Uluru (Ayers Rock)

What were we thinking?  We drove 9 hours (round trip) to see a rock!  Actually, it was pretty cool.  One of the many landscapes that identify Australia, a have to see destination.  I just wish it hadn’t been so far off the path, deep into the Outback. 

Here’s a little tidbit I found online about Uluru:

Uluru (English pronunciation: /ˌuːluːˈruː/), also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory.  For many people, the image of Uluru has become a national symbol for Australia and the natural and cultural heritage of the park has been recognized by the inscription of the park on the World Heritage List.

 

Uuru is sacred to the Anangu, the Aboriginal people of the area. This listing honors the traditional belief system of Anangu - one of the oldest human societies on earth.

 

 

The day we went out it was pretty windy so climbing to the top wasn’t an option because of the winds at the summit.  I was actually glad this was the case so the boys wouldn’t want to do it.  You can’t really tell from these pictures, but it’s extremely steep going up and I’m sure coming down would be even worse.  I’m also sure you’d have to hold on to the rail (Ian called it the iron rod) just to pull yourself up.  If you lost your footing and somehow managed to let go of the handrail you’re done.  There’s absolutely nothing you can grab onto as you fall.  According to the literature provided at the Cultural Center, 35 people have died climbing it. 

We chose to stay on the ground and did the hike that went around the rock.  The information we were given said it was 9.4k so we figured that was just over 5 miles and we could do it pretty easy.  Unfortunately, about a third of the way around we realized this was going to be harder than we thought.  Turns out it’s closer to a 7 mile walk – (ooops, missed that in the brochure) with only a few spots you can stop to rest and only one water spicket along the way.  The combination of heat, flies, and lack of water were a bit overwhelming but we managed to plot along till the end. At one point I thought about the pioneers trekking across the plains and wondered if this might have been what it was like.  

 

 

 

Because it’s so far out to see Uluru, you have to fill up on the way out and back just to make it. The gas is so expensive ($7.45/gallon) as compared to the $1.49 ($5.63/gallon) a liter we normally pay.  I don’t know it’s because they have a captive audience or because they’re out in the middle of nowhere (200k to the nearest civilization which is Alice Springs).  The best part of the trip was the chocolate milk we picked up on the way home – even though it was $4.95 for 500 ml (1.05 pints or just over 2 cups).

All in all it was a good day. I’m glad we made the drive, I’m just not sure I’d take the hike a second time.

Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia

It’s hard to believe we made it.  I’ve always dreamed of seeing Alice Springs ever since reading A Town Called Alice by Nevil Shute.  It’s much bigger than I had pictured especially given that it’s literally in the middle of nowhere.  Australia doesn’t even recognize this part of the country as a state because there are so few people who live here.  Of those who do by far the majority of them live here in Alice Springs or Darwin (1500k north).  The rest are scattered throughout the territory in tiny little settlements.

We arrived late in the afternoon on Saturday and will be here for a week.  Our accommodations aren’t exactly what we were expecting.  It’s basically a dorm room.  We were told that it slept 6 and it does.  We should have asked for specifics, it has 3 sets of bunk beds.  Matt and I feel young all over again.  There’s a really small kitchen area which consists of a microwave, sink, mini fridge and a tiny (2’ x 2’) counter.  They also said that we’d have access to internet (the kids are way behind in school – time to catch up); which we do.  They just failed to mention and we didn’t ask if there would be a cost involved.  Turns out it’s $1 for 6 minutes or $10 an hour.  The other problem is that we are right next to a ridge so we can’t use Matt’s cell to hook up.  Bummer!

There are pluses to our lodging – they have a really nice pool that Hannah and I have enjoyed.  It also cools off at night so we can get a break from the heat. 

Before we arrived I had checked and knew there was a branch here so we were excited to go to church today.  We got up early because we knew finding it could be a challenge without access to the internet.  Luckily, the receptionist (from Dresden, Germany)  was very kind and willing to help.  She looked it up for us and even printed out a map. 

We knew that church started at 10:00 but were a little worried about the time – no one seemed to have the correct time.  Our kindles said one time, Matt’s phone said something else and the office even had a third time all different from each other.  It’s a really weird feeling when you don’t know what time it is and no one seems to be able to help you.  Turns out if you look at time schedules for the world – there are two areas that base their time on 30 minute increments instead of hourly like the rest of the world, one is Darwin and the other is Adelaide.  We’re right smack in the middle of these two cities.  Once we adjusted our clocks we were right in line. 

Our biggest fear of being off on the time is that we’d get to church and be late and miss the sacrament.  I have to say that there have only been a few times that I really, really felt like I needed to get to church and this was one of them.  The long, tiring drive followed by the disappointment in our lodging had left all of us a little down.  We needed a boost to help us make it through the week.   Going to church in the Alice Springs Branch did just that. 

We were so excited when we pulled into the church parking lot and there were cars there (at Armidale there was usually the Branch President’s car and maybe one other).  Alice Springs would be considered a large branch, but not big enough to be a ward.  The Branch President, Brother Ford told us that up till 2 years ago there had been 50-60 members but now they averaged about 120 (for one reason or another a lot of people moved to the area over the last couple of years).  Looking around you could see that the majority of members attending were Polynesians. I couldn’t imagine what would bring Polynesians to this hot, dry area.  I asked a sister in Relief Society what people did here for a living.  She told me that many of them worked with the Aborigine people in the area also a handful worked at the military base (American) about 40k north. 

It’s hard to explain how welcome we felt in the branch as well as the rejuvenation that came from being around other Saints.  It was one of those treasured experiences that we can only hope to go home and put into practice with people who come into our lives.  Even the kids commented on how much fun they had had at YM/YW.  It was absolutely wonderful, exactly what we needed. 

One of the nice things about LDS church buildings throughout the world is they have internet service.  Each week when we went to church in Armidale we made sure we took our kindles to update them (for some reason they wouldn’t update at home with our internet but had no problem at church).  When we left this morning we made sure that we took them along.  Last night I prayed that we would be able to solve our internet situation.  The kids had to get caught up but we also couldn’t afford to pay for the internet at the lodge.  After church I approached Pres. Ford and told him we had a bit of a problem we were hoping he could help us with.  We explained our situation, without any hesitation he handed us a key to the church.  He had only met us a few hours earlier, didn’t know us but knew we were brothers and sisters in the gospel.  He told us to feel free to use the church all week and to make sure we turn on the A/C because it was going to be hot.  With one gesture he changed our dismal week into one we are actually looking forward to. I get teary just thinking about how kind that was as well as being grateful as it was an answer to prayer.  We not only have access to the internet but can cook and have a decent place to eat.  We’ll basically be going back to the lodge to sleep, swim and feed the wallabies. (I’ll have pictures tomorrow). 

It’s going to be a great week.  I’m just so grateful to be a member of the church and to feel the love of the members no matter where we are. 

The Really LONG Drive

We finally made it to Alice Springs.  It’s been a long week through a lot of desert.  We left Armidale on Monday morning, went to Dubbo, then, Broken  Hill, Port Augusta, Coober Pedy and finally here to Alice Springs. 

Basically we drove all day, saw a lot of desert,a few animals, a lot more desert and then finally arrived at our destination where we crashed for the night and then got up and did the same thing the next day. 

All the towns along the way have basically been stopping points for people traveling along the roads (which there aren’t that many).  I found myself looking around and asking why in the world would people live here.  I’m sure if we were to stay in them long enough we would discover what make them great. 

Here’s just a brief rundown of each town we stopped in:

Broken Hill is a mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales. The world's largest mining company, BHP Billiton, has roots in the town. It’s been called The Silver City, the Oasis of the West, and the Capital of the Outback.

We stayed in a place called the Outback Inn,  It was a hotel from the early days of the colony that is still in use today.  It was really nice, I just wish we had gotten there earlier so we could have enjoyed it more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After leaving Broken Hill we crossed over to South Australia.  I’m sure if we went far enough south we’d see this lovely ocean scene, where we crossed it was all desert. 

 

 

Port Augusta is situated on the quiet waterways at the head of the Spencer Gulf, in close proximity to the spectacular Flinders Ranges.  It’s also home to a large coal operated power plant that produces 40% of South Australia’s power. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coober Pedy was a town that Matt thought was a lot like a reservation town – hot, dusty, dry.  When this town was being built the residents discovered that they could dig into the mountains to build their homes and this way they could escape from the never ending winds and sun.  It’s estimated that 50% of the population still live underground (it really isn’t underground but inside a mountain, more like a cave.)  Many of the city buildings and churches are also underground.

 

 

 

 

 

Another interesting thing about Coober Pedy is that it’s the world’s largest opal producer.  85% of the opals on the market come from here.  All around the town you see these big mounds where the opals have been mined.  It reminded us of the movie Holes because these mounds were literally everywhere you looked for miles and miles. 

All along the way we’d see these diesels that they call road trains.  They usually had three trailers.  I don’t know how companies can afford to pay for the gas.  At one point we stopped to fill up and the gas was $1.97 a liter which comes out to be $7.45 per gallon – completely insane!!

 

At every stop we had to spend several minutes cleaning of the hundreds of bugs that had died on the windshield.  That’s one thing the Outback doesn’t lack – millions of bugs!

 

We did finally make it though!  We’ll be in Alice Springs for about a week hoping the kids will be able to get caught up on their school work as well as rest up for the next week of long travel days as we make our way to Brisbane. 

Broken Hill

It was a very long drive today going from Dubbo to Broken Hill.  Not a lot to see or do along the way.   There really is a whole lot of nothing out there. We drove more than 650k through areas just like this.  

 

 

 

At some points we’d drive more than 150k between towns.  To keep people from running out of gas, roadhouses have been established at points in between.  They basically consist of a place to get food, gas and go to the toilet, all the essentials.  The two we’ve seen so far have been pretty bad (not a place you’d normally stop if given a choice).  If you’re desperate they’re a wonderful site.

 

This is pretty sad but the highlight of our day was the animals we saw along the way. 

 

We had no idea Australia had wild goats.  These guys were all over the place for about a 15-20k stretch.

 

 

 

Emu out for a late afternoon stroll.

 

 

 

  This little guy (actually he was pretty big, some sort of dragon lizard) crossed the road in front of our car.  Luckily, we saw him in time to stop.

 

 

We stopped by a road side table in hopes of eating lunch.  Unfortunately, the flies were so bad we couldn’t stay. These wonderful lilac trees were in bloom.  It smelled so good!

 

 

 

 

We did have about 3 minutes of excitement when we went through a checkpoint and Matt had to do a sobriety test.  This fellow was very nice and more than happy to have his picture taken.  Oh and BTW, Matt did pass. 

Taronga Western Plains Zoo

Today we had a wonderful day at the zoo.  This zoo is different to what we are used to.  Because there is so much room in Australia, this zoo is very spread out.  Each of the animal species have HUGE enclosures, none of them resembling cages.  Some of them are more than 10-12 acres in size.  It’s really nice to see how much room they have and how hard they’ve worked to create an exhibit similar to what they would have if they were in the wild.  The animals really have it good here.  The other nice thing the zoo offers is the choice of transportation between exhibits.  You can walk, rent bikes, zoo carts or drive your car around.

 

 

There were lots of opportunities to interact with the animals.  This is  a picture of the the giraffes being fed carrots. We had no idea their tongues were so long.

 

 

 

Hannah didn’t shy away from petting a bearded lizard.

 

 

 

 

Hannah has always LOVED lions.  She was so disappointed when we didn’t go to Namibia because she wanted to see lions so bad.  Taronga Zoo actually has 4 lions/lionesses. 

 

 

 

For a little extra money the zoo will give you an opportunity to actually feed the big cats.  Given how much Hannah loves lions we signed her up.  Sadly, the male lion was feeling a little lazy so he didn’t venture over.  We did get to feed the lioness though. 

 

 

They are much bigger than you think when you see them a little back like in most zoos.  When you’re this close they are very intimidating.  I was grateful for the fence between us. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We watched this huge Sumatran Tiger scale this 25 foot pole to retrieve some “roo” meat.  It was no problem at all – so if you’re in a jungle and see a tiger, climbing a tree isn’t going to work!

 

 

 

 

 

This was really cool to see!  It’s amazing how agile they are. 

 

 

Even hippos have to have their teeth checked every now and then.

 

 

 

 

We loved the rhinos.  There were 3 different types.

 

 

 

 

Hannah and I were walking along the path and we heard a noise.  Hannah thought she saw a snake.  Before we could move more than a foot away this fellow came out of the grass and scared us more than we’d like to admit!

 

 

 

Look closely at this picture.  We saw our very first koala.  Of course, it was asleep (they sleep up to 22 hours a day – crazy!). 

 

 

 

After watching these ostriches for a while we decided they are a really strange creature.  Everything is a bit strange when you really stop and take a look at them – their tiny heads (with ears), their flexible neck – does it even have bones?, their long, long, muscly legs and then of course there’s their feet.  Put it all together and you have to ask – what in the world??

 

 

 

Everything about these giant tortoises is slow just like you might have thought. 

 

 

By the time we got to the elephants we were all getting tired.  Ian surrendered!  He’d had enough. 

It was a wonderful day!!

On the road again

After saying goodbye to friends from the Armidale Branch and spending our last night with Sonya and Jim we headed out on our month long trip (walkabout) around the Outback (interior of Australia).  Here’s a map of our route.  There’s a whole lot of nothing out there in the middle,  hours and hours of driving through the desert.  Oh well, we’ve got lots stuff of to keep us busy. 

 

 

 

We stopped along the way in Tamworth, the country/western capitol of Australia.  They have one of the largest festivals in the world. Who would have thought?   It’s not that big of a place but apparently more than 40,000 show up each August.  This giant guitar is one of the attractions in town.  

 

About 90k outside of Dubbo, we stopped to have lunch at a roadside table; there was another couple there so we thought about driving away but they motioned us to come over.  Before we got out of the car the couple brought out a pet – a baby kangaroo.  Turns out they work with a wildlife rescue group.  They often stop by the side of the road when they see a kangaroo has been hit to make sure there isn’t a joey in the pouch (female kangaroos are almost always pregnant or have a joey).  In April, they stopped by to check on a kangaroo and found the dead animal to be a female so they knew there had to be a joey somewhere in the area. They looked around and found the joey had crawled over and snuggled up to the front tire of the truck.  If they hadn’t looked closely they would have run over him.  He was in really bad shape, bald, malnourished, had pneumonia, and was covered with black ants – both inside and out.  He wouldn’t have lasted more than a day or two longer. 

The  couple named him Jake and treat him just like you would a regular baby.  They sterilize his bottles, he wears a diaper (nappy) when he’s in the house, they hold him and cuddle him.  He’s doing really well.  He’s put on weight, grown his hair back and is well on his way to being healthy.   He’ll eventually be taken to a wildlife reserve where he’ll learn to live with a mob (group of kangaroos) and then be released in the wild. 

The couple asked Ian if he’d like to hold Jake and he jumped at the chance to do it.  Hannah wanted to know where she can sign up to work with wildlife rescue.  I told her we could check into it when we get back but unfortunately, there won’t be many kangaroos rescued in Utah.  Darn!