| Submitted by: Gopal VenkatUnited States |
| Submission Date: 15 February 2005 |
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They were quite expensive compared to Darwin. Since this was a midpoint during our trip, I did my laundry (as did most of the rest of the group), which was quite inexpensive. After dinner at the hotel, I played pool for a while before going to bed.
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September 8, 2000 (Alice Springs)
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Since the forenoon was ours to do as we pleased, I slept in for the first time during this tour. After a late (!) breakfast I departed the hotel around 9 AM and headed to 'Panorama Guth' situated next to the Hotel. The gallery was founded by a Dutch painter called Henk Guth. The gallery has numerous paintings of the surrounding areas by Guth. It also has a section on Aboriginal Art and Artists. The Most Striking Picture (of a Photographic Original) is of the Aboriginal Painter Albert Namatjirra. This is the best of the entire lot. Sadly, the gallery was neither selling the picture nor a replica of the same.
For a man who grew up in a Lutheran Mission and started with Watercolour painting around the age of 20, his paintings of the surrounding landscapes are quite striking. I was quite impressed with his work to buy a set of 6 replicas of his watercolour paintings. In addition I bought copy of a Guth Artwork as well. The Gallery felt generous enough to give me another of Guth's works as a Compliment!
I proceeded to the Royal Flying Doctors (RFD) Station. This is quite unique to Australia and to the Northern Territory in particular. Since medical facilities in the outback are quite sparse, this Organisation flies doctors and other medical professionals wherever required.
From broken limbs to pregnancies the Royal Flying Doctor service attends to the needs of people in the Northern Territory. In addition, they also conduct periodic clinics in Areas that do not have access to medical facilities. A 10-minute film and a 10-minute tour of the facilities give a good idea of the kind of work these people do. An entire room is devoted to monitoring calls and emergency situations in the Area. In addition to permanent staff, many volunteers devote their time and skills in helping the organization achieve its objectives. Decided to include them in the list of Charities, I frequently contribute to.
I got back to the hotel to dump my recent purchases and boarded the tour bus. We departed at 11 AM for Alice Springs Desert Park. We reached the park after 20 minutes and spent the next 2 hours touring the park. Located at the foot of the Western McDonnell Ranges, the park boasts a wide range of flora and fauna native to the outback. I had my first glimpses of live Thorny Devils and blue-tongued lizards. I realized later on that one needs at least 2 ½ hours to do justice to the park. Since I did not have enough time for Lunch I grabbed a cola and an Ice cream before we headed to Standley Chasm.
We reached the Chasm after a 30-minute drive. Named after Ida Standley, the first Schoolmistress in Alice Springs, the chasm is a deep gorge 100 Metres (330 Feet) deep.
A 15-minute walk from the Parking area brings one to the chasm. The best time to perhaps view the Chasm is when the sun is directly overhead. This lights up the walls of the chasm, which throw a red glow for some wonderful pictures. Since we reached the place around 2 PM, I missed out on some great pictures. We spotted a few rock wallabies here. After spending an hour here, we departed for Simpsons Gap.
We reached Simpsons Gap around 4 PM. It was a 10-minute walk from the parking area to the Gap. This is yet another gorge in the Western McDonnell Mountain range. Though not as spectacular as Standley Chasm, if was quite good. After spending around 45 minutes here we headed back to Alice Springs. I had earlier indicated my desire to climb Kings Canyon (which we were to visit tomorrow). Before I got off the bus, Ron (the driver) took me aside and warned of the perils and pitfalls of embarking on such an adventure. He was doing the legal bit where as a representative of the tour operator, he was providing me with all the information. I politely listened to him and postponed the decision making until we reached Kings Canyon.
I went didgeridoo Shopping. The didgeridoos were way too expensive (A$250 - A$500) for me. I settled instead for a T-Shirt and a hand painted plate! I was quite keen on observing aboriginal life and culture up close. The tours that were available in Alice Springs would have forced me to miss my tour of Standley Chasm and Simpsons Gap. The evening performance at one of the hotels in Alice Springs was costing me A$75 which included pickup / drop-off from my hotel and dinner. Being a vegetarian, I knew the dinner would be a complete waste of my money. I tried to negotiate with the hotel to waive the dinner and admit me to the show for A$40. It did not work.
I did some more laundry on returning to the hotel. I visited a nearby Swiss/Indian restaurant (located in the premises of the Diplomat Hotel) for dinner. It was not as good as the Indian Restaurant in Darwin.
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September 9, 2000 (Alice Springs - Kings Canyon - Ayers Rock)
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We departed Alice Springs at 7:15 Am and headed towards Kings Canyon. After crossing Hermannsburg we entered traditional Aboriginal Lands. Crossing through Aboriginal Lands requires prior permission from the Traditional Owners. Most tour companies presumably apply and obtain blanket permissions each year. The road is not paved and is a dirt road through the aboriginal land. I slept most of the way. Upon reaching Kings Canyon I did the floor walk along with the rest of the group. After completing the floor walk in 30 minutes, I decided to do the rim climb. (Since we were stopping at Kings Canyon for over 2 hours). There are 700 steps (cut into the rock) to the top of the rim (of the Canyon). The Climb is quite steep at places and the round trip took me around 45 minutes. The view from the Top is excellent. I did not do the complete rim walk (around the circumference of the Canyon) as it was expected to take around 3 hours at least. I was quite glad that I did the rim climb. To do the rim walk one should preferably arrive early into Kings Canyon (perhaps from Ayers Rock), do the Climb and the walk Stay overnight at Kings Canyon and continue the next day towards Alice Springs. (I suppose the reverse route would work as well - Alice Springs / Kings Canyon (Overnight) / Ayers Rock)
The road is paved from Kings Canyon to Ayers Rock. As we reached closer to Ayers Rock we stopped to take in views of Mount Connor (frequently mistaken for Uluru). On reaching the Ayers Rock resort at Yulara we were informed that our accommodation had been upgraded to Desert Gardens (Desert Gardens Hotel. Phone: (08) 8957 7888 Fax: (08) 8956 2156). There are 3 hotel complexes in the Ayers Rock Resort area all owned by the same company. Upon Checking-in, we were given a voucher for dinner, which could be used on either of the nights we were staying at Uluru (we were staying for 2 nights). I walked around and had dinner at a local fast food place and saved my voucher for the second night.
After dinner I returned to my room and went out to the Balcony. The Starry Skies above were fantastic. I quickly setup my camera and tripod and took multiple time-delayed shots of the skies above including the Southern Cross constellation. The slides did turn out well though I wished I had left my camera for an overnight exposure (about 6 hours or more) so as to capture the rings formed by the paths traversed by the stars. (As seen in many photographic magazines)
We were to depart from the resort at 6:30 AM tomorrow for the sunrise tour and the base walk of Uluru.
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September 10, 2000 (Uluru a.k.a. Ayers Rock)
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I woke up at 5 AM. The Starry skies were even more spectacular. We boarded the bus and started our base walk around 6:45 AM just as the Sun was coming up. The base is 9 Kilometres (5.5 Miles) in circumference. As we walked around the base, I observed Signs at certain places explaining the area of the rock (as sacred) and requesting that no Photographs be taken of that part. Having come this far to observe and learn more about the Culture of the Aborigines, it was only proper that I respected that cultural significance and refrain from taking photographs of the sacred areas. The rising sun lit the rock brilliantly and I did get good pictures of the areas that were not marked sacred. We finished the walk around 9:30 AM.
I noticed there were numerous people climbing the rock. None from our group did. The aboriginals consider the rock to be a sacred place and have posted signs requesting that people refrain from climbing the rock. Since this is a request and not an order most of the dunces promptly clamber all over it. To put it in perspective, this is akin to a bunch of tourists clambering all over the altar (and the Cross) at St. Paul's cathedral or a temple or any other place of worship. While one would consider the climbing to be heresy in London or Rome most of us never give a second thought to committing the same act upon other cultures. Sad.
I also noticed that a few park rangers were climbing up the rock with a stretcher and an ambulance was parked nearby. I was informed that one of the climbers had suffered a heart attack and the rangers were going to fetch him and bring him down. We went to the nearby cultural center and spent time wandering around. We continued on to Kata Tjuta (or the Olgas).
The Olgas and Uluru are part of the same geological formation. While driving back from the Olgas we stopped to take in a panoramic view of the Olgas and Uluru. We reached the resort around 2:30 PM. I was quite tired and slept till 5 PM. We departed for the Sunset watch around 5:45 PM. The lookout point was packed with people and filled with tour buses. I managed to stake out a decent spot and setup my camera and tripod. The Sunset was quite good. This morning I observed the rising sun lighting up the various parts of the rock and enhancing the rich red colour. The setting sun does the same to the other side of the rock. The rock gradually changes colour until all that can be seen is a dark silhouette after the Sun has set completely. I took a number of pictures capturing what I perceived to be each colour change!
I utilized the voucher and had dinner at the restaurant of the hotel. The Buffet was quite sad for a vegetarian. After dinner (or something to that effect) I headed back to my room, packed up, wrote my diary and went to bed.
The 10 Days that I haven spent in the Northern Territory (NT) so far have been good. I have managed to see most that I have only admired from afar (through Books and magazines). We leave Northern Territory tomorrow and head to South Australia. |
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| Copyright © - "Gopal Venkat" |
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