Marc & Nora ROUND THE WORLD 2005/2006 - Join us!

Travel time: September 2005 - July 2006  |  by marc and nora L.

Australia - Down under: The Red Centre - Ayers Rock

After 5 months in Australia it was time to visit the red centre....the "Big Red Beating Heart of Australia" to quote Steve Irwin. We booked ourselves onto a 3 1/2 day tour of Kings Canyon, Ayers Rock (Uluru) and the Olgas (Kata Tjuta). We really enjoyed ourselves and met some funny people onboard the tour bus inluding some mad middle aged Italian women called Donnatella who didn't speak a word of English...really not a single word! But that didn't stop her as she would just continue to talk in Italian to you. Most people lost their patience with her after about 5 minutes but not Nora. Nora became the official translator for Donnatella even though after 3 days she would still get her name wrong (Nara, Laura etc). "Donnatella Disastro" became the phrase of the trip!

As for the rock, well it is really big (9km around the base) and really red (lots of iron content) and really rocky! Amazing to think though that it really is just a single piece of solid rock unlike a mountain which is made up from many smaller rocks. We got to see two sunsets and 1 sunrise over the rock and I believe all were cloudy...the luck of Marc & Nora strikes again. Still we got the compulsory photos of the big red rock. We walked around the base of the rock (9km) however we weren't allowed to climb it as it was closed for cultural reasons (I think this is always the case these days as the rightful owners, the aborigines, don't really like you climbing their sacred route anyway)

uluru at sunrise...

uluru at sunrise...

i cant see it - where is it?

i cant see it - where is it?

...here we go...
bright and clear

...here we go...
bright and clear

YES-we were also there

YES-we were also there

marc happy

marc happy

nora happy

nora happy

ayers rock close up
looks like a brain - what do you think?

ayers rock close up

looks like a brain - what do you think?

there is even a lake at the base of ayers rock - did you know that?

there is even a lake at the base of ayers rock - did you know that?

another view of ayers rock - looks like a whale this time, huh?

another view of ayers rock - looks like a whale this time, huh?

such a funny warning in german - you have to read that! (if you speak german of course!) save picture and make it bigger! 
--> they make it pretty clear that they dont want you to climb ayers rock

such a funny warning in german - you have to read that! (if you speak german of course!) save picture and make it bigger!
--> they make it pretty clear that they dont want you to climb ayers rock

We slept in tents for two nights then on the final night we built up the courage to sleep in swags which are just like heavy duty outdoor sleeping bags with holes at the top and bottom just so the snakes and venomous spiders don't get trapped inside!!!!

We met some very interesting and funny people - amongst others a couple from the french part of switzerland, nicole and bertrand. my god, wot a funny pair! Nicole is NOT into camping and outdoor stuff at all and when she arrived at the bush camp and saw her 'new home' for the next 3 nights her face turned white immediately!

It was in fact Bertrand's dream to do this tour and brave Nicole joined him even though this may was her biggest nightmare! But i m sure that meanwhile she can smile about the whole experience as the deal between them two was that he gets his ayers rock adventure tour and nicole gets 2 days shopping in hong kong on their way back to europe.

ouch! i can almost guarantee that bertrand will have to dig deep into his pockets to compensate nicole for her nightmare trip (hongkongs shops dont close but stay open all night! - double ouch bertrand!)

then there were some Germans - 2 really nice girls and some very strange blokes (one has been living in melbourne for a year to write his thesis and he couldnt stop talking about how much he hates australia and how much he hates his ROSTBRATWURST...)

our next few days accommodation - swags

our next few days accommodation - swags

nora cosy in her swag

nora cosy in her swag

We trekked into the middle of the Olgas range and also around the rim of Kings Canyon which was fantastic. We even climbed down into the canyon to go swimming in an ice cold water hole.

the olgas - very impressive

the olgas - very impressive

the olgas

the olgas

kings canyon

kings canyon

crazy donatella and translator nora

crazy donatella and translator nora

kings canyon

kings canyon

marc in kings canyon

marc in kings canyon

kings canyon again

kings canyon again

us both at kings canyon

us both at kings canyon

us swimming

us swimming

waterhole where we swam from above

waterhole where we swam from above

looking down the gorge - very steep

looking down the gorge - very steep

On the way back to Alice Springs we stopped off at a road house which was home to the imfamous Dinky the singing Dingo (search in Google and you'll be surprised just how famous he is). In order for Dinky to demonstrate his singing talents somebody need sto play the piano. Upstepped Nora to take on the challenge and within seconds Nora's horrific playing had the dingo screaming before he jumped up onto the keyboard to help Nora out with her playing. Pretty funny!

nora playing and dinky singing...
...one more time your teaching of the flea waltz came handy uschi!

nora playing and dinky singing...
...one more time your teaching of the flea waltz came handy uschi!

we also had a stroll through rainbow valley and could see the fantastic colour combinations of the outback - red, green, blue and pink

the pink lake (and cowgirl)

the pink lake (and cowgirl)

marc and rainbow valley

marc and rainbow valley

now you know why it is called the RED centre!

now you know why it is called the RED centre!

on our return we all went for a barbie (last one in australia) and explored alice spring's nightlife! WOW! that is quite interesting! we entered a bar and the women in there looked pretty weird - for 4 hours or so we wondered whether they were actually men in women clothing or ugly women after a sexual transformation...

a night we all wont forget - i was so impressed by the looks of some of these menwomen that i had to take a photo. have a look yourself! wot is that?

man or woman?

man or woman?

All in all it was a perfect end to our Australian adventure and gave us a long lasting impression of a fantastic continent that will last for years after we finish this trip...Next stop Auckland, New Zealand (Via sydney)

© marc and nora L., 2005
You are here : Overview Australia & Pacific The Red Centre - Ayers Rock
The trip
 
Description:
Hello - 5 more days!!! On the 12th of September we are setting off! Our plan is to travel round the world for a period of 10 months. 1st stop: Thailand (1 month) and cambodia 2nd stop: Via Singapore (overland) to Australia where we plan to stay for approximately 4-5 months. 3rd stop: New Zealand (2 months) (north and south island) 4th stop: South America (approx. 3 months) (Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and if time and money allows we might visit costa rica)
Details:
Start of journey: Sep 12, 2005
Duration: 11 months
End of journey: Jul 31, 2006
Travelled countries: world-wide
United Kingdom
Thailand
Malaysia
Cambodia
Singapore
Australia
Australia & Pacific
New Zealand
South America
Chile
Argentina
Bolivia
Peru
Ecuador
Canada
The Author
 
marc and nora L. is an active author on break-fresh-ground. since 19 years.
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