The last 11 days have
been absolutely amazing.
From Katherine we headed
south first stop an iconic outback pub at Daly Waters. We drank beer
served to us by a german backpacker, listened to the dulcit tones of the 'chook
man' on the electric organ and looked up at a billion beautiful stars.
From there we spent the
next night at Devil's Marbles and were absolutely gob smacked by the enigmatic
beauty of the place. You drive through hundreds of kms of nothing
and then all of a sudden these different sized glowing red granite boulders
appear. At times they seem almost impossibly balanced. They are in
my opinion as spellbinding as Uluru or Kata Tjuta. We arrived just
before sunset which added to the glow and we camped for the night again looking
up at a blanket of stars and wondering how we got to be so lucky as to have
this life.
Two aboriginal guys who
were traditional owners of the land came and told us campfire stories about the
"Marbles" and what they meant to the local people. The
aborginals call them Karlu Karlu. In the Aboriginal mythology the
Devils Marbles are the eggs of the rainbow serpent, and many
"dreamtime" stories and traditions of the Warumungu, Kaytetye and
Alyawarre Aboriginal people are linked with this area. The
traditional Aboriginal owners of the area regard the marbles as having
extraordinary powers. Damage to them can have life threatening consequences for
their custodians.
The next day we headed on
to Alice Springs. It wasn't what we expected. We had been
warned hat is was a scary violent place but we instantly fell in love with its
artistic flavour and energy. We headed out to explore and were
impressed by the wonderful Alice Springs Desert Park which was a great
introduction to the plants and animals of the desert, as well as the aboriginal
culture, way of life and survival techniques. I would recommend anyone heading
to Central OZ to stop and spend some time at the park as it gave us another layer
of understanding of the outback.
We spent a day exploring
the West McDonnell Ranges and their wonderful gorges and we were also fortunate
to be in town for the annual Henley on Todd dry river Regatta. This
year it was all the more fun because the National Variety Bush Bash cars were
in town. The put on quite a show and we had a fantastic day. By the
time we left Alice we both agreed that we would love to come back and work
there for a while.
And now we find
ourselves at Uluru. For those of you who have never been here,
nothing can really prepare you for the massive scale of this big fat red
rock. It's absolutely enormous sitting in the middle of no where. Whenever
it's in your view you are instantly drawn to look at it. It's endlessly
fascinating and also forever changing. We walked all the way around
it, it took 4 hours. Every bit of it is different from the bit
before; the shape, the crevices, the flora, the colour. It truly is
majestic and sublime. Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) are equally
fascinating. In some ways the seem even more mysterious than the
rock.
Last night we had Dinner
in the Desert. As the brochure states "Your journey begins on a lone
sand dune. A path takes you to an uninterrupted, three hundred and sixty degree
view of this vast landscape. In front of you is the fabled Uluru; behind you
are the domes of Kata Tjuta and, possibly the most spectacular sunset you have
ever seen. Here you enjoy sparkling wine and a selection of delectable canapés.
As the sun sets, you feast on a BBQ buffet of authentic Australian delicacies
examples include barramundi, kangaroo, emu and crocodile, bush salads and
classic desserts, complemented by Australian wines. Attention then
turns to some of the world's best stargazing, as our startalker takes you on a
tour of the spectacular southern night sky. As you wind down after dinner, you
are offered a choice of tea, coffee or port. At the Sounds of
Silence experience you can dine under the canopy of the desert night, while
your very own storyteller shares tales as told in the stars.
Entered into the
Australian Tourism Hall of Fame, Sounds of Silence offers the best of the Red
Centre distilled into four magical hours. An evening of dining under the
sparkling outback sky."
And just incase you're
wondering it was spectacular! Tonight I simply sit here in the quiet, there is a breeze and a bit of a chill in the air. And that's enough right now. It's lovely being on the road again. I didn't realise how much I missed it. There is an excitement about not really knowing what you'll find out there the next day. It keeps you motivated and enthusiastic and hungry for more. More beauty, more open space, more history, more nature, more adventure.
Tomorrow we head to
Kings Canyon...... watch this space!
