Ally The Canalian: December 2011

After a busy 3 days at Uluru it was back home for that restful period just before Christmas where you can just relax and do nothing. NOT! The next couple of days were spent grocery shopping, wrapping presents and laundry.

On Christmas Eve we went to the Children's Mass at St. John Vianney's Church (across the parking lot from my school). It was great. The gospel reading was a nativity performance by the kids. The mass only lasted about 45 minutes and ended with a mele for gum and birthday cake. Mom, dad and I headed home though to get ready for Christmas Eve dinner.

Shirley, Bill, Rob, Nicole and Kyra (Nat's mom, her partner, Nat's brother and sister-in-law) all came over for the traditional Bendfeld Christmas Eve BBQ. With no BBQ we broiled the steaks in the oven, but it all tasted delicious anyways. The best part was being entertained by the 3 month old Kyra. She was very talkative and really wanted to show off her pretty party dress. It was a late night as Bill and Shirley stayed until 1 am.

Christmas morning dawned with blue skies and temps above 20 degrees. I opened some new Canadian clothing (Olympic t-shirt and jumper) and various items in my stocking. Mom got a kookaburra statue for the garden and dad a sign for his garage (beer and bullshit corner). Later in the day we headed out to the farm to greet Nat who arrived that morning. She brought with her some goodies from my good friends at school. This included Tim Horton's coffee and mug, ketchup chips, and various items I can't get in Australia. There was even mixings for Caesars, but unfortunately the Clamato didn't make it through security. :-(

Christmas dinner was at Chris' (Nat's biyfriend) parents' house with his family and Nat's family. It was a full house and very loud. The dinner was amazing. There were six different meats (turkey, ham, chicken, lamb, beef and pork), roast pumpkin, potato and sweet potato, Caesar salad (my contribution) and lots of dessert. I got lots of gifts to remember my Christmas in Australia for years to come.

After dinner, we went looking at christmas lights. It always looks like they just forgot to take their lights down without the snow. In Australia they either have no lights or they go all out. On the way home, mom, dad and I stopped at the Guinness Book of World Record house that has the most Christmas lights. It's pretty intense.

Boxing day was more relaxing as mom, dad and I went for a walk around Lake Burley Griffen. The day after, Mom and Dad went to the Museum of Australia while I went and helped Nat move any items I missed into the new classroom (can't wait to come back and set that up :-P).

On the 28th we were on the road to Sydney. We took the scenic route and drove through some of the small towns between Canberra and Sydney. Mom and dad liked seeing a little. It of small town Australia.

We found our hotel in Sydney by 2:30 and were into Sydney CBD by 4. It was an interesting journey by bus and train but we got there. I took them down George street all the way to Circular Quay with some stops to do some shopping, including taking advantage of the sales at Lululemon.

We did a loop of Darling Harbour and then it was onto the best sight of all. The Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Mom was suitably impressed and has taken about 100 pictures of both since we've arrived. Not gonna lie, I've taken a few too.

By the time we saw the view from all angles, it was time to get back on the train, then the bus, then walk back to the hotel.

Yesterday we did the Harbour tour on the boat, getting to see the opera house from th Harbour side and viewing the muti-million dollar homes that line the Harbour on both sides. We also did a tour of the opera house and even got to go in the Concert Hall. Next, we went to the botanical gardens to scope out our New Years seating area and make a plan to get the best seats for the fireworks tomorrow.

Today we went up Sydney tower to get a bird's eye view. Mom really enjoyed getting a 360 view of the parts of Sydney we haven't been to yet. Next, we went down to the Rocks for a walking tour and some shopping. We learned about the early history of Sydney and the impact of the convicts, soldiers and settlers to the new colony. It's amazing how much things have changed in 200 years. Finally, we walked up the Harbour Bridge Pylons. The view was amazing and may have actually been better than the Bridge Climb I did two years ago. The picture I got was definitely better as the opera house actually made it. We had a fantastic dinner at Lowenbrau in the Rocks. Dad swears the pork knuckle and sauerkraut is some of the best he ever had (sorry Grandma). Now we are sitting in the hotel room preparing for our day in the botanical garden to wait for the fireworks. The pictures in the next couple of days should show how successful we were in getting prime spots to view them.

Happy New Year everyone!

The beginnings of Lake Eyre, the largest lake in Australia

Amazing! That about sums up the 3 days at Uluru (Ayer's Rock). Mom, Dad and I hopped on a plane early on the Monday after school ended flew into the very heart of Australia a.k.a. the Red Centre. After some delays in the Sydney airport, and a 3 hour flight over red desert and countless salt lakes, we finally landed in the scorching heat of mid-afternoon. A balmy 37 degrees Celsius folks! Our first stop, after renting our beautiful Holden Commodore (yay for AC), was our home for the next 3 nights, the Emu Walk Apartments.

Still Lake Eyre

The Apartments are part of the Ayers Rock Resort which was built in the mid-1980s, 20 kms away from the rock itself. This was to stop a potential environmental disaster as hotels and an airstrip had materialized right next to the rock itself as tourism had become more popular in this region. This threatened the water supply (which I will get to later) and the wildlife. The Resort boasts 6 hotels, a campground, 3 swimming pools (which can be used by any guests of the resort), a shopping square, various art galleries and restaurants. One hotel, Longitude 161 is actually a bunch of outsized tents that cost $1000/person per night. We did not stay there.

The first view of Ayers Rock (Uluru)

After buying some groceries to have dinner, we headed off to the Camel farm to begin our sunset camel ride. This was awesome. We had a beautiful night (the best of our three nights) in which to watch the sun change the colors of Uluru and Kata Tjuta (the Olgas). After the camel ride, we were invited back for wine, beer and bush tucker. While eating, a young, red kangaroo made a bounding appearance in our midst. His mother had been done in by a truck but the joey had been saved and was now a pet of the camel farm. He was very friendly and enjoyed the attention he was given by us tourists.

The airport at Ayers Rock

Mom and Ayers Rock

The other camel train in front of Uluru

Gorgeous sunsets

Baby camels

Mom petting her first kangaroo

The next morning we spent in a Cessna. Our pilot, Andrew, took us on a 40 minute joyride around the two monoliths of Uluru and Kata Tjuta. The aerial view was amazing and was Dad's favorite part of the trip. We got a bird's eyeview of not only the rocks but the resort, the aboriginal settlement, Mt. Connor to the east, and the MacDonnell Ranges.

Kata Tjuta (the Olgas)

After our airplane ride, we drove out to Curtin Springs, an actual working cattle station (ranch). This ranch is over a million acres in size and encompasses another monolith Mt. Connor (a.k.a. Fool-uru because when driving from Alice Springs people see Mt. Connor and think it is their first glimpse of Uluru). Though we were unable to see much of the ranch, they had a restaurant so we had a drink, stopped to use the bathroom (Mom thought it was hilarious that they labelled them Sheilas and Blokes) and headed back to the resort. Mom actually took all of our lives into her hands and drove. She figured straight roads and nothing to hit but desert would keep everyone safe. We survived the odyssey and Mom is now very proud of the experience (though she still refused to drive in Canberra).

The red sand with Mt. Connor in the distance

That afternoon, Mom and I headed out to Kata Tjuta. Dad stayed behind because the temperature had hit 40 degrees. Mom and I probably should have stayed in the air conditioned room but being the stupid Canadians that we are (having only dealt with -40 temperatures and not being fazed) we began a 40 minute hike into the heart of Kata Tjuta. Though this sounds ominous, it really is amazing how much water there is within the monolith. There were literally streams and small ponds of it. It is no wonder why the aboriginal people of the region regard the site as holy. Unfortunately for Mom, the amount of water did not mean the temperature went down. Mom overheated on our trip back to the car and we had to pour out our water bottles onto her to complete the journey. Once back into the air conditioned car, Mom revived and we made the 30 minute car ride back into the resort.

The night, after a wonderful dinner of roasted chicken and potatoes, Mom and I headed off for a resort activity. A young lady whose husband is a chef at the resort, took a few guests out to a lookout in the middle of the resort to watch the sunset. The view was perfect as you had Uluru out to the left and Kata Tjuta out to the right. We were very lucky as on this night a storm rolled through. I even got a photo of lightning striking over Uluru. I was first of all the photographers there to get one. I also happen to think that it is the best. The sunset was spectacular with all of the clouds blazing in the sun's final rays.

The storm rolls in

Sunset behind Kata Tjuta

The next morning we were up very early to watch the sunrise. There were actually quite a few of us up that early to feast our eyes on the glory of one of nature's finest shows. With the sun behind us, Uluru and Kata Tjuta slowly lit up from darkness, to pink, to orange. This is something everyone must see in their lifetime.

The rest of the day was spent getting a close up view of Uluru. We made our way to the cultural centre which gave information about why Uluru is sacred to the aboriginals and how they were able to survive out in the middle of nowhere. Though it looks very green, this is a product of above average rainfall over the last couple of years. Usually the land is red and orange. Though the pictures don't let you experience the oven of the red centre, I can only say, how the aboriginals survived out here?, I truly don't know. After 3 days spent out here, I only have the deepest respect for this group of aboriginal peoples. I wouldn't want to live out here for any amount of time and they did it for tens of thousands of years before the white man came.

After a quick tour through the cultural centre, we met up with a park ranger (who I am fairly certain has been inducted as a member of the Anangu people) to do a portion of the Base Walk. Tim, our guide, was very knowledgeable about the people and the land. We learned about hunting, gathering, the education of the young, and the historical and geographical importance of Uluru. Amazingly, we also witnessed one of the great sights, waterfalls off Uluru. Though this has become a little more common in the last couple of years, it is still a spectacular sight and people who see it are supposed to have good luck (like seeing Tower Bridge open in London). He even gave us some insight into travelling in the region. As the crow flies, Kata Tjuta is 35km west of Uluru. Approximately a 20 minute car ride in these times. When you ask an Anangu elder how long a trip it is, or even how to get there the answer is a finger pointing north and 4 fingers, meaning four days. The Anangu people would have never walked straight to the Olgas as it was too hot and too far. You would die before you got there. Instead they go water hole, but water hole which is a longer distance, but much safer. Even now, there are many cars strewn along the highways of Central Australia, but they are left there as scrap piles in case someone else has car trouble and they need parts. It is definitely a very different way of thinking out here.

The route up Uluru. It is closed for the summer
months as it is too dangerous to climb in the heat.
You are highly discouraged from climbing as it is dangerous,
and a sacred journey from boyhood into manhood for the Anangu.