The Beauty of the Red Center

Just got back from the three day trip through the Red Center. It was a long trip, but very well worth it!

Let's start at the beginning. Friday morning September 23rd. Tour would be leaving at 5.45 am, so I got up at 4.50 am. Got dressed,freshened up in the bathroom (very useful info :D), grabbed my backpack, had a quick breakfast and I was ready to go.

Tourbus arrived a little late, because two of the participants on the tour had arrived from Melbourne. They had forgotten about the 30 minutes time difference between Melbourne and Alice Springs ;). Ah well, a little later than planned, we were met by our tourguide Jason and the other tour participants. There were 13: one Australian, one American, five Germans, four Japanese fashionistas, one Englishman and one Dutchwoman (me obviously :P).

After Jason gave us a small breakfast package (consisting of a drink, a muesli bar and some cheese crackers) we were off to Uluru (Ayers Rock). Five hours, a couple of stops and two turns to the right (really!!) later we arrived at Uluru. There in the middle of nowhere suddenly one big red rock, amazing.

After lunch, and a short tour (by bus) around the rock, Jason dropped most of us off for the basewalk. Some wanted to climb Uluru, but since it is such a sacred rock to the Aboriginals, I decided just to do the basewalk. The basewalk is a walk around the rock, where you can see the many facets of Uluru closeby. Some say that it is even better than the climb to the top.

Usually I wouldn't have had much trouble with this 8km hike over mostly flat terrain. But alas my back decided to act up, apparently didn't like the five hour drive in a somewhat cramped seat :(. During the walk I had to stop twice, and sit (or actually lay on a bench, the only thing that works when I have a backache), because I could barely walk. Towards the end, my back started feeling a little better, so I could actually enjoy the wonders of the magnificent Uluru. It is not just one big rock, the outline of each part is just so very different. When we finished the walking tour, Jason was there with a lot of fresh fruit. Hmm, forgot how good Australian pineapple tastes :D.

After enjoying the fruity snacks, we hoped to see a beautiful Uluru sunset. Alas, we didn't have much of a sunset Clouds turned up shortly before the sunset :(. A little disappointed the tourgroup and I went to our camp site. I got a shower and a back massage from the only Australian tour (which actually helped a lot). Meanwhile Jason, our enthousiastic tourguide, cooked us a nice dinner. Shortly after dinner, it was already time for bed. We would have to get up at 4.30 am the next day to see the sun rise on Uluru and Kata Tjuta (the Olgas).

Got into my swag (a matras and a sleepingbag in one, pillow was also included yay!!) and hoped that I would get a little sleep. And I did. Backpain was almost gone the next day, just a little stiffness. After a quick breakfast, we went to our designated spot (close to Uluru and Kata Tjuta) for the sunrise. But again, the clouds got into our way. Didn't see much :(.

Jason assured us that, even though the sun was not present, we would enjoy a walk through Kata Tjuta. The walk through Kata Tjuta was challenging, but it was truly beautiful(fortunately my back was feeling ok and Jason provided us constantly with snacks, which was nice!). Took so many pictures, and halfway through the walk the sun came out!! Kata Tjuta might not be as well known as Uluru, but it is just as stunning (possibly even more stunning).

After the walk through Kata Tjuta, we went back to our campsite for lunch. Then it was onto our campsite at King's Canyon, a three hour drive (again just two turns!). Slept a lot during that drive :D. I had finally found a way to sit on the bus, without upsetting my back. When we arrived at our next campsite, we were greeting by the local dog Allie. A border collie, a very cute (and smart) border collie.

Jason cooked up a wonderful BBQ and sent us to bed very early again. We were allowed to sleep in though, until 5.00 am ;). Slept soundly in my swag, had no problem at all sleeping under the stars (although I didn't see that many clouds because of the stars). The next morning, after breakfast, Jason drove us to King's Canyon. Time for our last hike, which started at 6.30 am. This hike was the longest, and probably my favorite (even though it was very windy with barely any sun. The Canyon is truly sensational. You really gotta see the pictures, it is very hard to simply explain it in words :).

We deserved a good lunch after our long hike through King's Canyon. We went back to our campsite, of that morning. Camp dog Allie apparently knew that lunch was being served, so she came up to our lunchspot. She, and her doggy mate Axel, got a lot of the leftovers :).

As soon as we finished lunch, we embarked on our long ride back to Alice Springs (we were in the bus for a total of 1500 km!). Stopped at an lovely Aboriginal art gallery along the way. We also visited a camel farm.
And I had a short ride on a camel, which was hilarious. The pictures are hilarious too :D.

Got back to Alice Springs around six o'clock. What a wonderful trip it was. If you ever decide to do a tour through the Red Center do it with EMU Run Tours. They are excellent. Plenty of lovely food, good camping stuff, enthusiastic guides (we were lucky with Jason). Members of the tour group were nice too.

We had dinner with our tour group this evening. After that, we each went our seperate ways. Well not really. Four people of my tourgroup are staying at the same hostel. Four other people will be on the same flight to Sydney tomorrow. Sydney, at last :P. Hope to report tomorrow about my first couple of hours in the "City of Mary" :D.