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Red Red and more Red in the Outback
Entry 28 of 75 | show all | print this entry |
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The outback is like nothing we've ever seen before it's a desert but there are still bushes and trees (it must be said the trees are somewhat stunted or burnt). Distances between A and B are immense 500+ km where the only things in between are petrol stops in Roadhouses and view point stops for people to stretch their legs.
Driving up to the centre of Australia we passed Hart lake, a salt lake stretching as far as the eye can see which reflects light almost like water. Our first night underground was in Coober Pedy where people live underground and pretty much work underground too in the opal mines. The temperature in the acommodation stays a steady 18-24 regardless of the -5 or +50 outside. The landscape is quite fascinating with piles of multi coloured dirt lying around for about 40km all around the town.
Along the road there are a huge number of eagles feasting on the bodies of kangaroos or cows which have been hit by road trains. We finally saw a four carriage road train in its full 53 metre glory, it's something else to overtake one!! The Australians also transport whole houses along the road which means you have to pull over. It turns out that it's cheaper to move a whole house than to build one locally since the builders would cost too much out in some of the remote areas.
Nothing of note in Alice Springs other than the high number of aboriginals around, they are, from what we saw mostly dispossed spirits hanging around doing nothing. The laws in the Northern Territory are a little odd, basically so that people cannot drink all day, but it's a half assed law. Sell alcohol after 2pm and no more than 2 bottles of anything, of course people can plan for this by shopping in different places to ensure they have enough stock. Land is being given back to aboriginals as a way to encourage them into society but this doesn't seem to be happening very fast as most aussies we've met are quite rascist.
Next on our tour was Uluru the ubiquitous big rock
, it's big and looks so much bigger because all around is just flat and orange red coloured. Climbing it is not possible during winds and is mostly being discouraged anyway, so we didn't get up here. On the other hand there is a more impressive rock formation called Kata Tjuta (Olgas) just around the corner from here where there's a decent walk. Interestingly enough the rock formation has 36 "lumps" which is where its name cam from meaning many heads.
The desert is home to more camels than anywhere else in the world, Australia actually exports them to India. Anyway we can't wait to leave though since the nights are freezing even if the sun is hot all day, once it has gone that's it no heat is left and it's time for woolen hats, socks and two coats. Heating in the backpackers is hard to come by so everybody ends up under the quilt quite early.
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