We arrived in Alice Springs about 4-30 pm and were transferred to the Dessert Springs hotel - a nice spacious hotel, with a pleasant outlook on the outskirts of town - where we were warned not to go into town!! So a few of us had a nice Thai/Indian meal at the hotels restaurant (very expensive!!)
Saturday 5th November I saw a nice sunrise, peeping through the windows, with birds singing on the trees and grass outside and a clear blue sky to welcome, what was obviously going to be a really hot day (and it was!).
By 7-30 am the coach was loaded and we set off with a new (female) driver, to take us on the long road trip from Alice to Ayres rock resort... as we set off she told us we only had two right turns to make in the next 6 hours...!! I realised what she meant as the long straight road stretched out in front of the coach, with the sun beating down on us!
very little traffic, as normal, was on the road and we ploughed into the ever more barren countryside being baked in the dessert heat... after a couple of hours we stopped at a Camel farm (they used to be the transport animals of choice in the area, but no longer), where there was a good display of some old Aborigine throwing sticks (others call them boomerangs!):
continuing on through the ever changing countryside on the Stuart highway,
late morning stopping at the 'Bull bar Roadhouse'...
the heat was blistering, so the ice cream was welcome!!
By early afternoon we saw in the far distance, what we all thought was Uluru... No, the driver called it 'Fooleroo' it fools so many!! but not Ayres rock!
which we eventually saw early afternoon in the distance...
and got checked into Ayres Rock resort mid afternoon... everything in the sun was untouchable!! It was blazing hot sunshine, up in the early 40's!! So what did we do...?? Cool off in the pool?, hide in the shade..??, sleep...? - Never! We went to have a walk along the gorge on the Olgas, more correctly now known as Kata Tjuta... a rock outcrop in the other direction from Ayres Rock, more correctly called Uluru...
We went for a drive to the base of them, and then were able to walk along a gorge that cut into them,
all the time swatting away the thousands of flies that were buzzing around (and I had my trusty head net), then it was off to a viewpoint fir a sunset viewing of the Olgas, whilst eating some nibbles and wine, provided by Saga... Cheers!!, then back to the resort for an early night...
Sunday 6th November 2016, was a really early start!! 4 am up, ready for the trip up to Uluru/Ayres Rock, to watch the rock change as the first rays of sunshine filled the sky, and changed its already red colour into lots of other reds... hard to describe really... and joining hundreds of other people all heading up there for the same thing... a long snake of red lights shone as we travelled in a long convoy to a parking area in the national park specially set up for this moment... 1/4 million viewing it each year!! As we arrived in the dark of the night I realised what organisation was around... at the coach parking area, the differing groups already had set up tables with hot drinks and biscuits on, ready for each passenger to grab and walk along the dirt paths up the sand dunes/ hills to different viewing platforms... I was first as I almost ran up the hill to get a better view, not wanting to miss a second of the experience, and I thought already later than I would have wished!!
the pictures don't capture the spectacle properly... the sky starts to lighten behind the Olgas... then the first rays of sun start poking out on the horizon, as I kept looking both at the Olgas and Ayres rocks, as the black night starts to change, and the red of the rock starts changing deeper and redder with every passing second!!
A great spectacle, not hindered in the slightest by all the other people all around, the iconic Australian experience which I was part of, great stuff!!
By 620 am we were back on the coach and on the way to the Hotel for breakfast, then back in the coach for a daylight 'base tour' of Ayres Rock... in the gentle 40+C heat!! Firstly we drove all around the base, then parked and walked into the permanent water hole which exists at a corner of the rock near to some caves with rock art in them...
some people were walking around the entire base (about 8 kms... we weren't given the option!!) - the Aborigines don't like people climbing up to the top of the rock, although many did in the early days... and some still do, although today the climb was closed because of the high temperatures, so I couldn't even if I wanted to!!
Then it was off to the Culture centre, learning more of the history and culture of the area, before returning to the hotel for lunch... and an afternoon 'off' - I did all my washing at the site laundry (free!!)
At 6 pm we gathered again to travel out to a special area in the dessert, for a 'Sounds of Silence' sunset viewing and dinner (and drinks) - again a special viewing of both Ayres Rock and the Olgas, as the sun went down and the drink flowed, lovely.
Monday 7th November a gentle start... at 630 am, to pack, have breakfast and be ready to board our coach for 815 am and a trip to the local airport, and a flight rather than drive to Alice Springs... some great interesting views from the aeroplane as we travelled over the red centre...
we landed there late morning for a short tour of the area, before a later flight... an interesting fact (or two facts) Alice - who the town was named after, never came to AS.... and the Spring is not a spring, it's a water hole.... so AS is erroneously called AS!!
We firstly went to the Australian Royal flying doctor service, then on to the 'School of the Air' (airwaves, being a radio controlled school for distant pupil learning, now changed to internet... always for remote pupils many hundreds of kms away.) then into the centre of AS for lunch - I could see why we were advised not to go in a few nights ago... a rather shoddy appearance, with an interesting sign marking distances to both London and Rome where I've been this year, many thousands of kilometres away.
AS was hotter than anywhere... the coach thermometer said 44C!! It felt like it (another time for a big ice cream) then a final overview of AS
before returning to the airport and a flight across to Cairns, and another time and temperature change still hot , not as humid!!
Tuesday 8th November another early start ready for a 7 am collection by 'Billy Tea Safaris' in their 4x4 wagon, to take me on a tour of the Daintree Rainforest
- I've not seen a rain forest before, so should be interesting... the small vehicle was packed to capacity as we drove out of Cairns, through Mossman, and fields of sugar cane, before crossing the river and up into the Daintree rainforest... sweaty, humid and dense... as we drove up the twisty roads higher and higher to see the different trees. We stopped at a couple of viewpoints, and walked along a boardwalk through the forest, with the driver being able to tell us lots about the forest and its animals... we only saw brush turkeys, but heard lots!!
Then continuing to Emmogen creek where I managed a short swim... before I saw the 'Danger Crocodiles' signs!!!
We also tasted a range of Tropical fruits (great) before driving down to Cape Tribulation,
where the rainforest meets the sea, and Great Barrier Reef!!
with mangrove trees and swamps reaching right down to the sea...
Continuing to Lync Haven for lunch with wallabies and snakes!!, then carrying on in the afternoon back across the river, and a river cruise up and along it, alongside the Mangrove trees and thick forest, where we managed to spot a crocodile climbing out onto the bank, and staying with his mouth open... (he was hot too!!)...
We were then driven back to Cairns arriving back at the hotel for gone 6 pm, another long day travelling!!
Wednesday 9th November another 730 start for our trip out onto another iconic Australian spot - the Great Barrier Reef.
A coach took us to the Mulgrave river where we boarded our boat to take us down the river,
and across the Coral sea to the Frankland islands,
where we were to be based for the day... we were transferred into a smaller boat to land on the coral surrounded island
which only just poked its head out of the sea! Firstly we were taken on a guided tour of the tiny island, being shown differing fish/rock specimens
and a quick dip in the warm sea before a tasty lunch, then what we'd come for... snorkelling out on top of the surrounding reef - I joined up with the 'advanced snorkelling group' and we were taken out by boat further away from the island, and were then able to swim over the coral reefs below us, viewing firstly the amazingly colourful, bright and different coral growths beneath us, some small, some huge... just like I've seen in films, with lots of brightly coloured fish munching away at the reef and coral...
I swam virtually the length of the island, crisscrossing as I went wanting to see everything I could... well over an hour, then we were picked up and returned to the rest of the group, and transferred back to the bigger boat for our journey home... back along the Mulgrave river, spotting another crocodile as we went - the first the crew had seen in 3 months, and back to my Cairns hotel, just in time to see the annual sunset parade of the Vampire bats
A great day, and complemented by going out for a few drinks, and spotting this beer mat - one to always aim for!
Thursday 10th November I didn't do a great deal, relaxed around Cairns, on another hot day, had a wander round the old port area in the evening before joint the rest of the group for an evening meal, and early night.
Friday 11th November another 630 breakfast, before leaving the hotel for the airport and our next flight to Brisbane.. taking off just after 1015 up and over the Great Barrier Reef below with great views of the reef and lots of different coral islands stretching along the coast (they pay a fortune for these views in a helicopter!!)
Quite different at 11am to have a minutes silence up at 34,000 feet!! (Armistice day) arriving in Brisbane midday we were collected in windy sunshine to be taken on a mini tour of the town and viewpoints before arriving at our hotel, and relax!!
Saturday 12th November a leisurely breakfast and then out for my own walking tour of Brisbane (I'd got it out of my guide book) firstly through the central district, and onto the city hopper (free ferry)
up and down the river which snakes through the city... across the bridges to the South Bank and along it, with views through an old bridge abutment at the distant city
and back into the central district for completion of my tour... it was about to rain, so I went to 'Jamie's Italian' for a late lunch... whilst the rain thundered down outside... after a great meal, I wandered through the drying city, back up to St Stephens for 6 pm Vigil mass, and back to the hotel for a well deserved early night!!
It's certainly been a busy hot week, into the centre of Australia, and back out again... now I'm heading down the East coast... with cooler weather to come...
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