Lynne's Travels : December 2015

Red Hot in Alice Springs - NT Part 2

Friday

I had a 4am start for my flight to Alice Springs, which is equidistant between Darwin and Adelaide; it was only a 2-hour flight and the view coming in to land was fabulous.

The ground was burnt red, as you would expect; but the McDonnell mountain ranges that run east and west and are the backbone of this remote area were an awesome sight.

I was collected from the airport as arranged, and arrived at my hotel in no time. I was very lucky to be given a room so early and I had unpacked by 10am.

As normal, I couldn't wait to get out exploring - before it got too hot! What a joke! It must have been 40 degrees already. I knew the botanical gardens weren't too far away, so that was where I headed - just a short walk along the river. Another joke! The river is dry for the majority of the year and there was a depth marker to show how high the water gets when the rains eventually do come.

I reached the Olive Pink Botanical Gardens easily enough, noticing what a natural place it was, where wild animals as well as people could come and go - it wasn’t fenced off! The gardens were named after Olive Pink, a lady who campaigned to establish a sanctuary for the tribal Walpiri people in the desert here.

I followed a series of paths around the entire area and I was delighted to see kangaroos up close - one even had a Joey poking its head out of mum's pouch. It was magical! It really was a Desert Garden, full of grasses and shrubs only found in this arid area.

The smell of the different eucalyptus trees was wonderfully refreshing; and some trees had pure white trunks with their pale bark peeling off – they were beautiful. I went to the cafe and treated myself to a pot of tea and slice of cheesecake before heading back to my hotel.

There I spent a leisurely afternoon by the pool - and I was very happy to see railings all around the pool - no crocs were getting in here! This was the relaxing part of my trip to The Northern Territory and I did enjoy it; cool water, a good book and dozing off without fear of being eaten! I thought the temperature might have cooled down by 6pm when I had decided to venture out again - but it was still 40 degrees. But I had a limited time in Alice and had things to do and places to see. So I headed towards town where I was surprised that everywhere was closed and there was no one about.

I walked up Anzac Hill for a panoramic view of the town with the McDonnell mountain range as its backdrop. It got rather busy up there, everyone was gathering to experience the sunset over the mountains, which wasn't the expected dramatic red sunset, more of yellow hue with black silhouettes! I managed to get back to the hotel just before it got dark, which was quite a relief because I did feel rather uneasy walking around. After catching up with my diary, I had the best sleep that I had, had since arriving in Oz.

Saturday

I had booked to go to The Desert Park today and when I was picked up, I asked the driver if we would be going past the infamous "Welcome to Alice Springs" sign. We weren't, but he kindly offered to take me out there for a photograph stop. I couldn't believe how friendly and accommodating everyone here was.

I arrived at the Desert Park just after 8am and already it was incredibly hot. The park was a few miles out of town, at the foot of McDonnell Ranges (rocky red cliffs that were so high, they were classed as mountains).

The park had much to see; a cinema, several animal encounters, various aviaries and cages, and an enormous nocturnal house with rats, bats, lizards and other creepy crawlies.

There was so much to be learnt about the desert and how the aboriginal people survive in it; but my favourite part was the number of wild birds flying around. There were bright turquoise wrens, crimson finches, black crested cockatoos, amazing coloured parrots, kingfishers and a spectacular bird of prey demonstration with kites, eagles and falcons.

After walking around for 3 hours, I needed a rest, so headed for the café for a drink and an ice cream. I had tried to keep myself well hydrated, and it was good to see so many water fountains around the park. The driver was waiting to take me back at midday, and when I mentioned wanting to go to the Royal Flying Doctor Centre - he offered to drop me there. I spent a delightful few hours watching a movie about the place and looking around the museum.

I hadn't realized that it was originally established in 1928 in Queensland and was called the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service - hence QANTAS! There are many fundraising events going on all the time to keep it running, it is such a pity that funds aren't readily available, when it saves so many lives.

After Queen Elizabeth visited in the 1950's it became the Royal Flying Doctor Service. After a wander around the shop, I had to brave the heat again and find my way back to the hotel. That was my exploring done for the day, I spent the rest of the day around or in the pool - heaven!

Sunday

I had booked to go on a trip to the West MacDonnell Ranges - and was looking forward to being part of a group again even if it was only for the day. We left Alice very early and the first stop was the site of Rev. John Flynn's grave, who was sent here in 1912 to investigate the well being of the locals. Realizing their desperate lack of both services and communications (leading to far too many unnecessary deaths) he was the man behind the idea for the flying doctor service, and the pedal powered radios that were installed at outlying cattle stations. His grave is marked with a huge boulder, with the view of the McDonnell range behind.

I was expecting the scenery to be more like a sandy desert, after all this was the red centre! But I was surprised just how green it looked with grasses, bushes and trees. The grass was a special variety bought in from Africa, that was exceptionally tough and would withstand severe droughts, and the trees were mainly acacia and eucalyptus, although the white Ghost gum trees were my favourite.

The next stop was a walk along a wide, dry riverbed with immense quartzite cliffs towering on each side - to a cool, still waterhole called Simpson's Gap where we listened to the sounds of the surrounding desert. I could not believe how big the newly hatched cicadas were, they were everywhere, millions of them - their noises echoed around the cliffs and caused an immense, deafening noise.

It was only 9am, but already unbelievably hot; some tours such as the one to Palm Valley, had been cancelled because the temperatures were exceeding 50 degrees. Our next walk was through a shaded gorge, along a trickling stream with cycads and eucalyptus growing at each side, to the deep red cleft of Standley Chasm. The mile walk each way was well worth it, as the narrow red gorge at the end was so cool and breezy, and I could easily have stayed longer.

A 223km five day trek starts from here, called the Larapinta trail; I had no idea how anyone could walk for more than an hour in this heat! Our driver had headed back to the bus before us and made tea and coffee, to have with lamingtons and biscuits – a picnic in the park with a difference.

Next stop was our first chance to have a swim, at Ellery Creek Big Hole; it was very impressive, very shaded and very hot - but it wasn't very clean and I couldn't bring myself to jump in. I was happy to just have a paddle. This was “Alice's beach in the desert” and there were many families there with young children playing in the water. During the long drive to our next stop we were told that a third of all people in the Alice area are of aboriginal origin and unbelievably the last Aboriginal nomads came out of the desert here in 1974 and the first thing they were given was an ice cream!

We continued along the long, straight highway with numerous floodway signs, warning of flash floods that can fill these dips with up to 2 metres of water very quickly. We had a drink and a ploughman’s lunch at the Glen Helen Gorge resort, overlooking the river below with a tangerine rock face opposite - a popular spot for Weddings.

It was now the middle of the day, and it was so, so hot and we were all ready for a swim when we got to the lovely clean watering hole of Ormiston Gorge! The surroundings were wonderful and it was hard to believe you were in the desert; there was white sand, cool boulders and clear water and I did enjoy a refreshing dip.

The final stop of the day was the hottest stop of all, it was the ceremonial Ochre Pits that are still of important cultural significance. Ochre has been taken and traded from these pits for thousands of years; it is so precious that there are huge fines for even taking a small stone. By the time I got back to my hotel, I felt absolutely filthy, sweaty and exhausted - but had, had another great day out.

Monday

I didn't wake up until 7.30am and quickly got up and got myself sorted. I had arranged to meet Caroline, who was on the Kakadu camping trip with me last week, as her trip was supposed to be in Alice Springs today. I was delighted to see her waiting outside KFC as arranged. We found a little cafe and went for a cuppa and a long catch-up on our last 3 days adventures.

It was so nice to chat and I think we talked each other to death! We did a little shopping, as there were a few places open, and to my complete surprise I found a shop that sold material. Well I couldn't believe my luck, and just had to treat myself to a few unusual aboriginal pieces! I was surprised that she felt the same as me about Alice - really uncomfortable walking around, even in the daytime. It’s sad that even this early in the day, there were crowds of Aboriginals sitting on the pavements and in any green space - drinking! Anyway, we had a cold drink back at my hotel at lunchtime before she left; and then I packed and had a last swim; it was 43 degrees today and I was looking forward to getting back to a cooler 30 degrees in Darwin. Even though I would love to have seen the Kangaroo Dundee kangaroo rescue centre in Alice - I was happy with all that I had seen, done and experienced. It's the first time that I have been away to somewhere this hot, and never got sunburnt - factor 50 really does work!

I was very excited as I went to the train station to catch The Ghan. It is hard to believe that this amazing railway was only completed in 2004! This was one of the highlights of my whole trip, sad I know! It was so hot, and with 'proper' clothes on and I couldn't wait to get on board into the air conditioning!

I took a few shots of this famous train that started life as a camel train and rather like at an airport, after checking-in my case; I boarded and found my seat. The comfortable seats reclined, there was so much legroom and it really was lovely and cool.

I couldn’t stop looking out of the window and felt like a little kid on my first train journey. There was only an hour left until sunset and I wasn't going to miss one minute of it.

Even in that hour the scenery changed frequently; the trees were replaced by dry grasses, the red sand became burnt orange and then scorched mustard. The sunset as quite beautiful, but it was hard getting a photograph with the movement of the train. I went to the Matilda cafe, and had dinner whilst chatting to a lady from Sydney who was as excited as me about being on the train.

The lights went off at 10pm and it was a long night; it turned rather cool and the seats weren't comfortable after 8 hours but I wasn't complaining - I knew what to expect.

Tuesday

Daybreak finally arrived, and I couldn't wait to get up and about. The cafe was open, so a coffee was very welcome. We were due to arrive at Katherine at 9am, so I knew that it wouldn't be too long! You just wouldn't believe what happened next! An announcement came over the tannoy saying that a fuel train had derailed just north of Katherine, and the Ghan wouldn't be able to continue its journey to Darwin. The trips that everyone had booked in Katherine would still be going ahead, whilst they sorted out alternative transport to Darwin. I was just happy that I was still going on my helicopter ride over Katherine Gorge.

I was taken to Nitmiluk helipad and given the usual safety briefing, then I was volunteered to sit in the front of the helicopter, sounds great until you realize there are no doors at the front and I was exposed to the elements! Anyway, I didn't object, I just made sure that my camera was securely around my neck - I didn't want to lose anything!

We were soon soaring high up above the river leading to the infamous Katherine Gorge. This is one of Australia's most epic natural wonders; a series of 13 sandstone gorges carved out by the Katherine river, at the most amazing right angles and from the air you could really appreciate the zigzag pattern carved out of the landscape. The local Jawoyn people believe this was created by Bula, an important figure in their dreamtime stories.

In 1984, after many years of campaigning, the government awarded them their lands back and that is when it became known at Nitmiluk National Park. The land below was quite green to say that the 'wet' hadn't arrived there yet, but there had been a storm on Christmas day, and it doesn't take long to green-up. After flying up to see the first couple of sections of the gorge, we went over some dramatic waterfalls which were brilliant - especially when we banked around to get a better look over the top. I really had to cling on and it was the only time I missed having the glass door next to me.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable flight, but as always, over too quickly. On the way back to the train station, I saw that many of the houses were on stilts and I had always thought that this was to keep the house above nice and cool. But after hearing that after a flood here, only a few years ago, when the river rose 18 metres, a saltwater man eating crocodile was found swimming in Woolworth’s along with all of the food and crates - I think that the stilts are a safety precaution! Another quirky thing about Katherine is that outside town on the highway, people put strange objects by the road at the entrance to their property such an old rusty car, an old plane, an engine etc and their address would have been " at that object!" When I arrived back at the station, it was scorching hot and we were told to wait in our carriage and have some lunch. After about an hour, they had sorted a contingency plan and coaches had been arranged to take us up to Darwin. As we travelled north, the afternoon storm clouds were brewing and they were the worst yet. Apparently Cyclone Christine had been causing havoc nearby and the thunder, lightning and torrential rain was the worst that I have ever travelled in. A few times, when a vehicle (usually a 3 section road train) passed us going the opposite way, our coach was forced off the tarmac road onto the sandy verge - by the wind and water. We had a quick stop half way, with just enough time to buy an ice cream, and were on our way again. After 4 hours we actually arrived back in Darwin, at about the same time that we would have done on the train – but it hadn't been such a comfortable experience. But it had been an experience! I booked into my hotel and headed out onto the esplanade to catch the sunset - the most fantastic tangerine shades that I have ever seen. I had a drink in the hotel bar, sent lots of Happy New Year messages all around the world and headed to my much-needed bed. I needed to be ready to continue my adventure tomorrow!