We are currently on the bus heading back to Alice sprigs normally, but some of the tour can choose to continue for 5 days (we did 3). Sadly due to all the flooding they are forced to come back with us now and wait out the rain in alice! So we are all one big family returning together!
About our group: we are the youngest on the tour! But it's cool to be with an older, more sophisticated crew. We have... France, Germany and some new countries!! The Netherlands, Czech republic and Madagascar!! How cool is that?! I love the dutch the most, they are so happy and fun and tall. Ages range from 30-73!! The oldest couple is french and cute and the woman came here for her 70th bday. A czech man celebrated his 63rd birthday yesterday! One of the dutch women is here for her 50th birthday with her husband and sister. There is a Czech couple who seems to be young too, maybe late 20s early 30s. She is living in Australia to learn English, back home she was a receptionist at a plastic surgeons office where you can get your boobs done for $2000. Apparently that's a great deal! I think everyone looks younger than they are and they are very fit and active and obviously still traveling, gives me inspiration! Everyone has been nice on this trip and we work together pretty well to make dinner and clean up after. Camping is great and don't let Alexa fool you, she was a champ!!
We are actually really lucky for the rain. I was pretty worried about this trip before because the temp average is 40 c (like 100+) or more!! We have been blessed with temps in the 70s mostly. The first day it rained when we were on a long drive but since that no rain. So it happened at the best possible time [sidenote:just saw wild horses crossing the road!!] we reached urulu in the evening and walked around it. Sunset was cloudy, so not great, but we got champagne which is great! Even better for me is that Alexa didn't really want hers so it went to yours truly. Then we went to camp. Due to possibility of rain we slept under a tin roof but no walls so we still slept outside! We made a nice dinner/feast of garlic bread, pasta, veggies and for the carnivores-kangaroo Bolognese. Classy. Alexa says- not as good as the steak but very good. Our tour guide is awesome, a very funny lady who just turned 30! She has been to the US but only to vermont to work at mt snow! She keeps us entertained and really knows her stuff. Luckily the campaign had real bathrooms. We were picked up at 545 that morning so by 10 pm we were ready for bed! Alexa explained the swags which were actually pretty comfy and kept us very warm! No stars the first night due to clouds. I was awoken by a rouge snorer but luckily fell asleep and slept the rest of the night no problem! Which is good because we had a 5 am wake up.
Day 2 we were up and out to watch the sunrise over urulu. It was cold in the morning and we patiently waited and the day was clear so we saw a pretty good sunrise! Then we hit the road to do a hike around the Olga's. Named for the Spanish queen. This was a 3 hour hike thru some red mountains which again reminded me of Colorado! Beautiful! My fav part included "morning tea" which was snack time for apples and cookies and granola, no tea which is strange... After the break I was much more energized!! We were lucky to see a few streams and waterfalls which normally aren't there! Also the land was so green with grass and trees and normally it's all red. It did heat up along the hike but nothing terrible, probably 80? And sunny. We stopped a few times to refill our water but it was a very pleasant walk! Even the oldies kept up just fine!! After the hike we had lunch and then began a long drive to kings canyon camp for the second night. We saw a few wild camels wandering about, looking weird like camels do. Along the way we stopped and collected firewood! Cool stuff for a city girl like me to experience :) best news, due To the rain it wasn't too buggy! Hooray!
Double hooray- Alexa is playing removem! All on her own... Great job!
Anywho, our second night was great! Alexa and I became the grill masters and cooked up quite a good meal! Te men on this trip are pretty reluctant to help so we had to pry them a few times. Like when 2 girls and clearly struggling to load baggage into the van... Help! But they don't so luckiy Alexa has no problem asking for help :) same goes for building the fire. As women we are capable, but didn't really want to, so we make the men feel important and ask them to do it. It works out. If we don't give them a job they end up just watching all the women do work, real helpful! So with them busy with that and others setting out the sleeping bags we grilled a lot of veggies, chicken and veggie burgers! Yum yum. It was good! Our guide made fresh bread by the fire and roasted some potatoes. It all came together for another great feast! Most people had beer and wine with dinner, Alexa and I are on a budget thus has lemon flavored water haha. Same thing! There was a toilet and shower here too which is good but once the sun sets and it's pitch black there is no way I'm taking an outdoor shower. Instead we watched a beautiful sunset and saw tons of stars including the southern cross, Orion and the milky way! No north star or big dipper here! The moon was out and very bright, half moon, so it made up for the cloudy night before.
We mostly just chatted with everyone about where they had been/are going.
Did we mention that on our trip to Perth we met a German girl who also had her trip planned by dave? (our south African travel agent) well we did and she had pretty much an identical itinerary to us which was great because she said she enjoyed everything! On this trip there are 2 more people who know Dave and had him help plan their trip! We all agree that he is crazy, but also a good planner!
Our last night was spent under the stars! It was a little cold but the swags kept us warm once we were in them! This time the snorer slept on the other end of the campsite so I didn't even hear! Yes!!!!
Another early night and early morning. Today we went on an even longer and more challenging hike around kings canyon. It's beautiful and one of the only places in the desert here with regular water. There are a few waterfalls and waterholes for those who want to swim (we didn't, not hit enough!) but the scenery was Gorgeous and worth all the uphill climbing (including heart attack hill staircase) we had to do. It took about 4 hours and then we had a BBQ lunch after. Im amazed I stayed awake long enough to write this considering I ate a lot and am now in a moving vehicle.
But I'm supposed to talk about aboriginals so I will try! Out here is their native land where they have survived over 70,000 years!! They live and still have ceremonies on these national parks and here they are still traditional and in touch with their culture. Kind of like our native Americans I think... Very similar beliefs and values. They know everything about the land and plants and don't see land as something you own. It seems like due to a lot of circumstances those living in cities cause a lot of trouble and violence (unemployment, alcoholism, poverty, bored teenagers...) but those living out here in a more traditional community are very different and working to improve their relationship with Australians and educate the public on their way of life. There is also a foundation set up to send kids in rural communities to Adelaide to get an education, one they can't receive or aren't always encouraged to receive here, and then return them to their communities so they can make a difference and have a better life. It seems like a great program and there seems to be hope for things to improve. As early as 50 years ago some areas of Australia weren't touched by white people so in some areas they are still learning to coexist and work together. Unfortunately there is a bad reputation caused by conflicts in more urban areas but that obviously doesn't reflect on all aboriginal people.
Ok hope I did well with that... We went to a cultural center and also talked to a guide a bit so it's nice to get the other side of the story!! We stay tonight on Alice springs and fly to cairns tomorrow to begin our east coast trek adventure down to Sydney! Hope it doesn't rain... Too much!
Miscellaneous notes: no matter the country, everyone has an iPhone!! I want one when I return :) also every single place on the planet seems to think they have this original Motto "If you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes" nope, everyone else says that too! Americans are famous for not traveling so we have to change that!
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