Alice Springs 5

My final Alice Spring post - two months after blaaaaaa



ULURU! How big! How breathtaking!







These are ancient drawings by Anangu on the rocks which are extremely fragile - detailed recordings of their lives.

This is a hidden waterhole at the base of Uluru. I really began to apprecite and love water after this trip to the desert. In fact I am making an effort to drink more water :)

I love water so much so that my leg lifted up haha.

More red soil. . .

You can actually climb up Uluru although it is not encouraged as this place is considered sacred to the Aboriginals. Furthermore, it can be dangerous. A sneak peek of the trail up above:-

Due to the gloomy weather we just wandered around the base of Uluru, the height of the red rocks were really amazing.

Then it started to drizzle :( so we headed home for a rest. I was all hyped up to see sunset at Uluru since sunrise was a bit too cloudy.

After a brief 1 hour break - no resting, just eating (again) - we drove all excited towards Uluru again! To see this:-

Looks like a moldy panna cotta :(

It was a heavy rain cloud resting above Uluru :(

So it was an uneventful night filled with disappointment and expensive pizzas. But we headed back to Uluru with no less of excitement the day after cause I was going to climb up Uluru!

Yes, I climbed Uluru on my own.

The view from the top.

It is really scary as there is no handrails to support you, just this thin white line to hang your life on.

But the scariest part was treading down Uluru. It was really steep and the cars looked way too small gulp.

Feeling a weird sense of disbelief?

Well yeah. I did not climb Uluru. Not cause I was scared, I BEG TO DIFFER, I did not cause Uluru is scared.

The pictures and description just now are purely paraphrased from Ray's report to me who was sitting on a bench in front of one of the small cars in the last picture.

On the way back to Alice Springs from Uluru, we dropped by at Rainbow Valley. The rainbow part of the name was derived from the multicoloured rock which stands alone right in the middle of a vast empty land.

We decided to take a picture with the Alice Springs sign as we approached town. This picture was snapped as my camera fell from the car bonnet to the sandy ground :(

For my final night there, we went to this restaurant called Bojangles which Ray has been raving about ever since he reached Alice Springs.

Salt and Pepper size XL!

The restaurant is really unique in terms of decoration. I analysed every one of the items on the ceiling when Ray was away ordering and using the toilet.

The night was cold so Ray had the brilliant idea of ordering port for me. His selling points were, port is 'sweet and has a warming effect'. But I wasn't sold until he told me it would taste just like the wine JingWen got for my birthday last year.

I swear JingWen's choice of wine for me was spot on - in fact I don't usually enjoy alcoholic drinks, save the few which taste like soft drinks really.

My little cuppa port.

But there was something wrong with this port. Unlike JingWen's it was:

1) Not yellow but dark red.

2) And it was really really really really . . . . strong.

I guess Engineer Ray forgot to remind me that port in Bojangles was sans ice and not chilled.

Our meal after the Big Uluru Work Out:

Mixed Grill for the tiny eater in me :) Camel, Emu, Kangaroo, Buffalo . . you know, the usual.

Kangaroo steak for Ray.

And then halfway through our meal, we caught sight of this humongous chocolate celebration ont he table next (actually, quite far away from us!) to us. I was stuffed, but I insisted and Ray happily obliged. I mean, it was cold, we worked out before so what else but chocolate - it warms you up and replenishes in calories. I am a scientist, you know :)

The conclusion was, we were bloated in a happy and satisfied way that night. You should try this too :) I am dead serious, matey~

The following day was my very last day in the sunny town of Alice Springs. An old man who sat next to me on my flight to Alice Springs told me I must head to the Desert Park. So I did. Erm, cause I found a Buy 1 Free 1 brochure somewhere in town nyahaha.

I give you the Bargain Smirk(TM).

However, due to my lack of sense of appreciation for survival tips in the desert and also lazy kangaroos and absence of emus, I started taking pictures of the least interesting subject in the park - myself. Oh and Ray too.

I started missing the clear blue skies already. Damn why didn't skies like this appear when I was in Uluru.

The most interesting part of the park must be the Norturnal Display Room. Here, all animals which are active at night are kept - so you get to see them active! Erm, not much of an explanation but lookie!!

Just a spider? Nah. What about a spider being fed a grasshopper??

Various marsupial/rodent looking creatures:)

Snakes.

More cute marsupials :)

Okay to be honest with you, I took pictures of selected animals only in that room. Ahem, I am sure everyone knows I have a deadly fear of rats. Musophobia I believe it is called.

I was approaching this display and it was dark, being the nocturnal room, so I pressed my face to the glass panel to see five, no eight, no ten (!), no hundreds !!! Okay, maybe just 5, rat-like creatures running around. I was shaking and not in control of my body already, fleeing to another display only to see another five, no eight, no ten (!), no hundreds !! Okay seriously maybe 5 rats running around again!

So I ran for my life.

To the bat's display. Only to see the creature gnawing on a mouse as it looked back at me.

So I ran and never returned.

Oh but I managed to look at an owl. And thank the gods above when it was not eating anything. For all I know it could be eating a rat. I swear I would have died if I got any more mouse action on that day.

And finally daylight. There is hope in life after all :)

Remember the patty melons I talked about in Alice Spring post 2? This is the type of bird which specifically eats that fruit which is unique to Central Australia. This makes the whole post seem educational and I feel accomplished :)

That, my friends, marks the end of my Alice Springs trip.

Truth to be told, before this trip, I never really appreciated Uluru from the postcard pictures. But being there and understanding the legends behind Uluru, really makes you realise how magical the rocks are and how small we are in comparison to the works of nature. IT is one of the best places to really stop and stare and just, let go of every bit of exhaustion, negativity and worries in you. Even if just for a while.

I urge you to go there at least once in your life especially if you are in Aussie :)

Alice Springs 4

You know how I have been emo for a few days, well maybe you can't tell since I hid it so well :P

Okay back to the Alice Springs adventure where we left off at the climax of Uluru.

Everyone tells me that sunrise and sunset at Uluru are experiences you can never miss in Australia. They tell of the extraordinary colours of the sky, the impressive sun and the magical way Uluru changes in appearance under different sunlight.

We got into our car and drove to Uluru at 5.30 a.m. READ THAT CAREFULLY. 5.30 A.M.

We reached the sunrise viewing point in 30 minutes. How did we get there? We just tailed the tourbuses!

#1 The striking yellow



















#2 Uluru waiting for the sun






























#3 Uluru as the sun peeked out

























#4 The yellow turning into a blazing red



















#5 The red taking over the yellow
























#6 I was mesmerized by the redness of the sky























#7 I loved the changing colours of the clouds although it was apparently a bit too cloudy for the ultimate sunrise view



















#8 The clouds turning red, one after another



















#9 Sadly, the clouds really did block the sun. Before we knew it, the sky was brightly lit :)























#10 The sun can only be partially seen :( but beautiful nonetheless



















#11 Uluru brightly lit



















Next on our itinerary, what else? Another exciting walk/hike - The Valley of the Winds. I felt so happy upon hearing the name of this place. I felt like Pocahontas, man.

I was totally wrapped up, in anticipation of the 'Wind' part of the valley. This coat is one purchase I never regretted once from Tokyo. LOVE max.
























As we were about to start the hike I got all excited because I finally saw one of the things on my 'List of things to see in Central Australia'!

LIZARD! (Albeit a dead one :<)

Other things on the list - kangaroos, emus, camel meat, red rocks and sand.



















#12 Ray overlooking the . . . .rocks.



















#13 The amazingly huge gorges which the hiking trail circles



















#14 Like I mentioned before, I find creeks amidst sand and rock, really serene
























#15 How can such greens survive so well here?

















#15 I love this picture :)

#16 What you can expect to walk on

#17 I especially loved this part of the trail with the giant rocks and soft grass

#18 Not so soft when you are wearing shorts (ah eeh ah)

#19 Another mini waterhole

#20 Isn't this beautiful?

#21 "This looks like sakura - weeping sakura, to be precise - in Osaka?", I said. And he gave me the 'sweat' look

#22 I haven't even stopped myself from slipping down the rocks and he snapped the picture already! - Talk about patience!

#23 Gorges soooooooooooooo high up...

#24 "This looks like something out of Jurassic Park!" I said. And he gave me a 'sweat' look. Doesn't he have another look? Cher!

#25 See the hike was so easy I yawned - on camera.

#26 We walked using these blue little arrows for direction. Sometimes when it points upwards, you really wonder what you have to climb . . .

#26 My weeping sakura moment.

#28 After 3 days in Central Australia, I learnt the art of finding my way by following the trail of kangaroo poo

#27 I loved this picture very much.

#28 Full view of the gorges :)

#29 I want to be on top of the world!

As we approached our car we spotted a dingo all alone! Another thing to see to scratch out of my list! Dingoes usually travel in packs, so it was a surprise to see a dingo alone and so near to our car! I thank the million stars above again!!!

Then there was actually another surprise in store for me from the stars! Wild camels! OMG, I felt so lucky that day that thinking back I could cry :P

Next up: ULURU.

See, big mou?