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After Ayers Rock we drove 3½ hours out to Kings Canyon. The resort was not nearly as nice as at Ayers Rock, even though it was run by the same cooperation. However, we only planned to stay for 2 nights. There were a lot of dingos around - but they mostly come out after sunset and they don't bother you at all. Mainly, they just wonder around, looking for food scraps!!
Before I forget - we have entered the dry area of Australia - and at Ayers Rock you pay $40 for a six-pack. You would want to be thirsty and unfortunately you are out here. And I wouldn't pay $23 at Flinders Ranges.
We did the Rim walk, which starts off with a 500 step steep climb and then approx. 6 km around the top rim. I have heard it referred to, as the heart attack walk, but it was very beautiful - and after having climbed Ayers Rock, it was a piece of cake. However, it did get quite warm at the top, so it was a good thing we started early. A tour guide, who came down just after us, said she had measured 40 degrees at the top. In the middle of the canyon was a place called The Garden of Eden; it was a small oasis with a big permanent waterhole, ferns etc. and of course, a place for aboriginal ceremonies.
We were going to take the back road to Alice, which is only approx. 250km, but we were told it was 200km of corrugated dirt road. Having done the Oodnadatta track and having no spare wheel/tire for the caravan, we decided against it and took the long way, almost 500km.
When we reached Alice, we decided to find a caravan repair place, before going to a caravan park. After our wheel incident we had to have a minor repair done. In addition, the fridge in the caravan has been playing up, as has the aircon in the car and the gas - our emergency fuel source, doesn't work. The extra frigde/freezer we bought to have in the back of the car is also not working properly. All together five different issues which have to be fixed by five different repair-places. We have decided to have it all fixed before we leave Alice Springs, as this is the last bigger town before we reach Cairns. We would like to skip Mount Isa. Anyway, we have total care with RACV, and they have been great; they booked us into a motel and we have a nice rental car.
Alice is a very interesting place, surrounded by the most stunning nature. Approx 25000 people live here and it seems like at least half are Aboriginal. There are many people from the UK and other foreign places; they work for a while and then move on.
For the first time in many years Paul had to show ID when buying alcohol at Woolworths today. It has been introduced only in Alice Springs and Katherine, not just to check your age, but to make sure you don't have any outstanding warrants or court orders.
Friday we visited the local reptile centre and it was a very educational experience for me. If you don't like snakes, maybe you should skip this section and all you Australians probably know all of this anyway?
Australia has 18 out the 20 most venomous snakes in the world (I knew that). What I didn't realize is that quite a few of them are very small and hard to spot. We learnt about preventing snake bites. Boots and long jeans - it's a bit hot for jeans but we did all get hiking boots before we left Melbourne.I had heard that most snakes bite under the ankle!
If you see a snake and you are more than 2 meters away, you can slowly retrieve. If you are 1 meter away or less, you MUST freeze and stand absolutely still (I didn't know this - I would have run). All Australian snakes are deaf and have poor vision, so you can scream as loud as you like. They will think you are an odd smelling tree and they won't attack - once the snake moves away you can move too - but it has to be more than 1 meter away. You will not be able to run from a snake attack if you are this close - it is too fast. Until now I thought we scarred the snakes off with all our noise, but as it happens - they can't hear us. So now I take very heavy steps and kick a lot of rocks on my path J
The good thing is, most snakes will just give you a scare bite - without venom. They don't want to waste their venom on a prey which is to big to eat. If bitten, do not wash the bite, because you will wash away any trace that will identify which snake bit you and enable you to get the correct anti venom. Put on a compression bandage from the bite and up the limb - not too tight. We haven't seen a snake in the wild yet - and hopefully we wont.
In addition, there are a lot of legless lizards in Australia, so a legless lizard is often mistaken for a snake - you can identify a lizard by its ears. Snakes don't have ears….
After this very interesting visit we went to The Royal Flying Doctor Service.There was a museum, a short movie and a guided talk. As it happened, we arrived together with a bus full of 50 Danes. Everything which was said was therefore translated into Danish as well.
Friday night we went out for dinner and tasted Emu, Kangaroo, Crocodile and Camel. We all agreed that Crocodile was the best.
We had a relaxing Saturday. Paul and Thomas went to the movies to watch Astro boy together with 80 aboriginal girls who were supervised by 4 white adults; Emma and I saw Couples Retreat - quite funny. In the evening we went to a camel farm and went for a 1 hour camel ride during sunset. As mentioned earlier, there are about 1 million wild camels in Australia. Some station owners shoot them because they eat the grass meant for the cattle. The farm we went to had 12 camels, 9 of which were caught wild. There is a photo on the blog of Emma and Thomas with Betty - a wild caught camel with the gentlest nature.
The Aboriginal art has become quite a big industry. It is a very positive way for the Aboriginal people to earn a living. Every second shop is an art gallery - and I am not exaggerating. In addition, you see people on the street corner and in the parks, sitting on the ground paining and selling their art work.
We have heard of a painting being sold for $1.3 million. Some of these people are quite well off, but they have to share their earnings with their families. Others definitely struggle.
Sunday we went for a drive to the west MacDonnell Ranges. We drove 130 Km out to Ormiston Gorge and did a 7 Km walk around the Pound. Okay, I might be overdoing the walking a bit, but I hope to make up for not running and it is really the only way to get the full feeling of the place. My family did not approve of this particular walk. It was, once again, spectacular scenery, but much much much too HOT. We started early but it probably did reach 40 degrees. We each carry water on our backs, like camels - but it was almost boiling.Paul has bought UFH portable radios, so we can get help if needed. The thing about these walks is, you don't always know if you are going the right way - due to poorly signed tracks. This track was well signed the first 5½ km, but then suddenly no arrows. Anyway, we survived once again; Emma and Thomas had a swim in one of the waterholes and afterwards we drove to Glen Helen Gorge for lunch. There are many big waterholes hidden in the MacDonnell Ranges. On the way back we stopped at Ochre Pits, a colourful outcrop of ochre on the banks of a sandy creek and Ellery Creek Big-Hole. At Ellery there was a beautiful big swimming hole, the beach of Alice Springs and a popular Sunday outing spot amongst the locals. It is 88 Km out of town, but we defiantly have to go back for more swimming. Only Thomas took a swim and swan to the other side and back. I was told the hole is 90 meters deep.
Danish:
Efter Ayers Rock kørte vi 3 ½ time ud til Kings Canyon. Campingpladsen var ikke nær så pæn som ved Ayers Rock, men vi havde kun planer om at blive i 2 nætter. Der var masser af dingoer (vilde hunde) rundt omkring - men de fleste kom først ud efter solnedgang, og de generede ikke nogen. Hovedsageligt ledte de bare efter madrester!
Før jeg glemmer det - vi befinder os i Australiens tørlagte område, hvad alkohol angår - ved Ayers Rock kostede 6 øl Kr. 180,- Ja, man skal være tørstig, og det er man desværre herude. Og jeg, der ikke ville betale kr 105,- da vi var i Flinders Ranges.
Vi tog en gåtur, som startede med 500 stejle trin opad og derefter ca. 6 km langs kanten af kløftens top. Jeg har hørt turen omtalt som hjerteanfalds turen, men det var meget smukt - og efter at have besteget Ayers Rock, var det ingen sag. Dog blev det meget varmt på toppen, så det var godt, at vi gjorde det fra morgenstunden En tour guide, som kom ned lige efter os, sagde hun havde målt 40 grader på toppen. I midten af kløften var der et sted kaldet The Garden of Eden, det var en lille oase med et stort permanent vandhul, bregner osv., og naturligvis, et sted for de indfødtes ceremonier.
Vi havde tænkt os at tage bagvejen til Alice, som er ca. 250 km, men vi fik at vide, at det var 200 km jordvej med "bølgepap" spor. Efter at have kørt langs Oodnadatta vejen og uden reservehjul/dæk til campingvognen, besluttede vi os for, at tage den lange vej, som var på næsten 500 km.
Da vi ankom til Alice, besluttede vi os for at finde et værksted, som kunne ordne vores campingvogn. Der var alligevel lidt, der skulle ordnes efter hjul-episoden. Desuden virker køleskabet i campingvognen ikke så godt. Aircon i bilen virker ikke og gassen - vores ekstra brændstofs kilde, virker heller ikke. Vi har et ekstra køleskab / fryser til bag i bilen og det fungerer heller ikke korrekt. Alt i alt fem forskellige problemer, som skal repareres fem forskellige steder. Vi har besluttet at få det hele ordnet, før vi forlader Alice Springs, da dette er den sidste større by, før vi når Cairns - vi vil nemlig gerne springe Mount Isa over. Vi har en god forsikring og de har booket os ind på et motel, og sørget for en god udlejningsbil.
Alice er et meget interessant sted, omgivet af den mest fantastiske natur. Der bor ca. 25.000 mennesker og det virker som om mindst halvdelen er Aboriginal. Der er mange folk fra Storbritannien og øvrige udland - de arbejder i en periode og så rejser de videre.
For første gang i mange år skulle Paul vise ID, da han købt øl i det lokale supermarked i dag. Det er netop blevet indført i Alice Springs og Katherine, ikke bare for at tjekke alder, men for at sikre, at man ikke har noget udestående bøder eller dommerkendelser. (Skyldes store problemer med de indfødte og alkohol)
Fredag besøgte vi det lokale krybdyrs center, og det var en meget lærerig oplevelse. Hvis du ikke kan lide slanger, bør du springe denne del over.
Australien har 18 ud de 20 mest giftige slanger i verden (det vidste jeg godt). Hvad jeg ikke vidste, var at mange af dem er meget små og svære at få øje på. Vi lærte om forebyggelse af slangebid: støvler og lange jeans er bedst - det er dog en smule varmt, så jeans gider vi ikke, men vi har alle gode vandrestøvler. Jeg havde nemlig hørt, at de fleste slanger bider under anklen!
Hvis du ser en slange, og er mere end 2 meter væk, kan du langsomt trække dig tilbage eller gå i en stor bue udenom. Hvis du er 1 meter eller mindre væk, skal du stå helt stille (Det vidste jeg ikke - jeg ville nok have løbet). Alle australske slanger er døve og har dårligt syn, så du kan skrige så højt du vil. De vil tro, du er et træ med en mærkelig lugt, og de vil ikke angribe - når slangen fjerner sig kan du også fjerne dig - men der skal være mere end 1 meter mellem dig og slangen. Du vil ikke kunne løbe fra et slange angreb, hvis du er så tæt på - de er for hurtige. Indtil nu har jeg troet, at vi skræmte slangerne væk med al vores støj, men de kan åbenbart ikke høre os. Så nu tager jeg meget tunge skridt og sparke en masse sten foran mig, når vi er ude at vandre i naturen!
Den gode nyhed er, at de fleste slanger blot giver dig et skræmme bid - uden gift. De ønsker ikke at spilde deres gift på et bytte, der er for stort til at spise. Hvis bidt, skal du ikke vaske såret, fordi du da vil fjerne det spor, som kan identificere slangen og dermed sikre dig det korrekte antistof. Læg en bandage - ikke for stramt, hold dig i ro, og få fat i de flyvende læger. Til orientering så har vi ikke set en slange i naturen endnu - og forhåbentlig gør vi det heller ikke.
Der findes mange benløse firben i Australien. Disse forveksles ofte med slanger - man kan identificere et firben vha. ørerne. Slanger ikke har ører ....
Efter dette meget interessante besøg kørte vi til The Royal Flying Doctor Service. Der var et museum, en kort film og et oplæg. Vi ankom sammen med en bus fuld af mindst 50 danskere. Alt, hvad der blev sagt, blev derfor oversat til dansk.
Fredag aften var vi ude at spise og smagte emu, kænguru, krokodille og Camel. Vi var alle enige om, at krokodille var bedst.
Vi havde en afslappende lørdag. Paul og Thomas gik i biografen så filmen Astro Boy sammen med 80 indfødte piger, der blev superviseret af 4 hvide voksne; Emma og jeg så Couples Retreat - en ganske morsom film. Om aftenen kørte vi ud til en kamel gård og red på kamel i en time mens solen gik ned. Faktisk er det ikke kameler men dromedarer. Som tidligere nævnt, er der ca. 1 mio vilde dromedarer i Australien. Nogle af de store gårdejere skyder dem, fordi de æder græsset og det er der ikke meget af - det der er, skal helst komme kvæget til gode. Gården vi besøgte havde 12 dromedarer, hvoraf 9 var fanget i naturen. Der er et billede på bloggen af Emma og Thomas med Betty - en vildt dromedar med et meget mildt væsen.
Den Aboriginale kunst er blevet en stor industri. Det er en meget positiv måde for de indfødte at tjene penge på. Hver anden butik er et kunst galleri - og jeg overdriver ikke. Derudover er der folk på gadehjørner og i parkerne, som sidder på jorden og maler og sælger deres kunst..
Vi har hørt om et maleri, som blev solgt for knap Kr 6 mio. Nogle af disse mennesker tjener helt godt, men de skal dele deres indtjening med hele familien. Andre (de fleste) har det dog meget svært.
Søndag tog vi på endnu en vandretur i de vestlige Macdonnell Ranges. Vi kørte 130 km ud til Ormiston Gorge og gik 7 km rundt i bjergene. Det kan godt være jeg overdrive det lidt med alle disse vandreture; jeg håber, det kan gøre op for, at jeg ikke får løbet - men i øvrigt, er det den eneste måde at få oplevelsen ind under huden på. Desværre var min familie ikke imponeret denne gang. Det var endnu en gang, et fantastisk landskab, men det var meget meget meget varmt. Vi startede tidligt, men det nåede sikkert op på 40 grader alligevel og det er bare for varmt til den slags aktivitet. Vi har hver 2 liter vand på ryggen, ligesom kameler - men det var næsten kogende. Paul har købt UFH bærbare radioer, så vi kan få hjælp, om nødvendigt. Det der er ved disse vandreture er, at du ikke altid ved, om du går i den rigtige retning - på grund af dårlige afmærkninger. Denne tur var afmærket rigtig godt de første 5 ½ km, men så ophørte pilen pludselig - og det er lidt væmmeligt. Vi overlevede endnu en gang; Emma og Thomas fik en dejlig kølig svømmetur i en af vandhullerne, og bagefter kørte vi til Glen Helen Gorge for at spise frokost. Der er mange store vandhuller skjult i Macdonnell Ranges. På vejen tilbage stoppede vi ved Ochre Pits, med farverig okker langs bredden af en udtørret sandet flod og Ellery Creek Big-Hole. Ved Ellery var der et dejligt stort vandhul, som er den lokale strand og et meget populært sted til en søndagsudflugt blandt de lokale. Det ligger 88 kilometer fra byen, men vi er nød til at tage tilbage en anden dag, så vi kan svømme lidt mere. Kun Thomas tog en dukkert og svømmede til den anden side og tilbage. Jeg fik at vide, hullet er 90 meter dybt.
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