Because there are so many places in Australia that I still want to see, I decided that I could best use part of my extra nine days off by seeing somewhere new in Australia. Additionally, the time off came right before Al began work at his job for NSW Transport so we decided to plan a trip together! Trips to the coast were discussed although I didn't relish being in tropical weather midsummer & before I was scuba certified. We also looked into hiking the Overland Track in Tasmania but bookings are required, & January start dates were full already. Finally, we settled on a place that neither of us have been - Uluru and the Red Centre. The Red Centre has two main airports - one located in Alice Springs, NT & the other at Ayers Rock, NT. (*Note: Uluru was named Ayers Rock by white settlers although its traditional owners have since taken back ownership of the rock & restored its aboriginal name, Uluru. Both names are now used.) Although I wanted to see Alice Springs simply because I have heard of the name (& Outback Steakhouse's "Alice Springs Quesadillas" ;p), flights are significantly more expensive to this airport, & Aussies have told me it's not a nice place to visit - mostly just an entry point to the same sights. So, Al & I decided we would book our trip via Ayers Rock Airport if we could find a tour departing & returning to the airport (as many depart or return to Alice Springs). After some internet searching, we booked a 4 day/3 night "Rock to Rock tour" with Mulgas Adventures, flights to and from Ayers Rock Airport, & a night at Ayers Rock Resort for the night before our tour began.
12 January:
We left Sydney around 10:30a and arrived at 12:30p at Ayers Rock Airport. The Red Centre is very red, & it was amazing seeing it from overhead - sort of like a free scenic flight! A free shuttle from the airport transported us to Ayers Rock Resort & the Outback Pioneer Lodge & Hotel, where we had booked two beds in a four-bed dorm room for the night. Upon arrival, however, Al & I had the same thought & decided to inquire about upgrading to a private room, as we were hot & just wanted to relax for the afternoon with the AC & privacy of our own space.
After upgrading to our private room (complete with bunk beds....we could have had a sleepover! haha), we decided to take the walk to the "city square" to stock up on food for the day/morning before our tour & snacks/water for the tour. Ayers Rock Resort is basically the only lodging option right beside Uluru and includes options from a campground up to dorm rooms & private rooms, suites, & fancy hotel/conference rooms. There is a city square with an IGA (grocery store chain), post office, cafes, & tourist shops. We loaded up on snacks & food & spent the afternoon lounging in the AC watching Friends. That night, as we headed to the shared kitchen to heat my pumpkin soup, we saw a multitude of bugs & lizards & spiders (complete with webs for my tall guy to run into)...all of the outback creatures were out & about, & our shuttle bus driver had informed us that with the recent rain (unusual in the outback), anything that was living was particularly active at this time.
13 January:
We relaxed in the morning until check-out then checked out the local tourist shops. I bought a lovely Anangu (traditional owners of the land around Uluru & Kata Tjuta) painting at a craft market in the square then we headed to the lodge lobby to meet our tour guide Chris at 2p. After swinging by the airport to get the rest of our tour group (24 people in total from U.S.A., Australia, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, Spain, Brazil, Jersey, & Wales), we headed to our first night's camp, just outside of Ayers Rock Resort. We had a quick lunch then headed to the Cultural Center at the base of Uluru, inside Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.
At the cultural center, no pictures were allowed (as was true for several sacred sites around Uluru's base) but we were able to read about aboriginal life, including roles of men & women, hunting & shelter, & legends explaining various parts of the rock. After about 30 minutes at the cultural center, we drove to the base of Uluru for a hike. Our guide, Chris, was absolutely amazing! He has been guiding since 1996 & has a degree in geology. He has worked for the Northern Territory fire management service & truly has years of hands-on experience in the NT & with aboriginal peoples. He was not a cookie cutter guide, & I felt very fortunate to have landed with him on our tour. He stopped several times around the base to tell us stories about the rock or Anangu people as well as anecdotes from his own experiences in the area. We did not complete a full base walk (which takes 3-4 hours to complete) but completed a shorter section, for which I was grateful in the heat. While we walked, Chris drove the van around to our ending point with icy cold fruit and water.
After leaving the base, we drove to a lookout point with fabulous views of the rock for a stunning sunset, during which Uluru changes into vibrant red and purple hues. The tour provided bottles of champagne for toasts. The sunset was one of my favorite parts of the trip! That night, we cooked delicious burritos at camp, & I was again impressed by the yummy food - much more than basic sandwiches & cereal everyday, as I had expected. Because we had an early day for sunrise the next day, most of us went ahead to sleep shortly after dinner & clean-up. For the duration of the tour, we slept in swags (like a roll-out canvas bag with a thin mattress on bottom) under the stars, & the outback sky was like nothing I've ever seen!
14 January:
We woke up at 4 am, ate a quick breakfast (cereals, toast, fruit, tea, and coffee) then headed back into Uluru-Kata Tjuta National park for sunrise with Uluru & Kata Tjuta. Although less impressive to me than the sunset, it was still just so humbling to be in such a beautiful place with so many people from around the world, just breathing the fresh air without a single worry. After sunrise, we drove to the base of Kata Tjuta for a longer hike than the previous day, known as the Valley of the Winds. This hike was my absolute favorite, as it was stunningly beautiful for the duration. Rather than one giant rock, Kata Tjuta (meaning "many heads," aka The Olgas) consists of 36 giant domes. We walked in & amongst them on the beautiful hike, & it was indeed windy! Al & I broke in our fly nets on this day, after using our silly cork hats while at Uluru. Chris continued to impress me with his thorough knowledge of the area, aboriginal people, & geological formation of the rocks. We hiked a loop over two lookout points but my favorite part was just being on the ground, dwarfed beneath the huge domes. After a snack break for chocolate biscuits, we finished the hike & headed back to camp for lunch & packing up before heading to our campsite for night #2, at Kings Creek Station.
The ride was long (& hot, if the sun happened to be on your side of the van) but Chris had an awesome playlist, & we made a stop midway for mulga wood, which burns long & hot & is some of the best firewood in the outback! We also made a pit stop at Curtain Springs for alcohol, as this night would be our first with a campfire & was sure to be a fun one! Upon arrival, we unloaded all of the supplies then had time in the afternoon to relax, walk around, & go to the swimming pool on site. Those of us who had bought alcohol (aka Al, myself, and the four other tour members from Jersey & Wales) cracked open some beers & donated some to Chris, as thanks for his awesome tour guiding & companionship! We hung out by the campfire, & Chris picked up & began to play with some sort of giant bush ant. For a reason still unbeknownst to me (I was already a few beers in & probably had bush tucker on my mind!), I made the offer to eat the ant IF everyone in the group gave me a beer. After this proclamation, Chris promised he'd buy me a 12-pack if I ate the ant, so with a big crunch, the monstrous ant was down the hatch, Al got a post-ant kiss, & I'd earned myself free beer for the following night. We spent the rest of the late afternoon in the icy cold pool then came back to camp to cook up camel burgers & kangaroo steaks for dinner. The kangaroo steaks we had on tour were the BEST kangaroo meat I have had yet - cooked to perfection. The rest of the night was spent singing & dancing & drinking around the campfire well into the night. We at last fell asleep in our swags, & I had a fairly restless night, hearing dingos howling pretty close by...one of the UK guys saw it disappear into the bush when he woke up, & our camp was surrounded by their paw prints.
15 January:
Day 3 on tour was again an early morning as beating the heat was absolutely necessary on our hikes; most of the trails did not permit hikers to start them after 9 a.m. We drove from Kings Creek Station to a car park at Kings Canyon then began the hike into the canyon with at least 4 steep flights of stairs. Once at the top of the canyon wall, the hike wasn't too strenuous but the rock formations were so unique, & the canyon was breathtaking. This day was Al's favorite of the tour! It was also possibly our longest hike, & we were fortunate to have some cloud cover, as the trail itself had none.
After the hike, we went back to Kings Creek Station & packed up then had the afternoon to swim or hang out at the station cafe before we headed back near Curtain Springs for a private bush camp on our last night. We swam a bit but on the cloudier day, the water was actually too cold so Al & I got ice creams & capitalized on the cafe's free WiFi. While sitting outside the cafe, a station worker amazed us with several large bugs he had found as well as his pet baby camel that he had rescued after it was attacked by dingos. It was so cute!! This same worker had apparently found a python earlier in the day that he planned to keep as a pet, too.
We finally left Kings Creek station in the late afternoon & headed toward Curtain Springs. On the way & well into the drive, Chris suddenly slammed on the brakes, leapt out of his seat, & started running backwards down the deserted highway. We all were jolted awake & looked out to see what had happened, when he motioned for us to join us many metres behind the stopped van & to bring cameras. He had spotted a thorny dragon in the bush & stopped to pick it up & teach us about the interesting lizard! The spots on its stomach are in a design unique to each dragon, like a fingerprint.
Back on the way, we stopped again at Curtain Springs for alcohol, then drove well into the bush to a private camp on a cattle station, owned by Mulgas Adventures. This was my favorite night at camp as we were truly in the middle of nowhere, with no running water this night. We had a pasta bake for dinner, drank into the wee hours, enjoyed a beautiful sunset, & hiked to the top of a nearby sand dune with Chris, as he pointed out constellations & stars unique to the Southern Hemisphere. It was beautiful & such a perfect ending to a great tour. Al & I fell asleep snuggled next to each other in our swags & woke up with the sun (& flies) rather than at 4 a.m., like the previous two mornings.
16 January:
We quickly had breakfast & packed up camp then went back to Ayers Rock Resort and Uluru Camel Tours. There, we had the opportunity for a quick camel ride then were dropped off at the airport for the return flight to Sydney. I was exhausted & dirty & had no clean clothes remaining but still so full of happiness from some of my best times so far in Australia. The trip to the Red Centre definitely ties with Tasmania as my favorite place I have seen so far in Australia; however, I couldn't spend longer than a week or so in the Red Centre (not enough people & limited, although amazing, sights), & I could live in Tasmania for years & still find new things to love! We were so fortunate with the weather during our trip as it had just rained, so the temps were 31-34 during the day & 16-18 at night - ideal for the outback!
Upon arriving back in Sydney, Al & I took a train to his place, where I borrowed a clean shirt & showered before eating a quick dinner, charging my phone, & walking back up to the train station for a 2-hour train ride south to Shellharbour, where my host family & the kids' grandparents were still on vacation.
My host dad picked me up from the train station, & I was able to wash all of my clothes at the holiday house before having the most sound sleep upstairs in the room I shared with the kids (complete with two bunk bets & Emily's portable cot...it was such a comfortable bed after nights in the swag!).
17 January:
Caroline & I got up early on the Saturday for our scheduled surf lesson, which was my Christmas gift from my host parents but after the instructor didn't show up, we were able to reschedule for Sunday & instead went to the beach with Andrew.
The holiday house was perfectly situated between a shallow lake (basically saltwater that had been blocked off from the actual ocean, which was perfect for the kids & preferred by Annabel & Emily) & a surf beach, which Andrew loved on the trip - jumping into the waves & yelling "Cowabunga!" Caroline & I went to the surf beach with Andrew, & it was a blast. His pure joy being in the water was contagious.
The rest of the day was full of kids' movies & Scrabble games & a lot of fun!
18 January:
This morning, Caroline & I were able to have our surf lesson at "The Farm" in Killalea State Park, which I have visited once before when my friend Lisa & I traveled the Grand Pacific Drive from south of Wollongong up to Sydney.
At The Farm, we met our surf instructor, Brock, from Pine Surfing Academy & were fitted with wetsuits & a rash guard. After some short instructions on the beach about how to position our feet & stand up on the board, we headed into the surf to catch some waves. During our 2-hour lesson, we got lots of practice standing on the board & riding it in. The hardest part was actually waiting on a suitable wave because the waves were getting larger & rougher as the day went on; we were beat about with our boards while waiting. It was so much fun though, & I definitely want to surf more in the future; I think it's something I could really love, like wakeboarding.
19 January:
On Monday morning, Caroline, her parents, & I packed up the house & headed back to Canberra; Matt had gone up to Sydney for a cricket match & would meet us home in Canberra. After a lunch at home, I took the kids out to play while Caroline got everything settled back at home & ran some errands.
In the days since, we have enjoyed some of our last school holiday time before Andrew begins primary school in February & Annabel heads back for her last year in preschool. It is a challenge having all three home everyday but it is so fun spending time with them & coming up with activities to do & places to go. We have had several play dates with other au pairs & children, done some cooking, & lots of creative play! Swimming has been a big hit, & I have never seen so many children flock to me like when they first saw my GoPro in the water (haha). We have only a few days left all together (until the next school holiday) then the house will be much quieter as Emily & I go back to our normal daily routine without the big kids. I am excited for Andrew to start primary school though & for Annabel to start her new preschool class; the kids are so smart & just have a passion for learning already that is amazing!
I have been lucky with my host family & am excited that they have selected a new au pair to begin when I leave them in March. She doesn't know how lucky she is to have such a great family & kids to spend so much time with! The month of January has already been crazy but I will try to slow it down in the weeks leading up to my New Zealand trip to save some money (I hope). I am also in the process of finding my next family in the Sydney area for after New Zealand & will hopefully know more after meeting with two families this weekend!
Everything is big, & everything is exciting, & I feel so so happy to have this opportunity.
Cheers till next time,
Alli
