Uluru

I assumed the above sculpture was outside a daycare centre and laughed when I saw that it actually stands outside a second-hand store. Isn't that a hoot?

While on the topic of signs; the following sign is on the door of the Bojangles Pub in Alice Springs.
The display you see alongside the sign is quite interesting. It is a memorial to Meatloaf's "Bat Out of Hell" record and if you look really closely at the motorcycle seat you will see snakes....LIVE snakes...two of them. I thought they were dead until I saw the sign that said "Watch the snakes move". Bizarre!!! Great food at this place and collectables you could not imagineimagine.




Feb 25: We took in a tour of the Royal Flying Doctor facility. It was extremely interesting since many of this country's residents depend on these doctors to fly in to treat and transport them. It was set up in 1929 and has served the people well ever since.

Next we headed out to Simpsons Gap, the Ochra pits where the aborigine still collect ochra for their paintings and Ormiston Waterhole and gorge.

We had a funny incident that evening in the swimming pool at the camp. A woman asked us where we were from and we replied "Canada". She exclaimed "So am I! I'm from Toronto!" It turned out that she was actually from Brampton. She pointed to another woman who was sitting by the pool and said "and she's from Kleinburg". We didn't get her name before she bolted (probably another in the Witness Protection Program) however we did manage to tell her that my Mom lives there.

I must tell you that we had been warned about Alice Springs and surrounds and the FLIES that pretty much own the territory. Alice Springs wasn't too different from other cities and towns we'd visited around the country and although annoying, they weren't horrendous.....until we got out to the country.

So folks, what do you think? Yves, Karl, Donatella perhaps? We think we look quite stylish in the most necessary garment in this part of the country. Growing up on a farm, I thought I knew what flies were all about but nooooooo, I knew nothing!!! They land on your eyes, lips, in your ears and if you are quick enough to exhale when you've inhaled one, it can be expelled before it makes it way into your system (trust me, it happened!)


While walking along beside the waterhole at Ormiston and into the gorge we saw a nude man walking into the water. He was graceful and he slipped into the water and began swimming without a glance in our direction. When we returned, he was nowhere to be seen. A lovely figment of my imagination? Well, Bob saw him as well so he definitely was there since Bob rarely has figments, especially male ones.

Early yesterday morning (26th) we left Alice Springs and drove the 460 km to Uluru. The name changed back from "Ayers Rock" to "Uluru" in the 1980's. It really is magnificent and a very spiritual place to visit. We drove out from the campground 16 km away for the sunset last evening and then again for the sunrise this morning. Yes, the flies were there however the nets made it a treat. Such a wonderful place.

Following are some photo's of Uluru.

Above: Sunset
Below: Sunrise; Up Close; Aborigine Paintings






We are back in "The Alice" and will move on toward Queensland and the last quarter of our adventure down under.

Blessings!
Sharon

Katherine to Alice Springs

Did you all wonder what on earth I've been smoking? I blame it all on a sun-addled brain! I think I should tie the chin strap on my Tilly a little tighter.

In the last entry I declared that we are experiencing shorter daylight hours and said we have around 7 hours of daylight at this point. Pretty short days huh? What I should have said was that sunrise is around 7 a.m. and sunset around 7 p.m. There! Now I feel much better!!! Thought of it yesterday as we were driving to Alice Springs and said "What were you thinking woman???"

Here are the photo's that should have accompanied the last entry.

Photo's above: Buley Rockhole, Litchfield Park; Croc Menu Special - "Bob, the Grey Nomad "; Magnetic Termite Mound

We have been showing you termite mounds along the way. We read in Lonely Planet that there are 18 species of termite (those we know that eat houses are not called termites here but are known as white ants). A local told us there are 58 species and although we don't particularly wish to pass on misinformation, this fellow knew that the Derby tide, which rises 11 feet and is the highest in Australia...is second only to the highest tide levels.....in the Bay of Fundy in Canada...so we figure he must be pretty smart. The termites in the previous pics eat spinifex grass so when we saw the magnetic mounds, I figured they must eat magnets...right??? Makes sense doesn't it? Actually, they too eat spinifex grass but unlike the other mounds we saw in WA, these in the NT build theirs in a north/south direction to catch the heat of the east/west sun. Clever devils aren't they?

Photo above: Hangin' at the Nightcliff Market, Darwin

Feeding the crocs; My new handbag; Bob's new belt

Feeding the Batfish at Aquascene

Middle photo above: "Croc" Holiday Inn



Flight over Kakadu

Kakadu Park has 1600 plant species, 275 bird species, 75 reptile species, 25 frog species and an estimated 10,000 insect species (bring on the "OFF"!)

Feb 21: Leaving Kakadu we returned to the 43 acre park at Katherine (photo below) and found the pool crowded....there were 6 of us in the 20 m pool this time.

One of the couples is from Queensland and we had a great chat for a couple of hours as we floated about. Ed works in construction and spends much of his time in West Australia. He told us that the heat makes it very difficult to work and at times the temperature on the ground is 55C which makes the temperatures in the trenches they dig 75C. The workers can only spend a maximum of 1/2 hour in the trench and must drink water constantly. His firm has new rules that include wearing long-sleeved shirts, long pants and hats always. He also said that in Queensland the government is insisting that small children be covered up and wear sunglasses.

We met a young man at the campground in Darwin. He and his girlfriend are from Melbourne and are working their way around Australia. He's a mechanic and has experience working at mines so got a job at a mine near Broome. He said that when he showed up for work the first day, they gave him his toolbox; a bucket of water with his tools submerged in the water. He asked what the heck this was all about and was told that there is no way he'd be able to hold the tools due to the heat. Without the water his hands would be burned. He said the temperature down in the mine was 50+C. He managed to stick it out for 6 weeks then quit and moved on.

You know how our newscasters give us a warning when our UV levels reach a high of 8 or 9? Well check this out.....we've seen UV levels of 17 reported in the newspapers...mostly in Queensland. Shocking!


Feb 22: The drive from Katherine to Tennant Creek was another shock....very green with some rolling hills.

Around noon we left the highway to have lunch at a pub called "Daily Waters". We had read about this place in Lonely Planet and it is definitely a MUST SEE. It is a very old establishment with great food and lots of treasures. Many years ago, travellers began leaving pieces of themselves behind to be placed on the walls, along with the farm machinery and other bits the owners had hung on the walls.

Yes, what you see below is me standing under autographed bra's, men's underwear, personal id, police badges, photo's, etc, etc. As they say in our guide: "you'll find everything on the walls except wallpaper". Really, really cool place!

Photo's above: Daily Waters Pub

Photo's below: The outback on the way to Alice Springs; Devil's Marbles; Controlled Burn

Feb 23: Alice Springs is another surprise. We expected a desert town however everything is green and pretty. The creeks all seem to be dry however a good rain last week brought out all the vegetation. We'd say that we have been fortunate in our travels and are seeing most of the country at it's best even though it is considered "off season" in the "top end" (Darwin) and the middle (Alice Springs).

We stopped at a lovely gallery in an aborigine community and were shocked to hear "Allegria" (Cirque du Soleil) being played on the cd. The owner of the gallery told us that just last week, several members of the Soleil troupe came through the gallery, on their way to set up a performance somewhere in the country. The owner had never seen a performance but loved the music and bought the cd several years ago. Can you imagine the amazement of the troupe to walk into a gallery in the outback and hear music from their performance? The owner also taught us a bit about old methods of aboriginal painting compared with the gradual transition to more westernized methods. So much to learn!

We will be spening several days here then will move on to King's Canyon and Uluru (Ayer's Rock).

I suppose you've realized that whenever we see someone on our travels who reminds us of someone we know, we take a photo and put it up on the blog. The first we uploaded was a double for our friend Ray in Vancouver. The second reminded us of another friend, Warren (good guess Tina although we don't know "George"....and especially yours Steve. We loved the "half a redhead" but had deliberately edited the photo so the glimpse of reddish hair might give a hint that it was Warren's wife Linda beside him).

Here is the third in our series of "Who is it?" and watch out everyone.....YOU COULD BE NEXT!!!

Love always,

Sharon

Northern Territories

After writing the last entry, Bob and I wandered the streets of Kununurra and entered a jewellry store where they sell diamonds of all colours. The local Argylle Mine provides the stash and let me tell you, they are a woman's dream! 0 shades of pink, green, orange, champagne, not to mention white and blue-white. Tiny 1/4 ct diamonds, unset can cost up to $80,000. A bit of a problem getting Bob in the store however no problem getting him out!

Also visited The Rockery....a different kind of rock. The shop is owned by a guy who calls himself "Longey" and he haunts riverbeds all around the region in search of the rare zebra rock. He creates everything from necklaces to wine racks. He just completed a wine rack for a local farmer that holds 39 bottles of wine (and he's NOT related to us as far as we know) and cost $5000. Moving it would have been interesting to see.

Feb 16: The drive to Katherine was beautiful. The vegetation is lush and we entered the Northern Territories not far from Kununurra. Several ways to identify that you are in NT, other than the huge road sign that welcomes you. One is the speed limit changed from 110 to 130 km and the other was that instead of crazy death-defying emu and kangaroo crossing in front of us, we had large lizards ambling across the highway. We had entered the tropics and it was very evident. Huge palm trees, moss hanging from gum trees and a lot of waterways appeared.

We arrived at the camp fairly late in the day and saw a couple we'd seen in several other camps along the way. We hadn't spoken prior to this but laughed when they followed us into the camp reception and asked if they were tracking us. When we chose our campsite, they were not far from us. It turned out that we were the only two campers on 43 acres of campground set among huge trees and with wildlife we had not seen prior to this.

The swimming pool was 20 metres long and Nick and Emma joined Bob and me shortly after we got in. They are from the U.K. and have 2 months left in an 11 month trip that took them from Peru to New Zealand to Australia. They were heading for Darwin where they would fly to Tokyo, China, Thailand before returning to the U.K. Amazing people!

Feb 17: As the daylight hours become longer at home, they are much shorter here now and we get about 7 hours per day of daylight.

Beautiful drive to Darwin with rolling hills and the very tropical scenery.

South of Darwin was the cutoff to Litchfield National Park. We drove in to view more termite mounds (more about that later when I have an opportunity to upload photo's) and to visit a waterfall and swimming hole. Interesting that in every brochure we picked up there is, in bold, a warning that goes something like this: "The only safe place to swim in the Northern Territories is a swimming pool!" This of course, is because of all the crocodiles that inhabit the parks, rivers and streams....not to mention the ocean.

Arriving at the waterhole we saw that there were around 20 people swimming about and lazing on the rocks. Bob figured that with so many meal options available to the crocs he'd take a chance and get it with the rest. I stood by ready to take photo's and to bolt if I saw anything. Hey! I'm not that brave and I figured that someone had to have two legs to drive the truck back to Sydney. He said the water was lovely and after a brief swim, got out feeling quite good about himself.

Our camp was on the edge of the Darwin and another lovely place with a pool. That has become one of the most important items on our checklist when we scope out campgrounds. It is very hot and humid and we spend a couple of hours a day in the pools.

When we had arrived in Sydney, way back when, a lovely woman approached us at the Maui Depot, gave us her business card and said that if we got to Darwin we should contact her. All along the way I had planned to email her however never got it done. I decided to email her back in Kununurra and didn't have an opportunity to get on email again to check for a reply until we arrived in Darwin. Waiting for us was the loveliest email from Ruth and Trevor, asking us to stop in at their home in the country, about 50 km south of Darwin. She suggested we do laundry and have a bit of a break at their place before continuing on with our tour of Darwin. Of course we wouldn't impose nor go back down the highway after the long drive but we certainly appreciated their offer.

Feb 18: We cruised around the city and visited the Nightcliff Market, a wonderful blend of great food and crafts. Picked up a few things then drove downtown. They have done a magnificent job of city planning here with parkland all along the waterfront. It is easy to get around and there are terrific restaurants and shops.

We headed out of the city to take a tour of Crocodylus Park. It had started to pour (it's the rainy season...which actually means that you are lucky to get an hour of rain each day) and we got soaked as we ran into the park. It was warm and lovely and we really enjoyed the soak.
Crocodylus is a research and breeding facility with 7000 croc and American alligator. Our guide Rubin was hilarious and taught us so much about these huge beasts. They are quicker than we thought and can stand on their tails to grab the chicken he dangled over their heads. They are very territorial, especially the females. Rubin is shocked at the risks people take, especially fishermen. He said that it's no contest when it comes to a mix of a 4 m boat and a 5 m croc. I got to feed them then both Bob and I held a baby at the end of the tour. Great stuff!

Off we went, back downtown for high tide and Aquascene where we fed the fish that come in on the tide. We saw stingrays the colour of sand, batfish with huge eyes that rose up out of the water so you could drop food directly into their mouths, milkfish, mullet and catfish. Very beautiful experience.

Feb 19: Finally connecting by phone with Ruth, she invited us to meet her and Trevor at the Museum and Art Gallery on Fanny Bay. We weren't even certain we'd recognize each other so Ruth told me what she'd be wearing. Funny enough, they followed us into the parking lot and even funnier, Trevor remembered that this wasn't the van we'd had in Sydney. What a memory!

The location on the bay was fantastic and the food was wonderful. Both Ruth and Trevor work at the Charles Darwin University. Both were born in England however Ruth grew up in Africa. They met at university, married and eventually moved to New Zealand. They moved to Darwin two years ago because Ruth missed the hot climate. Well, she certainly got her wish!

We could have spent the entire day with them, there was so much to talk about, however off to work they went and Bob and I explored the museum and gallery. The gallery is the most beautiful I have ever seen. The displays are inviting and were constructed with incredible creativity. The most terrifying display was the photo's and TV news footage of Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Day, 1974. We entered a dark sound chamber where we could hear the storm as it raged on through that long night, destroying so much of Darwin and killing many people.

It was this day 65 years ago that the Japanese attacked Darwin and many lives were lost. There were memorial services and fly-pasts all over the city.

Feb 20: We left Darwin and ventured on to Kakadu National Park. This park is so vast that if we drove all of the roads (most 4WD) in the park, we would only have seen 1% of it so we decided to take a flight over the park and the magnificent waterfalls. It was beautiful to see this land from the air and seemed impossible to even consider the fact that aborigine still hunt and fish in this remote area.

We had a site at Kakadu Lodge, a beautiful place with all kinds of wildlife roaming around. A wild dingo ran past our van and we saw birds we hadn't seen before. At night we listened for the barking owl and heard what sounded like hundreds of them, sounding just like a pack of dogs.
We had been warned about a certain bird that sounds like a human screaming and sure enough, in the middle of the night (why the middle of the night we ask???) we were awakened to what sounded like a woman screaming in terror. Can we tell you how thankful we were to have been told???

Feb 21: We are now back in Katherine at our 43 acre spread and will leave tomorrow on our way to Alice Springs. It will take a couple of days so we'll stop tomorrow evening in Tennant Creek, arriving in Alice Springs the next day.

I will upload the photo's for this entry at the first opportunity. Until then; catch ya on the flip!
Love,
Sharon

Derby

Derby is a town of 5000 people and is notable for mining of iron ore, diamonds, oil and other minerals.

We were uncertain if we wished to take the side trip to Derby however felt we owed it to ourselves to do so to visit the Boab Prison Tree; Derby's most famous attraction. It has a girth of 14 m and a hollow trunk and is said to be over 1000 years old. It was used as a prison or holding by by blackbirders, settlers who captured and used Aboriginal people to free dive for pearls. It is a stark reminder of the crimes against indigenous people in WA. Forced to walk for miles chained together then held inside the trunk of the tree is one of the saddest stories we've heard and standing in the presence of the tree is quite depressing.


Photo: Boab Prison Tree

Deciding to stay in Derby overnight, we stopped at the Visitor Centre to determine if any tours were available. We were told that there were a couple of flights over the Kimberley region (inaccessible by land); one in a bush plane and the other on the mail plane. We thought the mail run sounded like a lot of fun because it would be landing at 13 stations (farms) in the Kimberley region. We decided against it though because we would have to wait two days and then there was a risk of being bumped, either by freight or residents who live out there who need to be flown in to their stations.

We decided to book the bush flight and arrived at the airport at 3:30 p.m. for our 4 pm flight in a single engine four seater. We met our pilot Sarah, a fantastic young woman (must have something to do with the name "Sarah") who was born in the U.K., raised in New Zealand, took her first flight at 16 (Dad was a pilot) and had her private pilot license at 18. She left N.Z. for Sydney at 21, studied languages at university, worked at Quantas charting flightplans for long distance travel, got her commercial license then came to Derby a year ago to get a job (ok, you can take a breath now...).





Photo's: Our wonderful pilot Sarah; a sampling of the wonderful scenery

Sarah is a consummate professional with great wit and an abundance of information. We were outfitted with life vests in packs around our waists, headsets with voice-activated mikes so we could hear everything and ask questions. Bob was in the back and I was co-pilot ...although asked to give Sarah some warning if I decided to use the controls on my side which apparently happens from time to time when a casual passenger accidentally uses the foot pedals as footrests.

We flew out over Derby, the T-shaped wharf, the mud flats, an old leper colony, along the Thousand Island Coast viewing the open-cut iron ore mines on Koolan and Cockatoo Islands, the Buccaneer Archipelago and the pearl farms in Cone Bay. We circled over Horizontal Waterfalls where the water rushes through a gap in the rocks then reverses.

If you look at the photo below you will see the mine and above it you will see the runway Sarah uses to pick up and drop off mining staff. She said there is little margin of error since at one end there is the open mine and at the other, the ocean.

Along the way we saw deserted islands with pristine beaches where you cannot swim due to the sharks and salt-water crocs that live there.

She told us of an emergency situation recently where a man on a little island was bitten by a death adder and they had to fly in to bring him to hospital in Derby. Fortunately he lived to tell about it.

I cannot tell you what a wonderful trip it was and when we returned to the airport almost 2 hours later we didn't want it to end so we invited Sarah out for dinner. Her favourite restaurant is closed on Monday's so she suggested a rough and ready bar where the casdt of characters is notable and the food terrific. One particular character walked past us and we really didn't take much notice until the manager yelled at him to get out. He turned around right beside us and we saw a huge, freshly caught fish tucked under his arm like a pet. Made me think of something out of a David Cronenberg film. Off he swanned out the door leaving a fin behind on the carpet.

Another lovely Sarah; another great memory and new friend.

We know you are reading this Sarah and we thank you once again for a great day!

One thing I must tell you about was our visit to the wharf earlier in the day. We met several carpenters who were renovating a restaurant and we got involved in a lengthy chat about the region. One of the fellows had gone fishing the night before with a buddy. He got to a flooded area of the unsealed road and stopped his 4WD, turned on his "spotties" (flood lights) and saw the biggest croc he's ever encountered. He figured it was around 5 m long. He and his buddy immediately turned around and hightailed it out of there. Good fishing!!!

Feb 13: Hall's Creek which was a sad little town. Many stores boarded up and an unkempt campground. The best part of the camp was the pool that helped cool us off in the evening.



Photo: Lizard friends

Feb 14: Happy Valentine's! Drove through magnificent landscape that is lush and green, due to the heavy rains they get here. We have obviously just missed the storms because we haven't seen a drop since Perth.

Arrived in the beautiful town of Kununurra and a gorgeous Big 4 Camp. It is lush and tropical with a terrific pool.

Out for a Valentine's dinner at Gulliver's Bistro. Food was out of this world!

Feb 15: Still in Kununurra and up early for a bit of a walk through Mirima National Park with it's mini-Bungle Bungles. Very hot (35C by 5:30 a.m) but beautiful with lime green parrots and other beautiful birds flitting about and huge lizards running around on the ground.


Photo's: Mini Bungle Bungle rock formations


Photo: Aboriginal Rock Art

Tomorrow we leave with plans to arrive in Darwin on Sunday.

Good wishes to all our friends and family!!
Sharon