Adelaide, Kangaroo Island and Ayers Rock2 Nov 2009
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Marie at Backpack Oz hostel in Adelaide. make yerself at home love!
Nige on the ferry to Kangaroo Island after a 5am (yes, am!!!)...
mommy and baby seal reunited after mommy seal came back from hunting...
Hey all,
We arrived in Adelaide and there are not many photos as we found this city a little underwhelming but we did go to Kangaroo Island from there and had nice day. We saw some endangered aussie seals in their own beach colony and were able to get up very close. They were so cute! From Adelaide we went on The Ghan Train to Alice Springs. It took 24hrs but was comfortable enough. The view from the train for about 23hrs was just the outback. As soon as we got Alice Springs the heat just hit us...in the 30's. From Alice we did a 3 day tour to the Rock and its National Park. We did it with the hostel we stayed with in Alice and it was an experience!!! The rock, the Olgas and Kings Canyon were amazing, particularly the former 2. We hiked (and that putting it mildly)15 miles in 3 days in a heat that hit 40 degrees on the 2nd day while in the Olgas....like hell on earth! We definately knew we had a challenge after the 1st day at the Canyon but we made it through in one piece. For the 2 nights of the tour we had interestin accommodation under the stars where we had a trowel to dig our own toilet. Sleeping outside under a star lit sky was amazing but the toilet facilities were questionable. We also had to hide everything from the roaming Dingos, but we survived! As you can probably tell, Marie is leading this bit in the journal as she is definately not a camping under the stars girl ;-)The rock itself lives upto all expectations and a must to see. The formation of it all the way round the 10km base walk were mesmersing and spiritual in places. We have loads of photos but some were not allowed because of cultural reasons. You really appreciate the aboriginal way of life and their connection with the rock. It really does guide their way of life and beliefs. Having said all of that, we were glad when we got time to relax at the Ayres Rock resort until our flight to Cairns. We were up at 4.30 every morning and not asleep until gone 11pm...tiring but worth it.
We are now in Cairns (back to civilisation and a managable heat down to a mere 30 degrees) and we have booked to go to the Great Barrier Reef on Wednesday and some white water rafting, and a trip to the tropical surrounds of Cairns tomorrow.
Also, keep us posted on whats happening with you at home too,
Love Nige and Marie xxxx
