Ayers Rock, NT. Totally Tantalizing Uluru. *****5 stars

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Sconquest

A Kaleidoscope of Changing Shapes & Colours

Where else do you find a rock with it’s own airport? Is that truly Rock star status?  So exciting to be here at last. The cost is rather off putting but we’re coming before the high season to alleviate a little of the pain on the hip pocket. From Kings Canyon we head back down to Lasseters Highway and after an hour an a half we’re back on the road to Ayers Rock. Imagine my delight as a huge lump of rock looms on the horizon, camera on the ready as always. Bah! It’s just nature playing tricks, it’s Mt Connor not Ayers Rock, and it’s not a monolith. Of course! Strange to say it looked rather like a cruise ship docked and ready to sail away. Curtin Springs Cattle Station and Roadhouse Camping Area came and went but if you like golf there’s at least one nice green hole for practice.

  

Making good time as we arrive at Ayers Rock after 3 hours and 300 or so kilometres. We drive straight into Yulara Resort because there’s no town or main street. Wrongly, I’d assumed it’d be like Alice Springs but it’s not. It’s all Voyages Ayers Rock Resort so there’s all levels of accommodation which gets dearer as you walk up >>> the street. Checked in and went looking for a cup of coffee and a bit of shade. Try the Town Centre I was told, along there >>>>. It’s a large courtyard not a town. 2.30pm and the coffee shop is just closing. Try the pool bar at Sails, along there>>>>>. Nice coffee but no cake or scones, only meals. Beggars can’t be choosers so we suffer the 5 star pool, the shade and rejoice. <<<<<<<We’ve made it!>>>>>>>

  

After a well deserved rest we’re off with the swelling crowds as the sun sets on Uluru. Beforehand, there’s the $25 fee per person for the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park but at least it lasts three days. Coaches and cars have separate viewing platforms for both sunrise and sunset so the views are slightly different and there’s no table for champagne breakfasts for cars but we’ll cope or bring our own. Such a beautiful clear sky but even this late the sun is blinding as it sets. Now, let’s watch the colours change together.

 

So many different shapes and contours that your oblivious to in the thousands of pictures you’ve seen before. Desert Magic.

Best of all, everyone is having a good time, snapping away whilst watching the colours of the rock and sky change, and very happy to share this memorable day with you, and you, and you……

Posted in Attractions, Ayers Rock, Central Australia, National Parks, Uluru, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Kings Canyon Creek Walk, NT. A Different Perspective. ****4 stars

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Sconquest

Just love those Rocks!

What do you know? We only have to drive 300 or so kilometres today so there’s plenty of time for another early morning walk. Instead of climbing canyons today we’re taking a leisurely stroll along the creek and look up at the canyon from within instead of down from without. Here’s the map again for Kings Canyon showing the Creek Walk and Kathleen Springs Walk too, just in case you have some spare time. At least they’re both easy but in the heat what really is, so we’re up well before dawn once again.

  

Looks like a lizard welcoming committee, and sturt desert peas.

  

Only 2.6km today and temperatures between 20 and 35 degrees. Don’t you love the  hat on the sign! Now that’s a big hint! So we meander along the path by the rocky river bed. No water here, of course but rock hopping is very good exercise.

    

The track leads to a viewing area where you can rest a while, enjoy the shade and the spectacular rocks above you, or perhaps lie back on the bench and watch the clouds as they pass by or chat to someone from somewhere else on the planet, who may be an extremely long way from home.

  

Somewhere off the track is a special waterhole,

which has obviously been popular with both tourists, explorers and inhabitants for a very long time and every other living creature round about.

  

Boulders, rocks and rubble in all shaped and sizes along the riverbed. Adieu!

It’s only 10.30am and unbelievably there’s people just starting the rim walk now. Let’s hope they are fit and have plenty of water as they’ll be only half way at mid-day. After a brief rest at the information sheds and no further dilly-dallying its time to head off to Ayers Rock, a gigantic lump of rock in the middle of nowhere…

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Kings Canyon Rim Walk, NT. Simply Breathtaking! ****4 stars

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Sconquest

‘Strewth’, it’s dark outside, as Grandad used to say. He had such a wealth of colourful phrases like ‘stone the crows’ and ‘starve the lizards’ which you don’t hear much anymore. After dinner, we had recovered sufficiently to venture along the boardwalk to watch the stars. Normally the Southern Cross, is easily spotted but here there was so many stars to choose from and a magnificent milky way.  Before dawn I watched the stars through the window from the cosy, comfort of my bed at Kings Canyon Resort and simply enjoyed the tranquility (and warmth).

  

6am. Rise and Shine! even though it’s still pitch dark and cold. Fortunately, the path to the restaurant was lit so we  followed it mindlessly, determined to fortify ourselves with a man sized breakfast before tackling the Kings Canyon Rim Walk. Never one to be bustled, we watched the light grow and enjoyed the space but knew we had to beat the heat. Even though it was a 10km drive to the Canyon we arrived in plenty of time to see the sun break through and bathe us in all it’s brilliance, but first we had to climb up the 500 or so steps. It’s steep and clears the lungs brilliantly and it’s a great equalizer. Here’s the fact sheet and map for the Watarrka National Park which includes Kings Canyon. The Rim walk is 6km and takes about 3.5 hours. It is strenuous and has plenty of steps and bridges but it’s well worth the effort. There is no actual track but a series of arrows to follow from one point to another. With all the other hikers around, they are not too hard to find but start off as early as you can and check the day’s temperature range. The scenery is spectacular and rather enticing as you explore the cliffs, rock formations, nooks, crannies and possibly spy some fossils. The waterhole is an especially welcome haven before the climb back out to the carpark’s welcome seat, shade, and toilet!

Simply breathtaking, isn’t it!

    

Met some students and staff from Doncaster High in Victoria who were having a great time touring Central Australia. A terrific place for sharing lifelong memories, especially in the Garden of Eden, below.

    

Obviously, a treasure trove for geologists, naturalists and fossil hunters who’d been kind enough to chalk over the fossils so you could see them at least temporarily.

  

Wonderfully clear blue skies but makes some difficulties with the contrasting light and shade. Great for an SLR camera otherwise we just take what comes and pray!

                    

If your truly keen or crazy there’s also the Giles Track near the carpark end, which is 22 km one way to Kathleen Springs. Wonder how you get back?

  

Enough for us. Time to beat the heat and rest a while but we’re so glad we came. ‘Wouldn’t have missed it for quids!’ as Grandad used to say, and wonderful to see ‘life’s rich tapestry’ with hikers of all ages taking time to enjoy this beautiful day.

  

Now for a refreshing swim with just a few unexpected visitors, wasps!

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Alice Springs to Kings Canyon via Standley Chasm and Simpsons Gap ****4stars

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Sconquest

Desert Magic

Enough shilly shallying, so we headed out west along Namatjira Drive to Standley Chasm and Simpsons Gap. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to visit Ormiston Gorge after stocking up with supplies, maps and a coffee in Alice Springs. I lost a few of these photos to that wicked Ipad Delete button but was lucky to have these escape the carnage. Desert Magic, what a magnificent start to our trip!

Standley Chasm

    

The Main walk out to the Chasm takes about 40 minutes and it’s a wonderful place to be among the rocks, when it’s not full sun. There’s a crystal clear pool at the end to cool you down before you head back along the rock bed and path.

Simpsons Gap

  

It’s only a short walk out to Simpsons Gap’s water hole. This is what they call a river in Central Australia. It’s just like the Todd River in Alice Springs, bone dry. There’s no problem of drowning, only sunburn. Luckily, I had my trusty hat!

 

Time to head back to Alice Springs for that embarassing fuel stop before heading out to Kings Canyon. Reality hit with a thump, only 453 km to go!

    

Passed the time listening to Bill Bryson’s Down Under for the first leg of our journey which was entertaining and reassured us that we weren’t that silly after all. Never driven at nearly 130 km an hour before but that’s the speed limit on some sections of the road here. At 273 km to go we changed over and it was time for some Rock and Roll and muesli bars. Funny, to be listening to Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer as we passed through some semblance of civilization and we were literally ‘half way there’. By the road we saw a few camels, horses and one kangaroo right in the middle of the road so we just waited for it to move on. They have no road sense. Glorious driving as the sun reflected the gold of the soft spinifex swaying gently as we passed by. Nerve wracking though to be on kangaroo watch at this time of day but fortunately we didn’t encounter any more. Strange how shadows and bushes look like kangaroos at times. Phew! Made it, right on sunset!!!         Now where’s the bar?

Posted in Alice Springs, Bushwalk, Kings Canyon, National Parks, Simpsons Gap, Standley Chasm | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Alice Springs, NT. A Long Way to and from Anywhere.

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Sconquest

Cautionery Tales

Without rambling further about getting lost trying to find Anzac Hill or our inability to open the fuel tank on a Holden Cruz we will focus on the priorities, namely a decent map. Forget all the brochures and booklets with maps that you never find when you need them, otherwise you won’t have a proper idea of the scale of your undertaking in journeying to Central Australia. The map above is OK but if you happen to notice the scale you’ll realise that it’s a long way to and from anywhere, let alone civilization.

Although I visited the Alice Springs Tourist Information Centre specifically for a good road map it only had Hema’s Central Australia Map which covered a much larger area than what I needed, I got it anyway. At Ayers Rock I finally found Hema’s Red Centre Map for Alice Springs to Uluru which had much more detail for the curious traveller. The essential difference was the scale, The Red Centre is 1:750,000 while the Central Australia map was 1: 2,000,000!

Enough shilly shallying. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to visit Ormiston Gorge after stocking up with supplies, maps and a coffee in Alice Springs so we headed out west along Namatjira Drive to Standley Chasm and Simpsons Gap. It’s a big, wide world out here and it’s only 100 km return!

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Alice Springs, NT. Wandering with Imagination not Images.

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Sconquest

Chaos Reigns Supreme

Sack the navigator! What! I was doing my best but it didn’t matter where we were heading I didn’t know which way was up, north, right but mostly wrong, even with a simple map. Ooops, we just missed the turn off to Alice Springs Telegraph Station, Lasseters Casino and Anzac Hill. At least I was consistent. A train line helps especially if it’s dead straight, but only if you know which way is which.  Wearing a cap didn’t help as I couldn’t see the sun but then again, what time is it here anyway? Sydney no longer has daylight saving so there’s only half an hour, not one and a half hours difference I discovered. Chaos reigns supreme.

Sadly, there are no pictures of Alice Springs as they were accidentally wiped a few days later when I tried to download them to the ipad. It doesn’t let you select which ones you want to download unless you do them individually. Be warned this is a dangerous activity! Miss and the delete button is final. There’s no message to verify, they’re just gone. I even checked with Apple in case there was some way to retrieve them from the trash. NO! Next time I’ll try starting with an empty SD card. Looks like we’ll have to use imagination and links instead of images. Feel free to send me any photos you would be happy for me to use to illuminate our adventures.

Anyway, we finally managed to find the Old Alice Springs Telegraph station and it was a real surprise. We were in luck. This was Heritage Week  so the station was alive with Morsecodians eager to enlighten or simply send a telegram for you, (in morse code, of course) to the Power House Museum in Sydney where it would be typed and posted for a nominal fee. Such enthusiasts really brought the place alive. The Telegraph station includes several dwellings and out buildings used by the staff here connecting Australia to the world by relaying through this and other repeater stations. It was a lovely, clear day which made our visit very pleasant and enjoyable and the station is obviously well looked after. The Todd river is close by and still has  the original waterhole known as Alice Springs and some very welcome shade. The station seemed to be popular with plenty of the locals too.

After chatting with one of the Morsecodians from Bendigo about their Art Gallery we were amazed when he suggested we visit the Grace Kelly Exhibition and to especially treat ourselves to the Society High tea at the Shamrock Hotel. Strange but true.

Nearby Trig Hill beckoned, so we ventured forth (after solving the puzzle of the stick & wire gate lock) and enjoyed the views and even managed to find a few kangaroos  adeptly avoiding a few over zealous tourists. Here’s some pictures of the Telegraph Station and some details of walks in Alice Springs, including Trig Hill.

We had been recommended the Golf Club to eat but lost interest after all the driving around in circles it took us to find it, and the prices were similar to those at Lasseter’s Casino anyway. After a refreshing swim, we found the Juicy Rump was the only casino restaurant open on Sunday nights so we ordered and enjoyed a drink on the deck, chatted to some exhausted travellers who’d just arrived from a whirlwind coach tour and weren’t at all impressed with the cost or food on the Ghan, checked out the night sky, some brochures and wondered what was ahead.

Posted in Attractions, Bushwalk, Central Australia, High Tea, Uncategorized, Victoria | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Nowhere, AUS. Where to now?

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Sconquest

Exploring the Unknown

Quite a scone drought the last few months so we are heading into the great unknown with next to no idea of what we’ll find or where we’re going. Looking forward to such an adventure, just me and my sconquest friend. Took a Qantas flight from Sydney Airport (Hint: it took 3 hours to get there). Fantasatic day for flying but unfortunately, there was no inflight map for me to keep track of where we were heading so I had to play Tetris on my new ipad instead. The chicken & leek pastry was quite inedible but would have done a good job of keeping everything down if we’d struck turbulence.

Now, how many places are a 3 hr flight from Sydney? Even though we have been experiencing kiwi withdrawal symptons it’s not Christchurch or Queenstown. Fiji is too far at 4hrs and although Noumea is closer at nearly 3 hrs we’re not flying over water. Cairns is around 3 hours but Adelaide is surprisingly only about 2 hrs so have a look at the pictures taken from the plane and see if you can guess. If you have any idea where the pictures are let me know, especially if one is Lake Eyre.

      

The skies were beautifully clear and the patterns on the landscape were amazing. For us coastal dwellers it’s strange to be away from the ocean’s lure and somewhere so dry and supposedly barren. Yes, it’s the desert, we had arrived in Alice Springs in Central Australia. By road that’s 2770 km from Sydney via Mildura and Port Augusta and by plane it’s 2020 km. Whichever way you go, its a very long way from home.

…………………………………………Where to now?………………………………………..

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Katoomba, NSW. Lacklustre Lilianfels **2stars

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Sconquest

Great Expectations.

Sadly Disappointed.

Finally went horse riding for the first time ever. Didn’t fall off & enjoyed the trail ride in the Blue Mountains. It was only an hour but it still left you rather sore and tender. To reward ourselves, we headed off to Lilianfels and a long awaited High Tea.

Unfortunately, we were sadly disappointed. It’s quite pricey so expectations are high. The sandwiches were not freshly made and had dried out. If you look at the photo you can see the bread curling up. The scones were too dry and even though I made a valiant effort I was unable to finish them. At least, the tea was fine.

    

Looks like I need to investigate High Tea at the Carrington or just give up and go to the Solitary Kiosk. Katoomba is a lovely place but it’s overpriced and doesn’t deliver for the price. Perhaps you know somewhere I should try, if so let me know.

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Sydney, NSW. Back and Forwards on the Manly Ferry.

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Sconquest

Touring Sydney with Seagulls

  

  Always great walking through the Botanical Gardens but it was certainly very hot as I made my way from the Art Gallery, down to Circular Quay and the Manly Ferry, here’s a map.  Just in the nick of time, too. It only takes about half an hour and you get the extra swell between North & South Head as an added bonus. Here’s the ferry timetable. Gave the feet a chance to cool off but we were soon off again down the Corso to Manly Beach. Why does an ice cream at Copenhagen cost 70 or 80 cents more at their shop at the Ferry end than it does at the beach end?  No room for the usual fish & chips at the old shop next to Surfection today. Just need to cool my feet down in the waves.

  

But wait, the beach is CLOSED! Just a few stragglers some hardy surfers and the seagulls today.

In next to no time a cool change arrives and it’s suddenly cold and I’m a bit wet from my over enthusiastic attempts to subdue my burning feet. A storm is gathering, so much too soon I’m shivering and on my way back to the ferry to Circular Quay, which has just left. Never mind, except that it’s cold now.

       

No time to stop for my usual sustenance at Circular Quay’s City Extra today, even if I was hungry. If I keep moving, I just might catch my train from Central. With 4 minutes to spare I make the train, looking only slightly damp and bedraggled. It’s been a good day and now all I have to do is not fall asleep on the train and miss my stop!

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Art Gallery of NSW. Disappointing Scones ***3 stars

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Sconquest

Picasso – Sorry, Not My Cup of Tea.

Go now so there’s no worry about crowds at the Art Gallery of NSW. When I arrived about 1.30 pm there were plenty of tickets available for any of the half hour time slots but there’s only a few weeks before school holidays when it’s bound to get busy.

   

Never really been enthusiastic about Picasso.  Still wanted to see the exhibition in case I was pleasantly surprised by the real thing. I wasn’t. Although, there was an excellent guide, podcasts and ten rooms with 150 paintings and sculptures on display, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I found them grotesque. Back to the Impressionists for me I think. The Village Dance, 1922 with it’s Renoir overtones and the Young Painter, 1972 were the paintings I liked most, as they stood out by far from the rest of Picasso’s work for me. This exhibition  Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris  was recently shown at the de Young Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco and they have information on the Village Dance and Picasso: The Women Behind the Artist here. Somehow, I found the advertising posters and displays preferable to the actual paintings. Perhaps, they highlighted the strong colours and made them more vibrant. Obviously, a matter of taste.

No High Tea today as I hadn’t booked so stopped at the cafe for scones. Sadly, disappointed as the scones were dry and had an indeterminate texture like they couldn’t decide if they were a scone or a butterfly cake.

  

As it was so swelteringly hot I now decided to take a walk through the nearby Botanical Gardens, down to Circular Quay and catch a ferry to Manly and enjoy the cool waves.

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