#rndtheworldn44 - Days 8-11 - Australia's Red Centre #fakekoala

Hi Blog!

When it came to planning our trip to Australia, we knew we couldn't see it all in two weeks, so we had to decided which parts of this gigantic continent intrigued us. We both decided that the Outback was number one on the list. Even narrowing it down to the Outback left a huge area to explore. We decided to focus our efforts on the Red Centre. Located southwest of Alice Springs, the Red Centre is an extraordinary landscape of desert plains, weathered mountain ranges, rocky gorges and some of Aboriginal Australia's most sacred sites including Uluru, pictured below.

We flew from Perth to Alice Springs on November 28, 2017. We stayed overnight in order to meet our tour operator at 6:00 a.m.!!! After a few stops to pick up others on our tour, we soon left civilization behind. After a few hours of red desert driving we stopped at a local camel farm.  Imported into Australia from British India and Afghanistan during the 19th century for transport and construction during the colonization of the central and western parts of Australia, many camels were released into the wild after motorized transport replaced the use of camels in the early 20th century, resulting in a fast-growing feral population. Today, there are over 1,000,000 wild camels in Australia!

Here Kathy takes a spin around the camel yard.

After a long day of driving, we settled into camp. The first three camps we stayed in were definitely "glamping" operations with platform tents with cots and fans.

Our first opportunity to put boots on the ground came when we entered Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.  The 36 domes that make up Kata Tjuṯa cover an area of 8.37 square miles, are composed of conglomerate (a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders of varying rock types including granite and basalt) cemented by a matrix of sandstone. The highest dome, Mount Olga, is 3,497 feet above sea level. It rises suddenly from the surround plain.

We hiked up between two of the rock domes to get a better look at the cobblestone construction. What appears solid in the distance is actually pockmarked with thousands of wind blasted holes.

On our way back to camp, we stopped to watch the sunset on Uluru. Uluru (also know as Ayres Rock) is one of Australia's most recognizable natural landmarks. The sandstone formation stands 1,142 feet high, rising 2,831 feet above sea level with 90% its bulk lying underground (!), and has a total circumference of 5.8 miles. Uluru and Kata Tjuta formations  have great cultural significance for the Anangu people, the traditional inhabitants of the area, who lead walking tours to inform visitors about the local flora and fauna, bush food and the Aboriginal dreamtime stories of the area.

After plying us with a delicious barbeque dinner complete with wine and desert, our tour guide informed us that the next day's wakeup call would be 4:30 a.m. in order to hike around Uluru during sunrise! Needless to say, it was pitch black when the didgeridoo called us to breakfast the next morning. It didn't take long for our groggy group to rally as the first rays of sun lit up Uluru.

Our six mile hike let us get up close and personal with some of the more unique features of the rock. As we finished our circuit around the base of Uluru, we met with a local aboriginal guide who took us into some of the caves used by his ancestors to teach the next generation about desert life. The information painted on these cave walls are still relevant to life in the desert today.

After finishing our tour with the local guide, we drove back to camp for lunch before driving several hours to our next camp near Kings Canyon.

Kings Canyon is a canyon in the Northern Territory of Australia located at the western end of the George Gill Range, east of Uluru and about 201 miles southwest of Alice Springs, within the Watarrka National Park. Here we got a good look into Kings Canyon.

As we started our hike up to the rim, our tour guide stopped beneath a large eucalyptus tree. We all got excited thinking we would finally get a chance to spot the elusive koala bear. She assured us there was a koala in the tree. Try as we might, we could not spot it. Someone in the group began laughing and pointing up to a low hanging branch. There, perched for all to see, was a tiny two inch stuffed koala bear. And, thus, the hashtag #fakekoala would be forever associated with this hike.

We soon forgot our disappointment of not seeing an actual koala as we descended into the Garden of Eden.

We stopped for a snack at the water hole at the bottom of the canyon before working our way up the other side of the gorge.

Back up on the rim and we were back in the red desert. Here the #fakekoala crew hams it up for the camera!

In the photo above, our guide Claire sits in front.  We also were lucky to have the best chef in the outback on our trip:  Leah, who keeps her own blog, "From the Office to the Outback."

These were three days chock full of hiking and adventure, and we apologize for squeezing it into one small blog entry.  But, as in our actual adventure, we have far to go.  Thus ends another day's adventure in the Outback.

More in the next blog.  We're on our way to Coober Pedy!