September 21 Monday I walked down to the Market street post office and mailed off a package to home. Postage: $100. That hurts and I still have too much stuff with me. I went to the Maritime Museum which was rather small and I went through it quickly. There was an exhibition on the history of the bikini, which was not as exciting as it might sound. They have three or four vessels that you can tour, but they all cost additional and so I gave them a miss. Next I went up to the Observatory and spent nearly an hour there, seeing the old telescopes and other things there. The caretaker was a friendly, but monstrously overweight man. Then as I was walking back to Asylum, I ran into Jon, my Scottish travelmate from earlier in my trip. One of the guys in the hostel said they had seen him, so it was not a complete shock to see him. We talked for a bit and he said he would join Danny and I when we got something to eat later in the evening. At about 6pm the three of us got together, but finding a place to please a Scottish, Korean, and American palate was not easy. We ended up at a pizza parlor, which was fine and cheap. Jon has decided to head back home within a week, instead of staying until November as he had planned earlier. Danny is excited about his new job. He said the first day went well, but he is worried about being lonely in Sydney. There are not very many Koreans here.
September 22 Tuesday I got up at 5:55, did my final bit of packing, slid my key under the reception door, dropped off my linens and went to the shuttle bus pickup spot. I ate my two bananas and an apple while waiting. There were only a couple other people in the bus, but we made many more stops and were full when we arrived at the airport. The many stops took longer than I was comfortable with and I kept watching the clock. My flight was at 8:50am, but it was an international one and in theory I should be there two hours early. I checked my bag at 7:35 and they got on the radio saying they were closing my flight after me. So anyone getting there later would not be allowed to fly. That was a big relief for me. I had an isle seat so did not get to see much during the flight and it was overcast when we arrived in Christchurch. I changed the 21 Australian dollars I still had to New Zealand dollars and caught a shuttle to the city center. My arrangement with the Dumbles, who I was to couchsurf with, was that I could arrive after 5pm. That meant I had nearly three hours to explore. Normally that would be plenty to do something, but I had my pack, my daypack and another bag, so I did not venture very far. I changed some more money and at 5 caught a bus heading towards the suburb of Opawa. Thankfully the directions the Dumbles had sent me were very good and I got off at the right stop and had a short walk to their house. They showed me my room which is a cottage by the garage. Very nice, private space with its own bathroom. Their daughter Maddie is 4 and like most small children likes to be the center of attention. Her grandmother was having a birthday and they were there to celebrate it with the Dumbles, but Maddie wanted everyone to know that even if it was grandmas day to be the star, she was still the second star. There is a two hour time difference between Australia and New Zealand and I had gotten up earlier than usually this morning, so after a while I headed out to the cottage, read for a bit and went to bed.
September 23 Wednesday I walked all over CHCH today, starting from the Opawa suburb where I'm staying at the moment, through an industrial section, moving along the south end of the city center, visiting backpackers (and finding a person who is leaving tomorrow to tour the country), most of the three city walks, the botanical gardens, the Museum, the main Art gallery, and other places. It was overcast all day and actually rained off and on, but I always had somewhere to duck into when it did. I was just finishing the Botanical Gardens when the first showers hit and so I spend some time in the Canterbury Museum. I liked the Around the World Backpackers and will probably go back there to stay once I leave the Dumble's. I met up with another person I had contacted through Couchsurfing, Alice, for smoothies and conversation. She is working with World Vision in public relations and has done quite a bit of volunteering/traveling. After that I met up with the potential travel partner who is leaving tomorrow. She had been on a day trip and we were both hungry so over some sub sandwiches we talked about the plans she had and how it might work for the two of us. She also had one other person to meet before making a decision. She could only take one more person. She promised to call later that evening to let me know yes or no. It turned out to be no. So I will keep looking at options.
September 24 Thursday I walked into town again, made a reservation for four nights at Around the World, and talked to four different rental companies about vehicles. Then I went to the library and did some number crunching. I had a really good quote for a Spaceship and it looked better and better as I worked the numbers, so I went back and booked it. It is a long term relocation and because I got it in Sept it still falls under their off season rate structure. If I had had to start in October the best rate I could hope for would be NZ$75 per day. I got it for NZ$25 per day. Now if I can find someone to share some fuel expenses it will work out even better, but I have the freedom to do just what I want if I choose. And because it is a space ship it has a bed, frig, cooker, etc for less than renting a car would be. Too bad Gabe is still trying to work up the nerve to join me. Come on, the travelings fine, Gabe. (Get well soon, back, I want to have a good friend to share my journey.
September 25 Friday After breakfast, when Maddie and her mom had left for kindy and squash, I left the couchsurfing experience behind and walked the 2+ miles to Around the World Backpackers, where I had made my reservation. Four nights at NZ$20/night. This is a smaller hostel run by a family living on the premises. It has free internet (non free wireless which I am not using, it is expensive), a large cd/dvd library (I ripped a few cd's using the free computer and my flashdrive), a nice kitchen, big backyard (too cold to hang out there yet anyway), small library/book exchange, etc. All the things that make a hostel nice. The dorms are only four beds each so that is also nicer than staying in a 16 bed dorm to get the cheapest rate. Even though it was just after 10 I could check right into my room. I walked to the address (across town) that indicated the nearest SDA church just to see where it was. The building had no signs on it and was locked up, but looked more like an office building than a church. I picked up some potato noodles for my dinner and they were very spicy. The texture was different from what I expected and they are not my favorite, but that could just be a mistake in how I prepared them. Earlier in the day I also sent a few emails to the Chinese embassy to make sure I can get the correct visa there. Just like with the Brazilian info I got a few days ago, it would cost me $160 as a US citizen, but only $60 as a swiss citizen. I also started looking into a side project that John Hemphill had given me to try and get a birth certificate for his grandfather. I now have the address and will stop by the Christchurch office of records on Monday.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
September 16 Wednesday We got up early again for sunrise, and again it was nice, but not what Geoff had been hoping for. We got back, had a quick breakfast, loaded the van with our bags and all the trash/recyclables, and cleaned the floors of the kitchen, bathrooms, and bunkhouses. Before leaving the park completely we stopped at the Ranger station and were given certificates for having served the park as volunteers. We also stopped at the art wherehouse to pick up a few more pieces for other people. I took the opportunity to get mine wrapped in bubble wrap. We stopped in Yulara again to get fuel then drove on to Alice Springs. It took a while longer than before because there were some heavy dust storms and visibility went to near zero several times. Our brief lunch stop was an adventure just keeping things from blowing away in the hard wind. I got dropped off at Haven (my hostel) and we had all agreed to meet at the restaurant in Annies Place in the evening for a sendoff. In Alice I walked over to Anzac Hill and took several pictures of graffiti, then walked down to the other end of town where I had seen some other graffiti. It was already getting dark and I found the place. It was at a youth center and there was a large group of teens playing rugby. I was on the property when a man accosted me and demanded to know what I was doing. We got it straightened out quickly, but they were definitely concerned about people just walking onto the property and their intentions towards the kids (sad state of the world when this is the case, but not really surprising). Most of the CVA volunteers got together for food and drinks at Annie's Place. We had a nice time once more and said our goodbyes for the most part. Several of us will meet in the airport again tomorrow.
September 17 Thursday The three other people in my room got up and left at 5:30am. They are part of a tour group coming from Darwin south. The girl had scattered her underwear all over the bathroom last night. I went back to sleep until almost 7:30. Then I had a simple breakfast of bread and jam, checked out of my room and waited in the lobby until the shuttle came to take me (and seven others) to the airport at 10:30. I spent the time reading (and realized I did not get a picture of my room at Haven – doh!). Once at the airport it did not take long before I saw Danny, Derek, Gary and Janet. Later after making it through the check in process we also met up with Gillian, Vita and Mei. My bag was one kilo over the limit so they charged me $10. I would not have known what to take out to get it under the limit because my carry on was really full. Those of us from CVA talked and exchanged email addresses and other things, including sandwiches until our flights started boarding. Five people were going to Melbourne on the same plane (and Danny was continuing on to Sydney later in the afternoon. One had a direct flight to Sydney, and Mei and I were on the same plane to Adelaide (but Mei was staying there while I was continuing to Sydney). Danny and I made arrangements to meet on Sunday for lunch. We all said our goodbyes and I got on my plane. There was a slight rain storm as we left Alice Springs and that translated into a lot of turbulence, so the trip was much like a good roller coaster. I enjoyed it and could continue reading, but I did not get to see much of the landscape from the air and my window seat was kind of wasted. My bag was checked straight through to Sydney, so I just had to wait for my plane in Adelaide. The flight to Sydney was uneventful and we arrived five minutes ahead of schedule. Airlines seem to have it in for backpackers. My bag came through and it wasn't until I was already walking out of the terminal that I realized that my tent was not attached to my bag. Why they had to remove it is beyond me, but I had to go back and pick it up from the luggage carousel. Nothing else seems to be missing. I caught a shuttle with six old people and two business types into the city. I was the last one dropped off. Got checked in at Asylum, but it was too late by then to get the free dinner, so I went to Coles to pick up some food for the next few days. I am almost out of Australian money and do not want to change more, but should be okay. I do not need much. I checked my budget and I did not manage to save anything while in Australia. I don't expect I'll be able to in New Zealand either, but after that things should be quite cheap for several countries.
September 18 Friday I spent some time getting my notes together and uploading pictures to Scott's server, but did not get my notes posted and the internet was down later when I tried. It just turned into a rather lazy day and that was fine with me.
September 19 Sabbath I walked to the Woolhara church this morning. I did not take a map, but followed essentially the same route as when I was here a month ago. Sabbath school, church, and a nice potluck all awaited me. The only downside was at the potluck an Indian man sat at my table and was non-stop jabbering about one conspiracy after another, which I as an America was supposed to confirm or deny for him. He gave me his email (I did not give him mine) and I do not plan to contact him. His ideas were so wild that I just tuned him out very soon after he joined the table, but he was persistent. As potluck was winding down, the Pathfinders were gathering to join Pathfinders from all over the greater Sydney area for a Drug Free Sydney Harbor Bridge walk. I was talking with one of the parents involved, having a really nice discussion about Adventism (he was not born into the church and we were comparing viewpoints from inside and outside) and he invited me to join the walk. I did not have anything really planned so I said yes. We drove across to the north side of the bridge and walked across with close to a thousand Pathfinders and like-minded people. It was late afternoon and the wind on the bridge made it rather chilly, but it was nice to do the whole Bridge. Before I had only gone to the first set of towers which had the observation deck and then gone back. I walked back to Asylum on my own. Again, while walking down a major street I got 'props' for my facial hair. That is an ongoing thing. People somehow feel compelled to tell me that they love my beard (it was a Abe Lincoln chinstrap style), or now goatee. The Taiwanese girls all were fascinated and wanted to see what I looked like without some of it, which was part of the reason I went down to the goatee. I'll let it grow again. But it has happened far more than I ever expected and people aren't shy about commenting or wanting to touch it.
September 20 Sunday Another nice big free breakfast of toast, fruit and a cereal suicide with yoghurt instead of milk. I met Danny at noon at the King's Cross Coles and we walked down to Chinatown, had some lunch at a Thai place near where he is living and then wandered over to a Brazilian culture festival at Darling Harbor. There was music, a small parade went through while we were there, and many booths, some with info and merchandise, but most selling Brazilian food stuffs. I talked to the people manning the embassy booth and discovered that because of reciprocal treatment of US citizens trying to visit Brazil, to how Brazilians are treated entering the US, it costs $270 for a visa. But the same regulation means that using my Swiss passport I can enter for free. Danny had to leave to meet some other friends and I went back to Paddy's market, picking up some apples and bananas. Back at Asylum I watched Blades of Glory with a group of people from the hostel. Danny stopped by again and we said we would meet tomorrow night to say goodbye. The internet was not working properly so I was able to upload some to Scott's server, but not post anything to my blog or access my email. Everyone in the hostel has been getting frustrated with the spotty internet usability. Several people were watching a remake (it must be a for TV version) of Michael Crichton's Andromeda Strain, which was laughable. I remember vaguely enjoying the book, but the other movie made from it was also rather goofy. The endings of many of his books are not satisfying to me, I've found.
September 17 Thursday The three other people in my room got up and left at 5:30am. They are part of a tour group coming from Darwin south. The girl had scattered her underwear all over the bathroom last night. I went back to sleep until almost 7:30. Then I had a simple breakfast of bread and jam, checked out of my room and waited in the lobby until the shuttle came to take me (and seven others) to the airport at 10:30. I spent the time reading (and realized I did not get a picture of my room at Haven – doh!). Once at the airport it did not take long before I saw Danny, Derek, Gary and Janet. Later after making it through the check in process we also met up with Gillian, Vita and Mei. My bag was one kilo over the limit so they charged me $10. I would not have known what to take out to get it under the limit because my carry on was really full. Those of us from CVA talked and exchanged email addresses and other things, including sandwiches until our flights started boarding. Five people were going to Melbourne on the same plane (and Danny was continuing on to Sydney later in the afternoon. One had a direct flight to Sydney, and Mei and I were on the same plane to Adelaide (but Mei was staying there while I was continuing to Sydney). Danny and I made arrangements to meet on Sunday for lunch. We all said our goodbyes and I got on my plane. There was a slight rain storm as we left Alice Springs and that translated into a lot of turbulence, so the trip was much like a good roller coaster. I enjoyed it and could continue reading, but I did not get to see much of the landscape from the air and my window seat was kind of wasted. My bag was checked straight through to Sydney, so I just had to wait for my plane in Adelaide. The flight to Sydney was uneventful and we arrived five minutes ahead of schedule. Airlines seem to have it in for backpackers. My bag came through and it wasn't until I was already walking out of the terminal that I realized that my tent was not attached to my bag. Why they had to remove it is beyond me, but I had to go back and pick it up from the luggage carousel. Nothing else seems to be missing. I caught a shuttle with six old people and two business types into the city. I was the last one dropped off. Got checked in at Asylum, but it was too late by then to get the free dinner, so I went to Coles to pick up some food for the next few days. I am almost out of Australian money and do not want to change more, but should be okay. I do not need much. I checked my budget and I did not manage to save anything while in Australia. I don't expect I'll be able to in New Zealand either, but after that things should be quite cheap for several countries.
September 18 Friday I spent some time getting my notes together and uploading pictures to Scott's server, but did not get my notes posted and the internet was down later when I tried. It just turned into a rather lazy day and that was fine with me.
September 19 Sabbath I walked to the Woolhara church this morning. I did not take a map, but followed essentially the same route as when I was here a month ago. Sabbath school, church, and a nice potluck all awaited me. The only downside was at the potluck an Indian man sat at my table and was non-stop jabbering about one conspiracy after another, which I as an America was supposed to confirm or deny for him. He gave me his email (I did not give him mine) and I do not plan to contact him. His ideas were so wild that I just tuned him out very soon after he joined the table, but he was persistent. As potluck was winding down, the Pathfinders were gathering to join Pathfinders from all over the greater Sydney area for a Drug Free Sydney Harbor Bridge walk. I was talking with one of the parents involved, having a really nice discussion about Adventism (he was not born into the church and we were comparing viewpoints from inside and outside) and he invited me to join the walk. I did not have anything really planned so I said yes. We drove across to the north side of the bridge and walked across with close to a thousand Pathfinders and like-minded people. It was late afternoon and the wind on the bridge made it rather chilly, but it was nice to do the whole Bridge. Before I had only gone to the first set of towers which had the observation deck and then gone back. I walked back to Asylum on my own. Again, while walking down a major street I got 'props' for my facial hair. That is an ongoing thing. People somehow feel compelled to tell me that they love my beard (it was a Abe Lincoln chinstrap style), or now goatee. The Taiwanese girls all were fascinated and wanted to see what I looked like without some of it, which was part of the reason I went down to the goatee. I'll let it grow again. But it has happened far more than I ever expected and people aren't shy about commenting or wanting to touch it.
September 20 Sunday Another nice big free breakfast of toast, fruit and a cereal suicide with yoghurt instead of milk. I met Danny at noon at the King's Cross Coles and we walked down to Chinatown, had some lunch at a Thai place near where he is living and then wandered over to a Brazilian culture festival at Darling Harbor. There was music, a small parade went through while we were there, and many booths, some with info and merchandise, but most selling Brazilian food stuffs. I talked to the people manning the embassy booth and discovered that because of reciprocal treatment of US citizens trying to visit Brazil, to how Brazilians are treated entering the US, it costs $270 for a visa. But the same regulation means that using my Swiss passport I can enter for free. Danny had to leave to meet some other friends and I went back to Paddy's market, picking up some apples and bananas. Back at Asylum I watched Blades of Glory with a group of people from the hostel. Danny stopped by again and we said we would meet tomorrow night to say goodbye. The internet was not working properly so I was able to upload some to Scott's server, but not post anything to my blog or access my email. Everyone in the hostel has been getting frustrated with the spotty internet usability. Several people were watching a remake (it must be a for TV version) of Michael Crichton's Andromeda Strain, which was laughable. I remember vaguely enjoying the book, but the other movie made from it was also rather goofy. The endings of many of his books are not satisfying to me, I've found.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
September 11 Friday It is funny. In South Africa, the group came up with the Stump the Austin game. Now I've acquired the name Austin Library. As in “Is the Austin Library open?” whenever one of the Taiwanese have a question on pronunciation or grammatical English, or any other question for that matter. They are all a fun group. They love taking pictures of each other. They are all hard workers. And I am happy to answer their questions. In particular I have a lot in common with Derek and we talk quite a bit. He has similar tastes in music/movies/many other things. We had a long conversation one evening, where he said the Taiwanese all liked me and how he could tell I had inner peace, which is something he finds rare in the people around him and which he is seeking. He does volunteer at a temple back at home and that is a place where he finds peace.
September 12 Sabbath. Thank God for the little things. On Monday when we started out we were told we would have one day off and it was scheduled for Saturday. Then they got the weather forecast and it looked like Sunday would be hotter and they tentatively changed it to have Sunday off and we would work on Sabbath. Well, I talked to Jeffrey and he said we could work something out no matter what happened, but as it turns out on Friday the updated forecast had a very hot Sabbath and an much cooler Sunday, so we are having our day off today. That means we get to go to Kata Tjuta. But first we walked around Uluru in one three hour loop. We have seen segments each day, but this was the whole thing. We had a relaxed middle of the day and in the early afternoon we headed to Kata Tjuta. Kata Tjuta is much less developed and still fairly private for the Aboriginals. There are only a couple walking tracks and we did the main one through the Valley of the Wind (which truly lives up to its name). The aboriginals believe the wind is the voices of their ancestors. The formations at Kata Tjuta are similar to Uluru, but the rock is much more intermixed with other mineral deposits, which is why the erosion has happened much faster here than at the Rock. Uluru seems to be a much purer iron ore base, slowly rusting away. We were supposed to go generally together as a group on this walk, but somehow the group got split in two with four of us heading west around the loop and the rest going east around the loop. So we met halfway around on the back side. And Janet lived up to her quickly solidifying reputation: she got all sullen when I did not want to walk with her back around the half of the walk I had already done, instead of getting to do the whole loop. Sorry, but I wanted to do the whole walk, not keep her company. The clouds and setting sun conspired to make a fantastic work of art on the horizon as we finished up our walk. Back at camp we had a great dinner of burgers and salad.
September 13 Sunday Our extra excursion today was to the Maluru Art wherehouse. Their gallery at the cultural center is only so big and everything else is stored at the wherehouse. There are thousands of carvings and tools, but not nearly as many paintings as I had hoped. But I did find a very beautiful piece and snagged it early on. In the gallery at the cultural center are three pieces I would love to have, but they are all over $2000. This was quite a bit smaller, but also in a price range I can justify.
September 14 Monday We got up at 5:55 to try and catch a sunrise, but the clouds did not cooperate. It was still beautiful, but just not we had hoped for. We still have two more chances. Work was again productive and Danny made a special dinner of kimbop, korean sushi.
September 15 Tuesday Our last day in the field. By the end of the day we had a week total of 263 bags of buffle removed and the equivalent area of 3.499 square kilometers cleared. That put us as the second highest group this year. There is only one session remaining. Not that it is a competition, but it felt good to know we had contributed. Derek, Gary, Geoff, and I cleaned out the van, while some of the others started prepping dinner: kebobs. Dinners have all been team efforts and the food was wonderful all the time. We were using up as much of the vegetables and food
September 12 Sabbath. Thank God for the little things. On Monday when we started out we were told we would have one day off and it was scheduled for Saturday. Then they got the weather forecast and it looked like Sunday would be hotter and they tentatively changed it to have Sunday off and we would work on Sabbath. Well, I talked to Jeffrey and he said we could work something out no matter what happened, but as it turns out on Friday the updated forecast had a very hot Sabbath and an much cooler Sunday, so we are having our day off today. That means we get to go to Kata Tjuta. But first we walked around Uluru in one three hour loop. We have seen segments each day, but this was the whole thing. We had a relaxed middle of the day and in the early afternoon we headed to Kata Tjuta. Kata Tjuta is much less developed and still fairly private for the Aboriginals. There are only a couple walking tracks and we did the main one through the Valley of the Wind (which truly lives up to its name). The aboriginals believe the wind is the voices of their ancestors. The formations at Kata Tjuta are similar to Uluru, but the rock is much more intermixed with other mineral deposits, which is why the erosion has happened much faster here than at the Rock. Uluru seems to be a much purer iron ore base, slowly rusting away. We were supposed to go generally together as a group on this walk, but somehow the group got split in two with four of us heading west around the loop and the rest going east around the loop. So we met halfway around on the back side. And Janet lived up to her quickly solidifying reputation: she got all sullen when I did not want to walk with her back around the half of the walk I had already done, instead of getting to do the whole loop. Sorry, but I wanted to do the whole walk, not keep her company. The clouds and setting sun conspired to make a fantastic work of art on the horizon as we finished up our walk. Back at camp we had a great dinner of burgers and salad.
September 13 Sunday Our extra excursion today was to the Maluru Art wherehouse. Their gallery at the cultural center is only so big and everything else is stored at the wherehouse. There are thousands of carvings and tools, but not nearly as many paintings as I had hoped. But I did find a very beautiful piece and snagged it early on. In the gallery at the cultural center are three pieces I would love to have, but they are all over $2000. This was quite a bit smaller, but also in a price range I can justify.
September 14 Monday We got up at 5:55 to try and catch a sunrise, but the clouds did not cooperate. It was still beautiful, but just not we had hoped for. We still have two more chances. Work was again productive and Danny made a special dinner of kimbop, korean sushi.
September 15 Tuesday Our last day in the field. By the end of the day we had a week total of 263 bags of buffle removed and the equivalent area of 3.499 square kilometers cleared. That put us as the second highest group this year. There is only one session remaining. Not that it is a competition, but it felt good to know we had contributed. Derek, Gary, Geoff, and I cleaned out the van, while some of the others started prepping dinner: kebobs. Dinners have all been team efforts and the food was wonderful all the time. We were using up as much of the vegetables and food
September 6 Sunday With our local map and recommendations from our host we set out for the West Macdonnell Ranges. The recommendations were spot on and we had a wonderful day. First we stopped at Standley Chasm and did a few kilometer walk to a scenic lookout and down a dry creekbed, then took the short path to the Chasm itself. We were there early in the morning and were the first people in the canyon. Most of the crowds come between 11 and 1:30, the window when at some point the sun will shine through the narrow gap at the top and flood the canyon walls with light for around 15 minutes. It is a picturesque canyon and the walk to it was quite nice, but it was not overly impressive to either Eva or myself. We then pushed on to near the end of the paved road in the West Macdonnells to a place called Ormiston Gorge. We had been told that the Pound walk was a good one, but when we arrived and considered the 2 ½ hour estimated time and the increasing heat of the day we chose the shorter Ghost Gum walk that included a lookout over the canyon. This turned out to be a nice walk and did not take nearly as long as the park signs had indicated. In the bottom of the canyon were several water holes of various size, but the water seemed rather stagnant and uninviting for a swim. We had another swimming hole in mind anyway. Returning about halfway to Alice Springs we stopped at Ellery's Big Hole and this was a true swimming hole. There were probably 40 people there mostly picnicing in the shade. The water was shockingly cold, but we had been warned about that (and the number of drownings that have resulted from people not paying attention to what the cold does to the human body). It was rather invigorating and I had a good swim. Eva only got in long enough to swim a short distance and be able to say she swam in an Australian watering hole. It was really cold and I do not blame her at all for get back out so quickly. There was only one other guy that seemed to be enjoying the water as much as I was. After my swim we ate our lunches and then went back to Alice Springs.
Our host asked us to help with some yardwork, which we were happy to do, and so we raked eucalyptus leaves and mowed the lawn. After that Eva and I went to the top of Anzac Hill to watch the sunset. It was a beautiful sunset that was slightly muted by the heavy clouds on the horizon. That ended up making it even more spectacular, because there was an unseen gap under the clouds and once the sun reached that point it lit up the clouds with rich reds from underneath. The hill also gives a good view of the city itself. I helped Eva navigate around town to all the backpackers hostels to put up notices for travel mates to continue her trip. She wants to spend some time in this area (there truly are more things to do in Alice Springs than one would imagine and the parks in the area promise a wealth of amazing sights) before continuing up to Darwin. I have been very fortunate to have had two great travel companions over the last month or so. Both Jon and Eva have been great people to get to know and spend time with. We made dinner and talked with our hosts until late in the evening and then turned in for the night. Carl, the son of our host recommended that we find and watch “Samson and Delilah” a newly released film from the Alice Springs area, so I may keep an eye out for that.
September 7 Monday Eva came with me to the orientation so she could get a little information on Conservation Volunteers of Australian for a possible future project instead of just WWOOFing across Australia. After she did that we said our goodbyes and I started meeting the fellow members of our 10 person volunteer group. We have one Australian woman, an English woman, a Korean guy, two Taiwanese guys and four Taiwanese girls and myself. Jeffrey our team leader seems to have boundless energy and a really friendly personality. Everyone seems quite nice, although the Australian woman appears to be like the Mary Ellen character from the Bill Bryson, book I just finished reading (A Walk in the Woods), which is not a compliment. She is the most talkative in the group and has the least intelligent things to say. Sad how that seems to go together in this case. Jeffrey briefed us on different aspects of the project while we drove to Uluru back the same way I had driven with Eva a couple days ago. It was about a five hour drive, which included stops at several lookouts taking in the three Red Center monoliths from a distance (Mt Conner, Uluru and Kata Tjuta). The view for Mt Conner is opposite an enormous dry lake bed that immediately brought to mind that Burning Man was wrapping up and the exodus was surely underway as I gazed over the mind numbing expanse that makes up central Australia. We also stopped once for Jeffrey to drag a kangaroo body off the road. We did this because there were several eagles at the carcass and Jeff told us they are monogamous. If one eagle were to get hit by a car or truck (which was likely in this case), the partner would hang around and very likely join the first in being hit). They are large beautiful birds and it was nice to see more after seeing so many while driving with Eva. Jeff also pointed out several other kites as we drove. We made a short stop at Yulara, the last spot of civilization before entering Uluru National Park. Yulara is 20 kilometers away and it is were everyone visiting the park has to stay. Except us. We are about a kilometer away from the Rock on the side with the best sunrise views. Truly I can say that as spectacular as the pictures of Uluru are from a distance, driving around it at close range is another experience entirely, the scale blows you away and the formations are incredible and vastly different from what I was expecting (but in such a good way). Another bonus we had as we drove in was that an echidna was feasting on ants in the middle of the road. This is quite a rare treat to see them in the first place and during daylight especially. We stopped long enough to make sure it was not run over until a ranger could arrive. He came out with two heavy blankets, tossed them on the echidna and carried it away from the road.
We have comfortable quarters, there is plenty of good food, and while the work will be hard, it looks like it will be quite rewarding and I am looking forward to it. I was on dish duty with Gillian from England after dinner, then I played a game of chess with one of the Taiwanese guys and a couple of games of Chinese checkers (Jump Checkers according to the Taiwanese) with some of the others.
September 8 Tuesday Today was a busy day, starting when we left the ranger compound at 8 am, although we only worked briefly at actual conservation work. First we did a half hour of weed pulling where we could comfortably identify the buffel grass we are trying to remove, then we went on a ranger guided walk on the Mala Trail section of the Uluru circuit. This was an excellent glimpse up close of a small section of the rock with caves, paintings, waterholes and more. Our guide told us the stories behind some of the rock features and the origins of the people who call this area home. One primary story was about a group of Mala men who were performing a ceremony on the top of the rock when a group of men from the Mulga Tree people came to invite them to a ceremony with them. Now apparently there are some hard and fast etiquette rules among the aboriginals and two came into conflict at this point: 1) once a ceremony has been begun it must be completed and 2) no invitation can be refused. So the Mala men who were in the midst of a ceremony already refused the invitation from the Mulga Tree men. This infuriated the Mulga Tree men and they summoned a powerful demon to punish the Mala people. A wise woman saw the demon approaching and went to warn the men, but since women are not allowed to attend men's ceremonies, she was chased off. She also went to warn the Mala women, but was too late and they were mostly killed. When the men realized what was happening it was too late and they fled with the demon pursuing and killing them too. For a long time the Mala stayed away from the rock because of this and it has significance today in that the path that people use when they climb the rock is the path the Mala men had used. This is why it is offensive to the Mala people to have others climbing the rock: it is a constant reminder of a bad memory for their people. The question I still need to ask a ranger is why, if those two aforementioned etiquette rules were known by everyone, did the Mulga Tree men make the first offensive move and interrupt a ceremony that had already begun. Either they did it intentionally to put the Mala people in a no win situation or they were so egotistical and selfish as to not even see their own offense, when their invitation was refused.
Regardless, the Rock is amazing. It is its own ecosystem out here in the semi arid outback, and that eco system is under human attack. There are nearly 400,000 yearly visitors and a quarter of them choose to climb the Rock. Many of those then use the top of the rock as their toilet instead of coming back down the half hour to the real bathrooms. This has created a sanitary problem which will likely close the top of the rock, when the wishes of the aboriginal people for years could not. We spent about 2 hours at the cultural learning center having lunch and learning more about the area. Then it was back to weeding for about a hour before returning to base camp. Gillian and I were on cooking duty for dinner and Geoffrey told us it would be prudent to get some of it prepared now since we had a ranger coming to speak with us about our contribution to the park and then we would be going to a private viewing site for the sunset. The menu called for stir fry chicken and we had already put out the chicken from the freezer in the morning, but we chopped broccoli, peppers, onions, zucchini, and carrots. We also got some garlic ready and cubed some tofu for the vegetarians in the group (there are three/four of us, me, Derek, and Gillian, and Danny who is Korean and only vegetarian because of food allergies.
When the ranger came he explained how the buffle grass got here (it was planted in the early sixties by park personnel to try and stop some erosion problems at that time), how it has spread and why, and how CVA and volunteers like us have been contributing to fixing the problem for the past nine years. He told us that the echidna that we saw yesterday was only the third one seen in close to 20 years in the park. The aboriginals eat them and that is a main reason they are scarce in the area, but they are rare anyway.
September 9 Wednesday We have a routine now. Up at 7 for breakfast, in the van by 8, work on clearing a section of buffle until 10:30, have morning tea (cookies/crackers/apples/oranges), more clearing until about 12:30, break for lunch near the cultural center, another session of work until 3:15 or 3:30 then back to camp. The evenings are mostly free. We usually go to a sunset viewing location and a couple people have cooking duties (and a couple other have clean up afterwards. Geoff said we are the first group he has led out here that has congregated outside in the open common area in the evenings. That is the most comfortable area, so it is surprising that we are the first. He said other groups all holed up in their separate rooms. My initial assessment of the Australian woman has been soundly confirmed. It is one of those things that is so sad it becomes funny. She is oblivious to the goals and aims of the conservation project, doesn't understand what we are supposed to be doing, does what she wants, wants to climb the rock, continually throws out completely random comments that have nothing to do with the the group conversation. It is embarassing. Luckily Geoff is a fantastic example of what Australians can be and so her damage is minimized. She seems to have latched onto me (as boyfriend material) and it is a struggle to make her understand that will never happen. She is as I said before completely oblivious to how she comes across and how other people are responding, to a degree I have never in my life seen. It makes it very clear why she is unemployed back in her home town of Melbourne.
September 10 Thursday Same routine. Gourry and I were cooking for the evening and making curry. We started early and while the rice was easy, the vegetables and curry mix were taking a long time. We all went to view the sunset and Gourry and I decided to turn the stove off, because we would be gone for an hour. I thought we would probably have to cook for a while longer when we returned, but actually there was enough heat in the pot to nicely cook everything and it was perfect once we got back. Did not have to hold up dinner at all.
Our host asked us to help with some yardwork, which we were happy to do, and so we raked eucalyptus leaves and mowed the lawn. After that Eva and I went to the top of Anzac Hill to watch the sunset. It was a beautiful sunset that was slightly muted by the heavy clouds on the horizon. That ended up making it even more spectacular, because there was an unseen gap under the clouds and once the sun reached that point it lit up the clouds with rich reds from underneath. The hill also gives a good view of the city itself. I helped Eva navigate around town to all the backpackers hostels to put up notices for travel mates to continue her trip. She wants to spend some time in this area (there truly are more things to do in Alice Springs than one would imagine and the parks in the area promise a wealth of amazing sights) before continuing up to Darwin. I have been very fortunate to have had two great travel companions over the last month or so. Both Jon and Eva have been great people to get to know and spend time with. We made dinner and talked with our hosts until late in the evening and then turned in for the night. Carl, the son of our host recommended that we find and watch “Samson and Delilah” a newly released film from the Alice Springs area, so I may keep an eye out for that.
September 7 Monday Eva came with me to the orientation so she could get a little information on Conservation Volunteers of Australian for a possible future project instead of just WWOOFing across Australia. After she did that we said our goodbyes and I started meeting the fellow members of our 10 person volunteer group. We have one Australian woman, an English woman, a Korean guy, two Taiwanese guys and four Taiwanese girls and myself. Jeffrey our team leader seems to have boundless energy and a really friendly personality. Everyone seems quite nice, although the Australian woman appears to be like the Mary Ellen character from the Bill Bryson, book I just finished reading (A Walk in the Woods), which is not a compliment. She is the most talkative in the group and has the least intelligent things to say. Sad how that seems to go together in this case. Jeffrey briefed us on different aspects of the project while we drove to Uluru back the same way I had driven with Eva a couple days ago. It was about a five hour drive, which included stops at several lookouts taking in the three Red Center monoliths from a distance (Mt Conner, Uluru and Kata Tjuta). The view for Mt Conner is opposite an enormous dry lake bed that immediately brought to mind that Burning Man was wrapping up and the exodus was surely underway as I gazed over the mind numbing expanse that makes up central Australia. We also stopped once for Jeffrey to drag a kangaroo body off the road. We did this because there were several eagles at the carcass and Jeff told us they are monogamous. If one eagle were to get hit by a car or truck (which was likely in this case), the partner would hang around and very likely join the first in being hit). They are large beautiful birds and it was nice to see more after seeing so many while driving with Eva. Jeff also pointed out several other kites as we drove. We made a short stop at Yulara, the last spot of civilization before entering Uluru National Park. Yulara is 20 kilometers away and it is were everyone visiting the park has to stay. Except us. We are about a kilometer away from the Rock on the side with the best sunrise views. Truly I can say that as spectacular as the pictures of Uluru are from a distance, driving around it at close range is another experience entirely, the scale blows you away and the formations are incredible and vastly different from what I was expecting (but in such a good way). Another bonus we had as we drove in was that an echidna was feasting on ants in the middle of the road. This is quite a rare treat to see them in the first place and during daylight especially. We stopped long enough to make sure it was not run over until a ranger could arrive. He came out with two heavy blankets, tossed them on the echidna and carried it away from the road.
We have comfortable quarters, there is plenty of good food, and while the work will be hard, it looks like it will be quite rewarding and I am looking forward to it. I was on dish duty with Gillian from England after dinner, then I played a game of chess with one of the Taiwanese guys and a couple of games of Chinese checkers (Jump Checkers according to the Taiwanese) with some of the others.
September 8 Tuesday Today was a busy day, starting when we left the ranger compound at 8 am, although we only worked briefly at actual conservation work. First we did a half hour of weed pulling where we could comfortably identify the buffel grass we are trying to remove, then we went on a ranger guided walk on the Mala Trail section of the Uluru circuit. This was an excellent glimpse up close of a small section of the rock with caves, paintings, waterholes and more. Our guide told us the stories behind some of the rock features and the origins of the people who call this area home. One primary story was about a group of Mala men who were performing a ceremony on the top of the rock when a group of men from the Mulga Tree people came to invite them to a ceremony with them. Now apparently there are some hard and fast etiquette rules among the aboriginals and two came into conflict at this point: 1) once a ceremony has been begun it must be completed and 2) no invitation can be refused. So the Mala men who were in the midst of a ceremony already refused the invitation from the Mulga Tree men. This infuriated the Mulga Tree men and they summoned a powerful demon to punish the Mala people. A wise woman saw the demon approaching and went to warn the men, but since women are not allowed to attend men's ceremonies, she was chased off. She also went to warn the Mala women, but was too late and they were mostly killed. When the men realized what was happening it was too late and they fled with the demon pursuing and killing them too. For a long time the Mala stayed away from the rock because of this and it has significance today in that the path that people use when they climb the rock is the path the Mala men had used. This is why it is offensive to the Mala people to have others climbing the rock: it is a constant reminder of a bad memory for their people. The question I still need to ask a ranger is why, if those two aforementioned etiquette rules were known by everyone, did the Mulga Tree men make the first offensive move and interrupt a ceremony that had already begun. Either they did it intentionally to put the Mala people in a no win situation or they were so egotistical and selfish as to not even see their own offense, when their invitation was refused.
Regardless, the Rock is amazing. It is its own ecosystem out here in the semi arid outback, and that eco system is under human attack. There are nearly 400,000 yearly visitors and a quarter of them choose to climb the Rock. Many of those then use the top of the rock as their toilet instead of coming back down the half hour to the real bathrooms. This has created a sanitary problem which will likely close the top of the rock, when the wishes of the aboriginal people for years could not. We spent about 2 hours at the cultural learning center having lunch and learning more about the area. Then it was back to weeding for about a hour before returning to base camp. Gillian and I were on cooking duty for dinner and Geoffrey told us it would be prudent to get some of it prepared now since we had a ranger coming to speak with us about our contribution to the park and then we would be going to a private viewing site for the sunset. The menu called for stir fry chicken and we had already put out the chicken from the freezer in the morning, but we chopped broccoli, peppers, onions, zucchini, and carrots. We also got some garlic ready and cubed some tofu for the vegetarians in the group (there are three/four of us, me, Derek, and Gillian, and Danny who is Korean and only vegetarian because of food allergies.
When the ranger came he explained how the buffle grass got here (it was planted in the early sixties by park personnel to try and stop some erosion problems at that time), how it has spread and why, and how CVA and volunteers like us have been contributing to fixing the problem for the past nine years. He told us that the echidna that we saw yesterday was only the third one seen in close to 20 years in the park. The aboriginals eat them and that is a main reason they are scarce in the area, but they are rare anyway.
September 9 Wednesday We have a routine now. Up at 7 for breakfast, in the van by 8, work on clearing a section of buffle until 10:30, have morning tea (cookies/crackers/apples/oranges), more clearing until about 12:30, break for lunch near the cultural center, another session of work until 3:15 or 3:30 then back to camp. The evenings are mostly free. We usually go to a sunset viewing location and a couple people have cooking duties (and a couple other have clean up afterwards. Geoff said we are the first group he has led out here that has congregated outside in the open common area in the evenings. That is the most comfortable area, so it is surprising that we are the first. He said other groups all holed up in their separate rooms. My initial assessment of the Australian woman has been soundly confirmed. It is one of those things that is so sad it becomes funny. She is oblivious to the goals and aims of the conservation project, doesn't understand what we are supposed to be doing, does what she wants, wants to climb the rock, continually throws out completely random comments that have nothing to do with the the group conversation. It is embarassing. Luckily Geoff is a fantastic example of what Australians can be and so her damage is minimized. She seems to have latched onto me (as boyfriend material) and it is a struggle to make her understand that will never happen. She is as I said before completely oblivious to how she comes across and how other people are responding, to a degree I have never in my life seen. It makes it very clear why she is unemployed back in her home town of Melbourne.
September 10 Thursday Same routine. Gourry and I were cooking for the evening and making curry. We started early and while the rice was easy, the vegetables and curry mix were taking a long time. We all went to view the sunset and Gourry and I decided to turn the stove off, because we would be gone for an hour. I thought we would probably have to cook for a while longer when we returned, but actually there was enough heat in the pot to nicely cook everything and it was perfect once we got back. Did not have to hold up dinner at all.
September 1 Tuesday Did further explorations of Adelaide on foot, visiting the main Art Gallery and the main Museum in the city as well as the cricket stadium, some of the northern suburbs, and half of the botanical gardens. This was my favorite botanical garden in Australia, mainly because this is the first that really had flowers in bloom. Almost every town has at least one, often many gardens (ie parks in American English), but up until now the plants have been largely dormant and spring has sprung here, so it is beautiful. I also found the requisite graffiti in back alleys for my photo collection. I checked again in the nearby hostels to see if anyone is traveling to Alice Springs, but did not find anything. With the plan in mind to give that search a couple more days, I booked two additional nights at the YHA. A small group from the hostel went out for pizza in the evening, including two of my new roommates from Germany.
September 2 Wednesday After breakfast, I walked to a travel agency several blocks away where I had seen an ad for train tickets to Alice Springs for $160. On my way I stopped in a hostel I had not checked yesterday and there was a posting from a girl looking for someone to drive with her to Darwin. I called her immediately and we talked briefly and set up a time to meet in the afternoon to talk about it and see if we could work together. So I was feeling a lot better and went to the travel agency. They told me that Greyhound had cancelled all their buses to Alice Springs as of Sept 1, which would have been a bit of shocking news if I had booked a ticket already (and I almost had on several occasions). The train fare I had seen would not work for me because of the dates I needed to arrive in Alice, but she offered me two options $210 with another bus company that included a stay underground at Coober Pedy or a plane for $119. The plane fare was the cheapest/fastest option I had seen yet, but since I am already flying back from Alice Springs, I really wanted to see the route from ground level in at least one direction. I told her I would likely be back in the afternoon. I went back to the YHA and read for a bit then headed to Chinatown to meet Eva near Coles. A few minutes after our appointed time she came. She had waited at the other entrance of the store for a bit before deciding to check where I was. I almost had done the same, but nonetheless we connected. We picked a little coffee shop and she had coffee while I ate a muffin. She has been WWOOFing in several cities for about 6 months and wants to apply to stay for another year. But she was taking some time out to travel the country and I was the first passenger she would be taking. She is also a Couchsurfer, so we had that in common. We decided that we both felt comfortable with each other and would plan to leave Friday morning. She had a contact in Alice Springs (friends of people she was working for earlier) that was expecting her by the end of the weekend, which worked for both of us time wise. I told her I was planning to borrow a bike and ride to the beach in the morning and she said she wanted to do that as well, so we arranged to meet about 9 and bring anyone else who was interested. After we parted, I immediately got in touch with Jon and told him I had a ride so he was free to take off when ever he got his situation squared away.
September 3 Thursday I had a great day. I picked up a free bike rental a block from my hostel and Eva came over with a bike from her hostel. Just like our first meeting we each waited on opposite sides of our planned meeting building before finding each other. No one else had wanted to make the ride with us. The two of us headed west out of the city along the river to the ocean. The path along the river is wonderful. One of the best things about Adelaide is its park space – there is so much of it, by design. When the city planners developed the layout they put a ring of parkland around the city center so that if ever attacked they could use that as a defensible space. Of course that has not happened and the resulting parkspace is something special. We walked along the beach for a stretch and Eva found a large lizard (reminded me of a gila monster, but not poisonous) which I got pictures of and picked up. She said they were common around the farm area where she was working before. By the time we returned to the city we had done about 40kms in wonderfully mild weather. Eva is a very level headed young woman and it was fun to talk with her. I think the next couple days will be fun traveling together.
September 4 Friday Eva came and picked me up at 9 am just across the street from the bus terminal and we began our journey to the Red Center. We did not have many places to stop or reasons to. Once we got past Port Augusta there were only roadhouses every 100-150 kilometers and that was pretty much it. We did spend nearly two hours walking around Port Augusta, more time than either of us realized. It was a pleasant city to walk in and it got us out of the car for some lunch and needed leg stretching. Then we pushed on and made it to Coober Pedy right around 8pm. Coober Pedy is the aboriginal name meaning White Man's Hole in the Ground. The claim to fame for this region is that (depending on which source you believe) 50 to 80% of the opal supply for the world comes from right here. The surroundings are festooned with the mounds of tailings and it does have a distinctly other worldly look, which is why the area was used for much of the filming of the Mad Max movies that made Mel Gibson a known name. Our hostel was indeed underground and Eva and I were half of the total staying for the night. We took quite a few pictures of the subterranean facilities. The older man who was running the place was an amusing Australian and very helpful. We had put in about 850 kms for the day so we went to bed pretty soon after getting there (that put us just over half way to Alice Springs). We had been on the lookout all day for Red Kangaroos, the largest of the kangaroo family, but the only living things we saw were a few emus. There where the normal roadkill to evidence that creatures do live in this inhospitable environment somehow.
September 5 Sabbath We got up at 6:30 knowing we had a long day ahead and probably a hot one as well. There is very little between Coober Pedy and Alice Springs, other than roadhouses, so it was a steady slog through the bright sun for another 700 kilometers. Eva is quite pleasant company and we talked about many different things. Once we arrived in Alice Springs, we went straight to the information center (which was closed early on the weekend), so Eva called the lady she was supposed to stay with and got directions to her house and also asked if I could stay there for two nights. That was no problem and really helps me out. Fantastic. The family are friends of another family that Eva was doing some WWOOFing work for. They have a nice house and we helped make dinner together before going to bed early.
September 2 Wednesday After breakfast, I walked to a travel agency several blocks away where I had seen an ad for train tickets to Alice Springs for $160. On my way I stopped in a hostel I had not checked yesterday and there was a posting from a girl looking for someone to drive with her to Darwin. I called her immediately and we talked briefly and set up a time to meet in the afternoon to talk about it and see if we could work together. So I was feeling a lot better and went to the travel agency. They told me that Greyhound had cancelled all their buses to Alice Springs as of Sept 1, which would have been a bit of shocking news if I had booked a ticket already (and I almost had on several occasions). The train fare I had seen would not work for me because of the dates I needed to arrive in Alice, but she offered me two options $210 with another bus company that included a stay underground at Coober Pedy or a plane for $119. The plane fare was the cheapest/fastest option I had seen yet, but since I am already flying back from Alice Springs, I really wanted to see the route from ground level in at least one direction. I told her I would likely be back in the afternoon. I went back to the YHA and read for a bit then headed to Chinatown to meet Eva near Coles. A few minutes after our appointed time she came. She had waited at the other entrance of the store for a bit before deciding to check where I was. I almost had done the same, but nonetheless we connected. We picked a little coffee shop and she had coffee while I ate a muffin. She has been WWOOFing in several cities for about 6 months and wants to apply to stay for another year. But she was taking some time out to travel the country and I was the first passenger she would be taking. She is also a Couchsurfer, so we had that in common. We decided that we both felt comfortable with each other and would plan to leave Friday morning. She had a contact in Alice Springs (friends of people she was working for earlier) that was expecting her by the end of the weekend, which worked for both of us time wise. I told her I was planning to borrow a bike and ride to the beach in the morning and she said she wanted to do that as well, so we arranged to meet about 9 and bring anyone else who was interested. After we parted, I immediately got in touch with Jon and told him I had a ride so he was free to take off when ever he got his situation squared away.
September 3 Thursday I had a great day. I picked up a free bike rental a block from my hostel and Eva came over with a bike from her hostel. Just like our first meeting we each waited on opposite sides of our planned meeting building before finding each other. No one else had wanted to make the ride with us. The two of us headed west out of the city along the river to the ocean. The path along the river is wonderful. One of the best things about Adelaide is its park space – there is so much of it, by design. When the city planners developed the layout they put a ring of parkland around the city center so that if ever attacked they could use that as a defensible space. Of course that has not happened and the resulting parkspace is something special. We walked along the beach for a stretch and Eva found a large lizard (reminded me of a gila monster, but not poisonous) which I got pictures of and picked up. She said they were common around the farm area where she was working before. By the time we returned to the city we had done about 40kms in wonderfully mild weather. Eva is a very level headed young woman and it was fun to talk with her. I think the next couple days will be fun traveling together.
September 4 Friday Eva came and picked me up at 9 am just across the street from the bus terminal and we began our journey to the Red Center. We did not have many places to stop or reasons to. Once we got past Port Augusta there were only roadhouses every 100-150 kilometers and that was pretty much it. We did spend nearly two hours walking around Port Augusta, more time than either of us realized. It was a pleasant city to walk in and it got us out of the car for some lunch and needed leg stretching. Then we pushed on and made it to Coober Pedy right around 8pm. Coober Pedy is the aboriginal name meaning White Man's Hole in the Ground. The claim to fame for this region is that (depending on which source you believe) 50 to 80% of the opal supply for the world comes from right here. The surroundings are festooned with the mounds of tailings and it does have a distinctly other worldly look, which is why the area was used for much of the filming of the Mad Max movies that made Mel Gibson a known name. Our hostel was indeed underground and Eva and I were half of the total staying for the night. We took quite a few pictures of the subterranean facilities. The older man who was running the place was an amusing Australian and very helpful. We had put in about 850 kms for the day so we went to bed pretty soon after getting there (that put us just over half way to Alice Springs). We had been on the lookout all day for Red Kangaroos, the largest of the kangaroo family, but the only living things we saw were a few emus. There where the normal roadkill to evidence that creatures do live in this inhospitable environment somehow.
September 5 Sabbath We got up at 6:30 knowing we had a long day ahead and probably a hot one as well. There is very little between Coober Pedy and Alice Springs, other than roadhouses, so it was a steady slog through the bright sun for another 700 kilometers. Eva is quite pleasant company and we talked about many different things. Once we arrived in Alice Springs, we went straight to the information center (which was closed early on the weekend), so Eva called the lady she was supposed to stay with and got directions to her house and also asked if I could stay there for two nights. That was no problem and really helps me out. Fantastic. The family are friends of another family that Eva was doing some WWOOFing work for. They have a nice house and we helped make dinner together before going to bed early.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
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