sections are sacred and may only be visited by initiated Anangu. They find it offending if people climb onto the rock (we didn't, just several metres for the photo) and are deeply saddened if someone gets injured or dies while attempting it - yes, this has happened quite often. I don't understand why there are still tourist coaches "excursions" including the climb. Compare it with someone pissing on your mothers grave if you like. It's also quite dangerous, especially for the untrained and even more in the summer when it gets really hot. Today it was just over 20 degrees and the sun was warm. Nice day for a walk.

We decided to do the big walk around the rock which was almost 10 km. It took us from 13.15 to 16.15 including a short break halfway and believe me we didn't walk slowly. Pic 2 through 8 are panorama shots of the impressive monolith, the biggest in the world measuring 350 m high and 3.6 km long. Pic 9 shows one of the rock art sites you'll see on your way, 10 is another panorama picture and finally 11 shows Ayers Rock as seen from the highway.

It took about half an hour to drive to The Olgas or Kata Tjuta, meaning "many heads" in Anangu language. We took the short walk into Olga Gorge, some pics of which are shown below (12 through 14). Pic 15 was taken from a larger distance, showing Mount Olga (550 m high) on the right. Very beautiful scenery! There was actually a bit of water dripping down along the steep walls.

Finally we drove back a bit to the sunset viewing site and waited for the sun to go down (pic 16). The last three pics show Olga's heads changing from fully lit by the sun until almost dark. It was worth the wait. We got back in Yulara at about 19.30. Tomorrow we'll go see sunrise at Uluru and then we're heading North again along Stuart Hwy.

Please note: Any picture of Uluru may not be reproduced for commercial means. It is against the law if you do so and you may be liable for high fines! My regular personal copyright also applies.

July 30 2001: Heading North along Stuart Hwy

It was a short night. We were awake at 5.30 and an hour later when Uluru NP opened its gate we drove to the sunrise viewing spot on the road that goes round the rock. Dawn started at around 7.00 and in the next half hour we could see the rock changing colours as the sun rose. It was damn cold but there were quite a lot of people as the Uluru sunrise is considered to be one of the highlights of the Red Centre visit. Well, let me tell you, it was all a bit overrated if you ask me and it was rather silly that the viewing site was too close to the rock to be able to get all of it on a photograph. There was no such thing as "a whole palette of changing colours" as the bronchures would like you to believe. Nonetheless it was a pretty sight and with a mug of hot coffee at hand the cold wasn't unbearable. Pic 1 through 4 show Ayers Rock at sunrise.

At about 8.00 we left and drove along Lasseter Hwy. Between 9.30 and 10 we took a break at Curtin Springs, about 90 km from Yulara. We also needed fuel and got some breakfast. Here's a tip folks: Camping at the Curtin Springs roadhouse site is *free* (contrary to Yulara where everything is expensive and more catered for people on organised tours) and it looked like a very nice and relaxed place. They also have a camel farm for those who like to try. It lies opposite to Mt Connor which has equal scenic qualities as Uluru and sooner or later this will be a tourists attraction also if you ask me. Mt Connor can be seen in pic 5, taken from a lookout along the highway (the roadhouse site was closer and actually provided better views of the mountain but we didn't know that at the time we were there). By the way, it was only on our way back that we realised we've initially been mistaking Mt Connor for Ayers Rock when we drove by on our way to Uluru NP. I'm sure more people do so ;-)

Just before noon we reached Stuart Hwy and started the long journey North. Some 2 hours later we made a final stop in Alice Springs to do some shopping for the next few days. Around 15.30 we were on our way again and we passed the Capicorn again, back into the tropics. The road was rather tedious, and there was nothing much to see. Around 18.00 after passing Central Mt Stuart, just before Barrow Creek we took a photo of the mountains as the last rays of sunlight lit them up. Just past 19.00 we reached Wycliffe Well, supposedly known as the UFO capital of Australia. We stayed the night at the pleasant and very tidy campsite but we must have been sleeping while the aliens flew over :-)

This concludes part II of this diary. The final part is about the tropical North of the NT, a.k.a. the Top End. We expect that this day's update and the next few will have to wait until we're in Darwin. I'll keep writing and we'll continue to take photographs though!!

To part III