The Red Centre- Alice, Uluru, Kings Canyon and the Olgas

Been far but still a long way to go!
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We got on the plane and there was a bit of a mix up with my veggie food but luckily there was one left over, because I would have kicked up a fuss if I didn't because I double checked and there was definately one ordered on the screen when we were in the Qantas office. Luckily for them that I got one, they would have definately remembered me if I didn't!

Arrived at Annie's place and we were a bit annoyed that no-one told us that they offer a shuttle service, had to pay for the airport shuttle which costs loads more! It's nice here, they have a pool, restaurant/bar and places to sit and eat outside. We booked the 2 day Mulga tour for sunday which was good because we needed a day to sort ourselves out first and try and get a bit of sleep in first! There isn't really much to do around Alice, and it is really hot & humid here (50-60 percent humidity) so we have to walk really slowly because if we don't we would probably faint!

6 days in the Red Centre- extreme heat and heavy rain!

See the river? This is BEFORE (when we arrived)
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We had an early start for the beginning of the tour, the bus left at 6 so had to eat breakfast before. We had a few stops along the way and all in all it took about 5 hours to get to Uluru (Ayer's Rock). When we got there it was too hot to climb it (they close it when temperatures exceed 37 degrees) but in fact the aborigines (local Anangu) don't like you to climb because they see the rock as being sacred and it upsets them when people are hurt whilst climbing (many have died, it looks quite tough!) We did a 10k walk around the rock which was quite hard because of the heat. In the evening we slept by the campfire, under the stars in swags (big sleeping bags) and ate marshmallows and wine (goon!) and played some funny games- it was good fun.

dingo on leash
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We woke up for the sunrise at 4am, but there wasn't much of one because it was quite cloudy. We then went to the Olgas, which are a series of dome shaped rocks- the walks are really nice and the views are amazing. We walked about 7k which was tough at times, but worth it for the views, I must admit. When we were driving along the wheel was making a strange noise and when we stopped for our guide to have a look we realised that the wheel had had it, it hadn't been put on properly and would have been dangerous to go any further. This was a bit annoying and also worrying because if we had gone any further we could have been badly hurt, but I suppose what ifs aren't important, the main thing is that we were lucky and had to camp by the road for the night. Our guide passed a message through some of the other companies heading back to Alice and lucky for us a replacement bus arrived in the early hours, so that was lucky- so glad that we weren't stranded for too long! It was also a bit annoying because we were meant to stay in a nice campsite with pool and hot showers, oh well, that's what camping is all about!

bev and jamie next to uluru
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We woke up about 6am and went to Kings Canyon. It took a couple of hours to get there, we then walked around the canyon for 3 hours and walked about 7k, 20 mins uphill was quite strenuous but I did manage to get up there first, ha ha! Not that it was a competition or anything! The walk around was good and views were spectacular. I thought it was out of this world and the best of the 3 sites we visited overall, it was the most fun and rewarding. There was a waterhole in the garden of eden, which some of us went for a dip in- it had a funny red colour which was apparently the chlorophyll from the leaves. It also gave us a bit of a clean after no shower for a couple of days. When we were on our way back it started to rain, and rained really heavily all the way back. In the evening we went out for some farewell drinks.

Uluru up close
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The next morning we visited the kangaroo rescue centre, which is a must see in Alice. A man runs it, for no profit- all money he makes goes straight to the kangaroos (you could tell this straight away because he could prob do with a new hat- but kangaroos come first so good on him!). The kangaroos are so cute, especially the joeys. He said that when the little ones grow into adults they can be 2 metres tall, which is amazing. Basically he picks up injured kangaroos or joeys or joey's found still in their mother's pouches by the side of the road when they are killed. So they urge people to stop by the side of the road if they see a dead kangaroo because often there are joeys still inside their pouches, it is amazing how they also survive and sometimes for days or longer periods of time. They have such cute faces and ears- I wanted to take one with me!

bev and jamie in front of uluru
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We walked around the town for a bit afterwards and bumped into Alison and Neil, a couple whom we met in Malaysia, in Penang- we stayed in the same hostel there. That was weird. Thought it quite likely we would bump into them though given that they were doing the same route as us. When we left the following day I was snapping photos like mad because it rained quite heavily for a few days and the river was at breaking point- so the usually dry (very dry) was in fact, very full so that was a rare sight to see. Don't think they see that in Alice Springs very often! Apparently in the river they have an event where they do canoeing in the river (they put holes in the bottom and fit their bodies in the holes and run!) but they could have done pretty good white water rafting in there or canoe for real!