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| Alice Springs fron Anzac Hill lookout |
Alice Springs is Australia's most famous outback town. It has currently a population of 28,000 and is quite a modern town bordered by the magnificent Macdonnell Ranges which stretch across the horizon. A lot of people think Ayers Rock (Uluru) is close to Alice Springs but it is 450 kms away. A good day's drive.
The day we arrived into the town it was a hot 37 deg so it was a relief to cool off in an air-conditioned shopping centre. There was not a drop of water in the Todd River bed which runs through the town. We were told it is like this for most of the year. A superb view of Alice Springs and the Ranges can be seen from Anzac Hill on the edge of the CBD. Many tourists stop off in Alice Springs before travelling down to Ayers Rock (Uluru) and Kings Canyon. The Macdonnell Ranges are also popular with the tourists which includes the 223 km Larapinta walking trail.
While staying here we drove out to the Macdonnell Ranges 141 kms to the Ormiston Gorge, one of many gorges in the Ranges. We arrived to do the 8km circuit walk right in the hottest part of the day which was timed rather badly as there were signs around advising people not to start the walk too late in the morning. The temperature for the day was 37 degs but fortunately there was a breeze to keep us cooler. The terrain was very barren and rocky and the area reminded us of Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges. The walk concluded through the Ormiston Gorge coming out at a lovely cool swimming hole left over from the previous floods. It felt great to have a swim after walking for 2 1/2 hours in the heat
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| A coldl swim after a hot walk |
Driving back to Alice springs we visited a few more of the gorges, Ellery Creek big hole, where we had another refreshing swim and Simpson's Gap, a narrow gap between 2 high cliffs.
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| Mt Conner near Curtain Springs |
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| Caravan park with backdrop of barren hills. Alice Springs |
We took 2 days to drive down to Uluru and stayed at a place called Curtain Springs Station 100km before Ayers Rock. We got up early 5.45am leaving the caravan behind and drove to Uluru with the hope of being able to walk the track to the top of the rock and also see it at sunrise. There is an entrance fee of $25 per person which lasts for three days to enter the area. The weather was cloudy so we missed out on seeing the early morning sun striking the rock and we also missed out on climbing Uluru due to high winds and high temps. forecast. But that morning there was cloud and no wind so they obviously didn't want people to climb it. We were very disappointed as that would have been a highlight and a challenge for us both. We found out that the Aboriginies don't want people to climb up Uluru as they say it is sacred (due to ancestors having climbed it) and ask people to be respectful. The Rangers are trying to stop as many people as possible from doing the climb but it is still open for anyone to do it dependant on the weather and cultural days. They feel if they closed it off altogether tourism would fall. There is a warning in the brochures saying how physically demanding it is and that 35 people have died while attempting to do the climb.
Seeing Uluru for the first time was quite exciting and was very impressive. It is one of the great wonders of the world. It stands 348 mtrs high is it is estimated that at least 2/3rds of it lies beneath the surface.
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| Ayers Rock (Uluru) |
As we couldn't do the walk up Uluru we drove over to The Olgas, about 45 kms away, another unusual outcrop of huge rocks. Here we did an 8km walk which took us through the huge massive boulders.
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| The Olgas |
We headed back to Uluru all the time hoping the walking track might be reopened but as there was no chance of it happening we did the next best thing and walked the 10kms around the base. This was very interesting seeing different views of the rock and areas where Aboriginal people lived.
We went to the viewing area to watch the sun setting on the rock along with many other people. The colour of the rock changed from orange to a deep purple.
Views of Uluru base walk
We had to drive the 100kms back to Curtain Springs where the caravan was and as it was dark we had to be very careful not to hit any kangaroos. Made it safely.
Still feeling we wanted to do the climb up Uluru we were prepared to drive the 100kms back the next day if it was open but when we rang early the next morning and again over the next couple of days, it was still closed. We had spoken to people in the camp who had walked up it with their 2 children the day before we got there so we were still hoping. But when we couldn't after 3 days we were over it and resigned to the fact we were not going to be able to climb Ayers Rock.
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| The elusive track. So near yet so far |
We packed up and left for Kings Canyon, 220 kms away. We had beautiful blue skies so good weather to walk the rim of Kings Canyon, just over 7 kms. The Canyon was quite spectacular with sheer cliffs and unique rock formations.
Kings Canyon Pictures
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| Just one more step back please |
Finishing the walk at 4.30pm we had to drive 120 kms to our camp site, just a rest area on the side of the road. Being dark when we arrived there and the only ones there Nigel decided to have a shower without bothering to put up the shower tent. During the shower, wouldn't you believe it, a car pulled in with it's lights on and drove around looking for a spot. Nigel, who was soaking wet ran from one side to the other to avoid being seen.
"If you are ever in the middle of nowhere, feeling lonely and isolated, have a wash or shower in your birthday suit outside or go to the toilet in the bush and you can guarantee someone will turn up right at that time". Carol didn't have the camera handy for this one luckily.
Kings Canyon was the last attraction we came to experience during our massive side trip down to Central Australia. From here we retraced our journey back to Alice Springs for a night before continuing north back up to Tennant Creek where we found a lovely lake to cool off at. Just 25 kms north is the Threeways junction where we turned right and headed east on our way towards Queensland.
We had just completed our 2,000 kms, 2 weeks, side trip. We weren't sure whether to do it but were very pleased we did manage to fit it into our schedule.
