Day Two- Kata Tjuta

After a quick 5.5 hour sleep (no bugs on face) it was up and at 'em for sunrise over Uluru. Gorgeous. Just too early.

We had breakfast as we watched the sun rise, and then it was off to the other main attraction in Uluru National Park- Kata Tjuta. Like Uluru, Kata Tjuta is the aboriginal name for the place that is more commonly known as the Olgas to Westerners.

Since we were there in the summer, there are heat restrictions to the park. No one is allowed to hike in after 11 am, so we had to get there early. There are also public water basins at strategic locations around the park, but it's encouraged not to rely on those, as they can be tapped out on high traffic days. Dehydration and sunstroke is a very real concern in the Outback, and one of the terms of the tour was that everyone carry 3 liters of water on them at all time. We were encouraged to drink constantly- regular sips every few minutes or so.

We had two choices on the hike- a shorter route directly to the main canyon or a longer hike that took a more circuitous route in the other direction and we would meet in the center. Olivia and Laurel opted for route #1, while Greg went on hike #2. Laurel and Olivia are professional, and glamorous, hikers as can be seen below, especially in their matching hats.

Now the two hikes met at the canyon, but Laurel and Olivia's hike came out above it, after a steep climb up the far side. The view was incredible. Check out how burny that sun is!

Greg has learned several things about himself on this trip. First, Laurel is a way better photographer. Secondly, left to his own devices 98% of his pictures will feature trees prominently displayed amongst the landscape.

And here is Greg's approach to the canyon. That's a big hill.

It was tough, but we both made it to the top. The picture oppurtunities made all the hard work totally worth it.

The Aborginal mythology is wide-ranging and literally covers every nook and cranny of the rocks and earth that the individual tribes lived on. Some of it is told to tourists and non-Aboriginals, but it's only the equivalent of what they tell their five year olds as they are beginning to learn their stories. It's very interesting, and we kind of like that idea that some things are too sacred to be shared; they are only for the Aboriginals. Below, this is the "Cat's Face," but we don't know any more about it aside from its name.

A funny thing about Olivia. She has a questionable, relationship with nature. She likes it, but she's not too wild about all those, um, wild creatures out there. Whenever a living thing of any kind appears, Olivia shouts "Animal!" to warn everyone else that something potentially hostile is nearby. "Animal" can mean literally anything- grizzly bear, lizard, ant, you name it. She found this pretty sweet looking lizard, or shall we say, "animal."

Now, you may have thought Uluru was one of a kind (we certainly did), but it's actually the best known of a series of rock slabs spread out across the Outback. It's the largest and one of the few that is still in one piece. During our drive to King's Canyon we stopped at a lookout point to get a few shots of another Uluru-like rock, Atilla.  Notice how flat it is compared to Uluru.

Facing the other direction from the lookout point was a dry salt-lake. Pretty incredible. Too bad there aren't any deer in this country; they would love this.

A long drive and a wild camel spotting later (sorry, no pictures) we made it to the King's Canyon campsite. While we stopped for gas, we picked up two eager stowaways.

People are not the only ones who are not big fans of the midday sun, and just want to be in the shade. This peacock decided the campground picnic area was the perfect place for a nice, cool nap. The long table doesn't even ruffle his feathers. He's a very wise peacock.

After a hearty dinner (all that hiking makes you hungry!) we walked over to a nearby ridge to watch the sunset over the valley. A few cows were wandering around, too. Now there is something about the air and sun in Australia that makes every sunset super vibrant and beautiful, but this is hands down the most beautiful one we have seen, probably ever.

Not a bad way to end the day. Not a bad way at all. We camped under the stars in our swags again, and knocked out pretty early, as we were in for another early day tomorrow. Up at 4 AM so we could watch the sunrise over King's Canyon.

Day One - Uluru!

Olivia found this trip called, "The Rock Tour." She described it as "gangsta." Kids these days. It's a three day, two night camping trip that takes you to the main tourist attractions of Central Australia: King's Canyon, the Olgas, and Ayer's Rock. It was awesome. We highly recommend it to anyone- www.therocktour.com.au.  It was a fantastic trip, and dirt cheap. Ayer's Rock is a tourist trap. There is one hotel complex there, and they jack the price up ridiculously high. A trip there is going to costs well over a thousand a person. The Rock Tour was $335 a person. Score! It means you trade off a few luxury items, but, dude, we're in the middle of the Outback.

Our group consisted of about 15 people from 8 different countries. There were also 4 Aussies in the group, which our tour guide commented was the most Aussies she'd had in a group, ever. Our chariot awaited.

First day, first stop- arguably the best thing.  Camels! Camels were imported to Australia with the idea that since they were used in the desert they would take to the Outback and be very helpful for those long treks across the interior. They were correct. There are several thousand wild camels now roaming the Outback. We saw a couple from the road once, but seeing as how huge Central Australia is, and that there are only about 4 roads it's not surprising we didn't see more.

The tour guide asked us if anyone wanted to ride a camel. Um, yes? Obviously. The three of us were the first in line. We kind of love camels. These two were named Earl and Duke. Look how ornery they are!

While you marvel at how we are such natural camel riders, here are a few fun camel facts. You are going to be a hit at your next party or when the camel category comes up at Trivia night. A camel pregnancy lasts 13 months, and a baby camel is considered full grown at around age 8. They can get up to speeds of 65 kph, can carry up to 400 kilos for 8 hours a day, and can go for over a week at a time without water. Not bad, Camel, not bad.

They also had a dingo. He didn't seem very wild, which is good, since we like not having our faces eaten off.

Olivia does a great job of hiding it in this picture, but she's actually terrified. As soon as the picture snapped she high-tailed it away from the dingo as fast as she could. She needn't have worried though, it didn't seem too interested in getting anyone that day.

Cuteness alert! Baby camel! Awww, he's adorable.

After our camely interlude it was on to the main event- Ayer's Rock! Alice Springs is about 400 kilometers away, so it was a bit of a drive, but it went pretty fast. Strangely, there is just not much traffic on the roads. Now, Ayer's Rock was named by a British explorer in the 1800's. In the last thirty years or so there has begun to be a real push to return Aboriginal places to their Aboriginal names. It is once-again, now Uluru, as it has been called for thousands of years. It is beautiful and majestic. We did about half the base-walk around it, about 8 kilometers. It's not a very intense hike, thankfully in the 40+ degree weather, and was pretty flat. The views of the rock are amazing though.

In this picture note the white discoloration going up the side of the rock. There is a small chain that runs to the top, and is used for climbers. Climbing the rock has been a mainstay of tourism here since the site was opened up. However, Aboriginals find this deeply disrespectful as Uluru is a religious site for them. It would be roughly similar to climbing up the side of Notre Dame or chipping off a piece of Michelangelo's painting in the Sistine Chapel.

This is really interesting about Australia. Climbing the rock is not forbidden, but it is actively discouraged. As in, next to the climbing path, there is a giant sign telling everyone all the reasons they should not. Also, on days where it is too hot or windy, the climb is closed. Several people have died over the years, and it's probably closed about 8 months out of the year.

Here are a few shots we took as we hiked.

 

Obligatory tourist shot.We were there! Looking exceptionally white.

Good thing Laurel was there, or it might have tipped to the side a little bit.

This is really cool. Uluru changes color all day, depending on how the light hits it. Look at the color of Uluru in the picture above, and now look at it below as the sun starts to set, and the light is really hitting the face of the rock directly. The color really starts to darken in the next picture as the sun is setting.

Now, when we say this was a camping trip, we mean this was a full-on camping trip. We got a sleeping bag and a swag under the stars. That's it. Thankfully, it didn't rain. What is a swag you ask? Its a big canvas, zip-up bag that your sleeping bag goes inside. It keeps warmth in, and water and critters out. It also has a flap that you can fold up over your head and face if you want. We were pretty legitimate bushmen on this trip.

After laying down, Laurel and Olivia both decided that there was way too much nature around, and something needed to be done about the threat of bugs in the night. Look how happy Laurel is knowing that the fly nets would ensure no rogue bugs on the face. In the background, Greg is clearly unconcerned. And passed out.

Busy first day. Next up tomorrow- the Olgas! Stay tuned to find out what their real names is! Oooooo, cliffhanger.

Alice Springs

We had such a great time with Laurel's family over Christmas, it was bittersweet when they left. Bitter because they were leaving. Sweet because it meant that we were flying off with Olivia to the Outback! Olivia never got the chance to visit Ayer's Rock when she studied abroad in Queensland, and we hadn't been yet, so this was a perfect opportunity to go. We, of course, forgot to carry our camera in our carry-on bag, so we weren't able to take a picture out the airplane window, but below is why they call it the Red Centre. We grabbed this picture off Google images which in turn had it from some Thai webpage. At least I think it was Thai.

Alice Springs! We were pretty stoked to be there, and really weren't sure what to expect. We knew it was going to be hot, the weather forecast was saying consecutive days above 40 degrees Celsius, but past, that no clue. We did feel very welcomed, and the more Aboriginal Australian feel to the place was apparent as soon as we got off the plane.

Man, look how happy we are. You can't even tell from that picture that it felt like we were standing in an oven.

Alice Springs is the biggest city in Central Australia, which means that it's the only city in Central Australia. It's the second biggest city in the Northern Territories (after Darwin) with about 30,000 people. It's two and a half times the size of Texas, and almost all that land is desert. To give you an idea of how depopulated it is, Canberra has a bigger population than the entire Northern Territory. I guess the amazing thing, considering how barren it is, is that anyone lives here at all. 

Alice Springs- not close to anything.

Upon arrival, the first order of business, as always, was food. Since Olivia is gluten free, we were a little concerned that this might be something of a challenge. Fortunately, we found Racer's. A sports bar crossed with Applebee's, it had a menu so broad it could make The Cheesecake Factory jealous. Unlike The Factory though, it seemed to make everything well. And with surprisingly contrasting styles. Here is Laurel's burrito, smothered in gloriously gooey cheese.

And here is Olivia's chicken salad. She made sure to keep her pinky pointed out at all times while eating. Greg had Vietnamese spring rolls (not pictured but surprisingly good). Good job Racer's.

After lunch, we went over to the Reptile House, which billed itself as "the largest reptile house in Central Australia." Again, this does not mean much. It's also the only one. It wasn't too much to write home about, but there was a gooana named Frank just wandering around the place, which was a little surprising at first.

We like Frank.

This is some other crazy lizard. Also, check out how red that ground is!

Outside the bar where we had dinner was this kitty enjoying the warm concrete in the cool night air. He was adorable, and we love kitties.

No one just goes to Alice Springs. In the space of half a day we had already exhausted most of the things to do there that don't involve taking a four wheeler into the desert. There's just not that much to do there. Whatever there was originally, was burned to a crisp along time ago. Alice's main claim to fame is the jumping off point to all of the natural wonders of the Outback. Olivia found a tour company that offered 3 day, 2 night camping trips out of Alice that took us to Ayer's Rock, the Olga's, and King's Canyon, the biggest tour attractions in the area. Spoiler Alert: It was the greatest camping trip ever. Come back over the next few days for some amazing pictures.

Christmas!

Finally, after all the waiting, Christmas was upon us. The leading indicator was the house down the street.

Moonbug playing with her presents. Simon loves his toys too but was much less cooperative in allowing photographic evidence.  Thanks Elena and Steve!

The sisters and Simon.

Now anyone who knows the Jacksons, knows they go all out on Christmas. Tons of presents, tons of wrapping paper, it's barely controlled chaos. On Christmas Eve the most important tradition is The Sorting of the Presents. All the presents are taken out from under the tree and seperated into piles based on who they are for. We have been told that when we are not there, this takes about three times as long. This is for two reasons- the first is so they can be put back under the tree in an order that allows for a more even dispersion of present on Christmas morning. The second, and far more importantly, is to determine who wins for most presents and biggest presents. This year, Greg was the winner for most presents, and it was determined that everyone won biggest present for "Trip to Australia."

Christmas morning! Oh boy! Santa came!

Simon, of course, presumes that all presents with ribbons on them are for him.

We incorporated the Australian/British tradition of Christmas poppers into our holiday this year. They are paper tubes that make a loud pop when you pull them apart and generally have a small toy, joke, and paper hat inside. We were good Australians and wore the hats. Bob is seen here styling his pretty pink one while he inspects his new Camelbak backpack.

It's a Christmas of backpacks! Laurel and Greg got backpacks from Olivia for our upcoming camping trip to Uluru. Very exciting!

Phew! All that present opening makes you hungry. Time for the feasting! Take a look at Laurel's awesome new apron.

The feast! We kind of went all out this year trying to make a more Australian holiday dinner. After an appetizer of oysters on the half-shell, we feasted on grilled leg of lamb, potatos, tomatos, and onions on the grill, sauteed grean beans, and to really make it Aussie, plenty of cold salads. We had three- a mango and blueberry fruit salad, a grilled pumpkin and pine-nut salad, and a prawn and avocado salad. Delicious!

Oh my god, it was so amazing. Look at all those happy faces!

On Boxing Day we drove down to Pebbly Beach. We found a giant goanna just lounging in the sand. He looked like he was recovering from a big meal, too.

We have a new favorite tradition. Picnic lunch on Boxing Day eating all the leftovers from Christmas. Sadly, we don't think this tradition will be very successful in the Northern Hemisphere.

After the beach (the water was way too freezing to actually swim), we drove down to Bateman's Bay for a little shopping and to take a walk by the water. Very pretty.

What a great way to spend Christmas. We had so much fun with the family, it was a wonderful holiday.