TravelStream™ news feed for member thecolleys on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/thecolleys en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 28 May 2009 20:50:42 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1238509800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1238509800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1238509800/tpod.html Thu, 28 May 2009 20:50:42 -0400 Around the World, well not quite!!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Rainbow Beach, Queensland, Australia

We catch an overnight Greyhound bus from Airlie Beach to Hervey Bay, and then a connecting service to Rainbow Beach. That takes us 16 ½ hours, sat on a bus full of other backpackers! Not all of them had been successful in dodging soap, but many had!We arrive at Rainbow Beach still stuck to The Irish. We are meeting The Bristol Boys, Tim and Sam and heading over to Fraser Island for three days. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world at 123km long and so is a bit of a movie star amongst islands. It is a no-go unless you are in a four wheel drive, and even then it can still claim its victims. Fearlessly, we hire a Toyota Landcruiser, the Daddy of Go Anywhere 4x4's! For those of you who haven't seen Top Gear, it is an estate version of the Toyota Hi-Lux that they couldn't kill! The six of us set off, only Dave and Tim volunteering to drive. We catch the worlds shortest, yet most expensive ferry ( the Aussies call them barges for some reason ) across to the island. Straight away we are driving on white sand beaches, these are their main roads at low tide. At high tide it becomes a little more interesting!We drive inland, along deep sand tracks that shake our fillings loose. We have to stop for some wandering dingoes, the purest of their breed because there is no cross breeding on the island and seen as dangerous when in packs. To us they just look like pet dogs that need a good feed. Just make sure there aren't any babies around!We then stop at Lake Boomanjin, its waters a browny colour because of the tea trees that line its shore. We go for a paddle, tea tree is meant to be good for the skin after all. Our afternoon stop is then at Lake Birrabeen, a hidden gem of our whole trip. The lake is full of perfectly clear fresh water, bounded by white sand beaches. It is idyllic. We spend the rest of the afternoon there, mostly with the lake to ourselves.     We then drive to its more famous cousin Lake McKenzie. It is just as gorgeous, but far busier. This is where all the tour groups head, groups of Liverpudlian lads playing football on the beach vying with the Americans to see who can be the loudest and most annoying. We then drive across the island to the west coast and Kingfisher Bay, home to some of the islands only tarmacked roads. We watch the sunset before setting off in the darkness, back towards our campsite at the extravagantly named Central Station. Really it is only a cross roads of several sandy tracks!We come across some dingoes, out on the prowl, their eyes becoming a little more menacing at night. We then make our a mistake!We stop off at a picnic site several kilometres from our campsite, turning the engine off. When it comes to restarting the engine nothing happens. Unbeknownst to us the alternator has died and we then have to walk back to the campsite, luckily having put the tents up earlier. Walking along the tracks at night, in the blackest night imaginable with only a few head torches between us the trees seem to instantly close in. The friendly dingoes now seem a little more scary. We obviously made it back okay otherwise you wouldn't be reading this, but it wasn't such a foregone conclusion at the time! We get help from some of our fellow campers and manage to get the car back to the campsite, but not to our tents. It's left abandoned at the far end of the campsite. Early the next morning Sam gets a lift to the nearest town, Eurong and manages to call the mechanic, who after a few hours turns up and diagnoses the problem. We then drive the car back to Eurong ( " no you're wrong ! " ) to wait for its replacement to get over to the island.  When it does arrive the tide is now up and we can't drive along the beach, the road is effectively flooded. We head back to Lake McKenzie, this time a little quieter and play silly buggers in the water. Bloody noisy people!At what we think is low tide we head back to the east coast and drive up the beach, having to negotiate outcrops of rock and an incoming tide. Cars are often crashed whilst driving on the beaches, either rolling over or being swallowed up by the sea. The hire companies have strict rules of where you can drive and what you can do. Huge scary excesses stop the chance of any fun!We stop at Eli Creek, a freshwater river that runs into the sea. We swim along it, even though it is the coldest water on the whole island.We then drive up to the 'Maheno' shipwreck, now just a rusting skeleton on the beach. With the light quickly fading we start the search for somewhere to camp for the night. We find a site set in amongst the sand dunes on an isolated part of the beach. We can neither see nor hear anyone else.We set up camp, have a few beers and Goon ( a cheap box of wine in Oz ) and then play in the sand dunes. The night is rounded off with a drunken sing-song in the tents when the rain and dingoes force us inside. The next morning we wake to rain, so head to the furthest point north that we are allowed to drive, Indian Head. So named by none other than Captain James Cook when he saw Aboriginals stood there as he sailed past. He didn't stop to chat and so he wrongly concluded that Fraser Island was part of the mainland.We then start the long drive back to the southern tip of the island and the ferry. The speed limit on the beach is 80km/h, whatever the sand or sea is doing. Dave gets the car wet and the occupants worried. The sticks to the old adage that a hire car, especially a Landcruiser can go ANYWHERE! On the way we even have a ' fly-by ' by the Australian Air Force, a fighter jet doing a Top Gun on us!We make the ferry and head back to the mainland. Fraser Island is definitely a highlight of our trip, a wonderful place to visit; beautiful yet a little bit scary. A bit like Angelina Jolie!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1238085000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1238085000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1238085000/tpod.html Thu, 28 May 2009 20:28:08 -0400 Around the World, well not quite!!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Airlie Beach, Queensland, Australia

  We get the Greyhound, with The Irish to Airlie Beach, the gateway to the Whitsundays. We check into a backpackers with trepidation, all we have been hearing is that everywhere in Airlie Beach is infested with bed bugs. Just in case we limit the number of times we open our rucksacks!Almost as soon as we arrive we start looking at all the different cruises that are offered around the town. You can't come to The Whitsundays and not go on a cruise around its 74 islands. We are in luck, a sailing boat has cancelled its cruise and so everyone on it has had to be upgraded to a tall ship, reckoned by everyone to be the nicest one in town. We book onto the cheaper one and get instantly upgraded. If only BA did the same! We tell The Irish and soon we are off on another adventure together. Not so much The Famous Five as The Lets-Stick-Together Four. The next day we meet up with The Magic, thankfully bed bug free. A traditional-looking wooden sailing ship built in 1994. We join the other passengers, thirty in all, and are soon under way. The cruise is for 3 days and 3 nights, with us in our own ensuite cabin. For the whole time we are onboard we are being fed. Whether its breakfast, lunch, dinner or afternoon tea the food is never far away. And it is good food. The weather means we spend most of the time sunbathing on the deck, although a couple of times a light shower forces us inside. The Whitsundays are every bit as glorious as you have been led to believe. Uninhabited islands of white sand beaches leading up to thick green forests. The water is blue and you can see the bottom it is so clear. We moor up for the first night, protected in a sheltered bay of Hook Island. The next day brings stronger winds, which puts an end to the plans of visiting the outer reef. That is okay with us, we have seen the Great Barrier Reef up close already. Now we get the chance to snorkel around the islands, which includes meeting Elvis!Elvis is a Maori Wrasse, a huge fish the size of a Labrador with a forehead like Elvis' quiff. We swim with him as he is fed by the crew and are even able to stroke him as he swims by. The next day we visit what is claimed to be THE best beach in the world, Whitehaven Beach. The sand here is 99.9% silica and is so fine that NASA made a telescope lens out of it! It is also the main enemy of the tourists camera!We first see the beach from the headland that overlooks it and it is stunning. The famous swirling white sand of the inlet is there, the blue sea is there and the sun has decided to join us too. We walk through the trees down to the beach and step onto the sand. It is so fine, like walking on flour. And so white, you have to wear sunglasses because of the glare from it. We take a dip in the sea, resplendent in our lycra stinger suits. Those pesky jelly fish are still around! ( Don't worry, there are no photos of Dave wearing a figure hugging, one piece lycra suit! )Once back on the boat we are under sail, so far we have been motoring because of the wrong type of wind. I don't understand it either, but the skipper did explain it to Suzi and he made it sound like it was the right thing to do!That night we eat steak and drink cocktails.On our final morning we set sail once more, this time under Captain Suzi. She sails the boat for over two hours, taking us through Hook Passage and into Shute harbour. The skipper then makes a dogs dinner of getting us into the mooring. Maybe he should have left Suzi to it?  What do we then do, after eating lovely food for the last three days? That's right, we head straight to McDonalds!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1237986000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1237986000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1237986000/tpod.html Sat, 23 May 2009 07:25:12 -0400 Around the World, well not quite!!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Ayr, Queensland, Australia

 Today we dive one of the Top Ten dive sites in the World, the SS Yongala. The steam ship went down in a storm in 1911, becoming a covered in coral reef and a home to a whole array of fish and sharks. For miles around is only sand floor so the fish and sea life stay in this small area, making it an ideal place to dive.We meet The Irish and spend two nights at the local dive lodge, before we get up nice and early to get ready to dive. The weather has decided to make the forty minute boat trip out to the Yongala an interesting experience. The winds blow hard, making the swell a mountainous 3 to 4 metres. By the time we reach the dive site Dave is sea sick, despite loading up on travel sickness tablets. We then dive, rolling backwards off the inflatable sides of the rib, timing it to miss the trough of a passed wave.Once in the water the sickness passes. The wreck is amazing, covered in coral so as to be almost unrecognisable. Only the masts, engine rooms and anchor are easily identified and betray its past.We see a horn bill turtle the size of a dining table, gently swimming past us oblivious to our presence. Everywhere are Maori wrasse and silver tuna, bigger than any we have seen before. A marbled ray rests on the seabed, olive sea snakes swim between our legs. They are highly venomous but luckily their mouths are too small to bite us. All too soon the first dive is over, as usual Dave using his air the fastest.We then spend an hour on the surface, a way of reducing the nitrogen in our bodies before we dive again. The Yongala is a deep dive, down at 30 metres.During the surface interval Dave starts to suffer the violent rocking of the boat. Being sick into a bucket he is kitted up with his tanks and fins and thrown into the sea. On the descent he throws up into his regulator. Nice!The second dive is even better than the first, we see sharks! A black-tipped shark rests within the hull of the Yongala, another swims above us.What a fantastic place. The boat ride back is a story of buckets and sick! Several other people succumb to the conditions. We get certified for a wreck dive, having to sit an exam once back on terra firma. That night we eat fish an chips and watch the sunset over the ocean.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1237555800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1237555800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1237555800/tpod.html Sat, 23 May 2009 07:22:32 -0400 Around the World, well not quite!!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Magnetic Island, Queensland, Australia

We take the Greyhound from Mission Beach to Townville, sleeping much of the way to catch up on lost sleep.At Townsville we get off the bus and straight onto a ferry which takes us over to Magnetic Island. Named by none other than that bloke Captain Cook when his compass went haywire as he sailed by. I want to say now that it is a lovely place, much of it inaccessible to people.We stay at the YHA again, this time in our own little wooden tepee set amongst trees and possums. We are minutes from Horseshoe Bay, a picture postcard beach lined with a few restaurants and a single pub. We spend the days snorkelling at remote and deserted beaches or walking through thick forest tracks. One time the walk back from the beach ended at a deep river which we had to wade through so as to get back before nightfall.On one of Dave's rare morning runs he comes across an injured rock wallaby, hit by a car and still stood in the road dazed. Having carried it back the mile or so to a Koala Centre it is sadly put down.We do get to hand feed the local birds, brightly coloured love birds that swarm all over you for some bread soaked in milk. They congregate at the same time every day for their dinner, making a right racket whilst doing so! We bump into the Welsh girls again and meet up with Dan and Trish from Cairns, or The Irish as they become known. They treat us to a BBQ at their hostel, the decking made into a replica of a boat, named Maggie May! After Dave's favourite Rod Stewart song!We enjoy Magnetic Island, a relaxed and relaxing place to be. The bus drivers are also the friendliest in the world. It's difficult to get them to stop talking and to drive the bus!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1237384800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1237384800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1237384800/tpod.html Sat, 23 May 2009 07:19:36 -0400 Around the World, well not quite!!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Mission Beach, Queensland, Australia

 We leave Cairns and take the first of our many trips on the Greyhound. We have bought a Cairns-to-Sydney bus ticket, which we can hop-on-hop-off as often as we like. Our first stop is for two nights at Mission Beach. One night may have been enough!There is nothing there, nothing at all but the beach itself. We still can't swim in the sea because of the ever present threat of a very painful death from something or other. So we spend most of the time sat by the pool at the YHA hostel. The hostel is a little grotty and run down but it looks out over a sea of rain forest. Lying by the pool there is nothing but the sound of the insects, the same ones that come out at night to try and eat us. Our time at Mission Beach is probably best remembered not for the leisurely strolls along the golden sand but by being kept awake by the noisy American teenagers until the early hours. On the second night Dave had to explain to them how it was going to be from now on! They then went to bed and were very apologetic the next morning. We meet a couple of Welsh girls who we meet again further down the east coast. Everyone seems to do the same route with the same places to visit.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1236856500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1236856500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1236856500/tpod.html Sat, 23 May 2009 07:16:41 -0400 Around the World, well not quite!!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Cairns, Queensland, Australia

We return to the Cairns Central YHA, our new home from home. Early morning we get collected for our first day on the PADI Open Water Dive Course. We are in a group of sixteen, some of whom would become good friends and travelling companions. With hardly any introduction we are soon in the training pool, wearing tanks and with masks and regulators. Now I like the water; I drink it, I swim in it and I even sometimes wash in it, but breathing under it doesn't seem right.It takes a while for us both to relax and to be able to breath confidently whilst under water. The day move on quickly. By the end of it we are taking our masks off under water, replacing regulators and doing all these very brave things whilst UNDER water. The second day follows the first, though today we have an exam to pass. We both do which means we can go on the three day boat trip that will certify us as divers. The boat trip is a different experience all together.For a start we have sea sickness. And the tradition of all dive boats to be either in the water or eating. It is none stop food and diving. We have three dives on the first day. Diving on the outer reefs of The Great Barrier Reef spoils us for any other dive site. Once you step off the boat and into the clear water it is another world. All the difficulties in the pool vanish, the place is amazing. There are fish every where. Above, below, swimming around you. It is like being in an aquarium, but one that is endless. The coral is as colourful as the fish and makes the most stunning backdrop. Our dives are part of the course so we have to do certain exercises to pass the course. We both do, and then once we are awarded our Open Water Certification we want to do the next step, Adventure Divers. We do a deep dive to 30 metres, the depth bringing its own thrill and then a night dive. Before we dive into the dark sea the captain throws fish scraps over the side of the boat. This brings Nursing Sharks and Grey Tip Sharks to the boat. We then dive with them, their silhouettes gliding above us as we swim by moonlight. Using torches we find Moray Eels hiding in the coral.The last day on the boat is Daves birthday so a cake is bought out and we eat it seconds before getting into the water. The diving is fantastic; sharks, turtles, maori wrasse and of course Nemo!Once back on dry land and suffering from land sickness we have a night out for everyone off the boat. As it's Daves birthday the drinks keep coming. It's not long before he is worse for wear, eating the Aussie favourite Vegemite straight out of the jar and dancing by himself in a night club! Suzi walks him back to the hostel, although the video of the walk back must have been doctored. There is no way I was that drunk!The next two days are spent with Dave in bed suffering from land sickness!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1236348000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1236348000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1236348000/tpod.html Sat, 23 May 2009 07:13:45 -0400 Around the World, well not quite!!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia

 We start to feel the brunt of Cyclone Hamish, he will eventually become a Category 5 cyclone but doesn't hit the shore at his height. We instead get high winds and lots of rain.We pick up our hire car, a white Hyundai Getz! This one doesn't turn out to be a fast as the red one! We sail our way out of Cairns and head north. We stop for the night at the lovely Ellis Beach, having resisted the urge to see Yorkeys Knob on the drive up. We stay in a beach front, and I meant beach front cabin. The sea is only feet from us, and with a cyclone off shore that isn't necessarily a good thing. We stay for a very wind battered night. The next morning we are still in one piece so head to Hartleys Crocodile Farm. Here they have huge 'Salties', and they give us a demo on their favoured killing technique. With a piece of chicken on the end of a rope the crocs pulls and rolls until the rope is broken and he has his meal. Another mad Queenslander, there is said to be no other type, shows us a Taipan, the worlds most venomous snake. It is all very exciting, but just shows us how dangerous this part of Australia is.We drive to Port Douglas, a beautiful old town that despite the number of tourists has retained that air of being unchanged. It sits on crystal clear waters giving views of thick green rain forests. If you ever get the chance then visit here!We stay for a couple of nights, even venturing out to a bar! It is that kind of place. We then drive further north, taking the Daintree ferry and crossing into thick rain forest. Beyond here is the land of the 4x4.We stay another couple of nights at the YHA at Cape Tribulation, our own wooden cabin on the edge of the beach surrounded by jungle. And the odd thousand or so Golden Orb spiders! The whole place has that wet smell, of stagnant water and mildew, but which isn't as bad as it may sound. It reminds you that you are in the middle of a rain forest, as if the noise wasn't enough. The night air is filled with frogs croaking, insects buzzing and the odd shriek. We walk along the beach, though not at high tide or at night. Those crocs like to use the beaches as a way to move from one creek to another.We also find a fresh water stream and go for a swim in it. It was bloody cold!From one of the lookout points we have views across the whole of Cape Tribulation, named after Captain Cook grounded his ship the Endeavor here in 1770. That night the heavens open and we have another tropical downpour that lasts until morning. The rain falls so hard it even shuts the frogs up. We then start to head back to Cairns, stopping at Port Douglas on the way past. Suzi then starts her long running fascination with Pandora bracelets, helping the jewellery shop owner with her retirement fund!We return to Cairns, with no speeding fines!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1236110400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1236110400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1236110400/tpod.html Sat, 23 May 2009 07:09:51 -0400 Around the World, well not quite!!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Cairns, Queensland, Australia

We fly into Cairns from the heat of the Red Centre. And are hit by the 80 percent humidity! Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire.We spend the first day wandering around this 'party town', booking a PADI dive course and sorting out a hire car. We then get the Skyrail up to Karunda, a town aimed squarely at the tourist. The Skyrail skips across the canopy of the rain forest, stopping at several stations on the way giving us plenty of chances to walk amongst the tree tops.At Karunda we head straight for the Koala Centre. We hand feed wallabies, see monitor lizards and then get to hold a koala. This furry creatures sleep most of the day, due mainly to the eucalyptus leaves that they eat. We have our photos taken holding the koala, and see its claws up close. They could do some damage if they ever woke up!We wander around the rest of the small town before catching the scenic railway back down to Cairns. We don't see much of the views, meant to be some of the best in the world. The carriage that we are in has faulty brakes and so we, along with the rest of the passengers spend the next hour crammed into the front carriage, much to the dismay of a Japanese tour guide! We do get a refund several weeks later after complaining.Once back in Cairns we go for a swim in the lagoon, a man-made swimming pool on the edge of the beach. It is full of tourists and locals, many enjoying the free Aqua-Aerobic classes. Around its edge are free BBQ areas, spotlessly clean and soon to be one of our frequent places to eat. All these leisure facilities are for one reason. The beaches and the sea are out-of-bounds!If the salt water crocodiles don't get you the box jelly fish will. In the sea in Queensland they have the worlds scariest and most lethal predators, just to keep everyone on their toes.And on top of that Cyclone Hamish is heading towards us!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1235570400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1235570400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1235570400/tpod.html Tue, 05 May 2009 17:49:00 -0400 Around the World, well not quite!!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia

We fly from Adelaide to Alice Springs, and because it's a domestic flight there are no identity checks. When we get to Alice Springs we understand why! No one would come here unless they had to, and no self respecting evil-doer would waste their time in trying to blow it up. How would anyone tell? And who would care?We are met in Alice by three things.The stifling heat. The sort that wraps itself around you and then wrings you out, every last drop of sweat of you.The flies. They are the Aussie sportsmen of the fly world. Persistent and annoyingly good at what they do. Which in this case is trying to climb into every orifice on your face. They just do not give up! They are a bit like a Terminator in that sense, and you need a steel works factory to kill the little buggers!And lastly, the Aboriginals. They are the gargoyles of the indigenous peoples. When walking around Alice, something not to be undertaken after nightfall, all you see is large groups of Aboriginals sat under trees, outside shops or just sat anywhere. They seem to like sitting, well, it must beat working!We walk to the summit of Anzac Hill, not a feat that boastful if you have ever seen the size of it, and take in the view of Alice from above. The streets are grid-like, a town designed with a set-square.This once remotest of all towns now is the same as any other. They have supermarkets, car dealers, their own airport and even a Pizza Hut! It is a town to be avoided if at all possible. But it is the gateway to an Australian icon....Ayres Rock, or Uluru for all those of a younger generation, is the reason for coming to the Red Centre. We meet our organised tour in Alice. Our guide is a Frenchman, so every bit of knowledge we gain about the outback has a Gallic accent to it. We leave Alice and hit the Lasseter Highway, the straightest of all roads. One turn later we are in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. This covers the Rock and The Olgas, or their traditional name of Kata Tjuta. We catch our first sight of Ayres Rock, an image as Australian as a koala or a kangaroo and seen a thousand time before. But in the flesh, rising out of the flat desert, she takes your breath away. For now we ignore her. We instead head to The Olgas. This means <i>many heads and is exactly what they look like from a distance. These rock formations are actually taller than Ayres Rock, but they do not have her purity. We walk amongst them, up close they are true colossus. We then head to our first nights camp. This trip is participatory, so we help with cooking, cleaning and loading and unloading the overland truck that is our home for the next five days. We all help out, except one German woman. She soon becomes the uniting factor, for everyone else's animosity.At sunset we stand watching Ayres Rock change colour through a kaleidoscope of reds and oranges. In the darkness her outline still dominates the horizon. After a nights camping, Dave tries to sleep alfresco in his swag bag but gives up after being bitten by everything within a mile radius, we rise before first light. We then walk around the base of Ayres Rock as the sun rises, the morning light showing all the scars and marks that aren't apparent from a distance. These blemishes are at the root of many Aboriginal stories about Uluru, the most sacred of sites. Her flanks are like a vast storyboard to the Anangu people. We don't climb the Rock, hardly anyone does anymore. It is discouraged, not only by the Aboriginals but by the authorities. People still die trying.Our second nights camp is close to Kings Canyon, the final part of this triumvirate.That night the flies mount an offensive against us. They swarm in such large numbers that even the head nets, a sort of fishnet stocking that you wear over your face, can't stop their irresistible advance up my nose! We end up flapping our arms around wildly, known as an <i>Aussie Salute and slowly going insane!The next day we walk around the rim of Kings Canyon, a three hour trek in 42 degree heat. The place IS amazing, a sort of cross between a Star Wars set and a tropical oasis. At the Garden of Eden there is a water hole, whose cool waters would refresh the parts others beers cannot reach. We are told that it is however the only toilet for three hours! We give it a miss! Our group then splits, leaving only five English to continue for the next two days. Before parting Suzi points out a few home truths to the lazy Germans. Relations are set back to pre-1939 levels!That night we stop at Glen Helen Gorge, one of the highlights of the trip. This red rock gorge has a freshwater pool along its floor. We swim for the entire afternoon, the only place the flies can't get you. They want water so badly that they will climb into your ears but they aren't interested in the millions of gallons of it sat in the bottom of a gorge? The next day Dave even has a morning swim, a little less refreshing and a bit more invigorating!We walk through Ormiston Gorge where Suzi befriends a somewhat dishevelled Rock Wallaby, then its on to Ellery Creek Big Hole for another swim. We never found out who Ellery was but surely it's rude to name such a place after them? That night we camp within an Aboriginal Community, and are given a walking tour of local rock painting and rock art. Not by an Aboriginal, but by an Aussie married to a local woman! He tells us of the problems facing the Aboriginals; of a lack of work, a lack of education, of alcohol and drug abuse and of a feeling of disenfranchisement. What he doesn't need to tell us is that there is still a huge divide between the white Australians and the Aboriginals. We saw that for ourselves in Alice. The whites feel that the Aboriginals get too many state handouts, twice the welfare payment given to others, while the Aboriginals still feel the years of persecution including the Stolen Generations. Many of today's adults were taken away from their families and brought up in church run childrens' homes. These lost contact with their families, forced to live a life on the other side of the country. Maybe that is why they stay in the town, drinking and sniffing petrol, unable to return to a culture that is as alien to them as it is to us?Our final day involves some off-roading. We drive along the Finke River, the largest in Australia. Even though for most of the year it has no water! We bounce over rocks, plough through sand and finally reach Palm Valley. The pre-historic palms and cycads are endemic, nowhere else in the world can they be found. We then head back to Alice, stopping for a well deserved ice cream!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1235487600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1235487600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thecolleys/1/1235487600/tpod.html Tue, 05 May 2009 17:46:13 -0400 Around the World, well not quite!!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Adelaide, Australia

What can I say about Adelaide?Save up your money and go to Melbourne. Or Sydney. Or Brisbane. In fact, anywhere else!We arrive late in the afternoon and have to drive around all the backpacker hostels before we find somewhere that isn't full. At Oz Backpackers they have two beds left in a twelve bed dorm room. We pay the money before checking the room, a schoolboy error!The dorm is called 'The Cave'. That should give you some idea. Now, when we stepped in through the door I can't remember what hit me first. The smell! Or the sight of the entire, and I do mean entire, floor being covered with old, dirty clothes! My only thought was not a good one. We clear our bunks of other peoples stuff, a few more things on the floor won't make a difference. And then we sit, wanting to be anywhere else. And then the weirdest thing happened.A young guy, maybe 18 or 19 years old stood next to us <i>rubbing his nipples trying to get our attention! When we obviously ignored him, well you don't start conversations with serial killers do you, he took off his top and just stared at us. After a few years, it felt that long, he did eventually get dressed and left. Soon after so did we!We wandered around the sights of Adelaide; the town hall, government house and the shops. And that was it. There really isn't any more to say about Adelaide. It's clean and well laid out, with wide streets and plenty of everything that a city should have. It's just lacking in character. That night was possibly the worst night of my 32 year life! The ten others in the dorm, except 'the weirdo' who stayed close to us, decided to go and have a heavy night on the town. This entailed the German lads sniffing their clothes for wear-ability, putting on some Lynx and discussing bringing some girls back later. The well used tube of KY on the side should have been a warning to us! Well, the Lynx obviously worked! Within hours they were back with some new friends, who they decided to wrestle under the duvets, keeping us awake with their noises!Thankfully morning dawned and we left for the airport. That night may have clouded my view of Adelaide but it did make us sure of one thing. Never again will we stay in a dorm!
]]>