Kata Tjuta

Today was a windy day at the desert! Complete change of weather from yesterday to today, but the sights were still phenomenal! We trekked off this morning to Kata Tjuta, also known as the Olgas. Kata Tjuta is the aboriginal name for this rock formation, as Uluru was the aboriginal’s name for Ayers Rock. The other names were thought up by European explorers. One has to be politically correct today though and call them by the aboriginal names since the government has since returned this land to the aboriginals.







Kata Tjuta is actually incredibly difficult to fit in one picture! It contains 36 dome rock formations with the highest one being Mt. Olga which towers over 1,000 meters in the air.



The rock is a conglomerate of basalt and granite. The rock formation was formed similarly to that of Uluru by compacting sediments being brought into the area. Volcanic activity also helped form this rock. Its shape was sculpted by immense amounts of wind erosion as well as some water erosion – little though due to the lack of rain! This area was much more protected than Uluru due to its greater significance to the aboriginal people. As a result, only two sections are available to the general public. We visited one of these called the gorge. The walk took us about an hour in and out, and it wasn’t an easy trek! The trail is uneven and rocky, and the strong wind was practically blowing us over!







After the walk we went to a lookout where we could view both Kata Tjuta and Uluru at the same time.





While out in the desert we spotted Australia's national flower, the wattle.



Its now time to leave the red center of Australia and head to the north coast! Great Barrier Reef here we come! After we clean the red off of our shoes of course!

Uluru

Uluru, commonly known as Ayers Rock was our next stop in the outback. Somehow it is even drier here! Check out the red soil in the picture below. This is caused due to the high iron content in the soil. This is also the reason Uluru has a redish tint.



This day was incredible as it started with a walk along Uluru - which is the rock's aboriginal name. We were able to see the serpent like formation that the aboriginals have deemed sacred. We also saw some ancient cave paintings that were created by the aboriginals.








Our day concluded with watching the sunset from the viewing area. As the sun set the rock changed from a bright red to an almost purplish color. It was amazing!

Alice Springs

Welcome to the Outback!

We've now entered the desert of Australia. Here the air is dry and the dirt is bright red. So much for our clean shoes! We'd like to start off by showing you the amazing river that flows through Alic Springs:



What's that you say? You don't see it? OK, well maybe its just the riverbed, but a river did flow here at one time. This river flows only once every ten years. Alice Springs receives 8-12 inches of year per year. The high temperature in the summer surpasses 100 degrees on a regular basis. For us here in the winter time we're enjoying the 70's.

Our first stop was to ride a camel! Camels although not indigenous to the area, are now quite prevalent, and there are even some wild herds! They were brought to Australia years ago to help people explore the middle part of the continent -and carry all their stuff!



Next we visited the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Here we learned about how medical services are provided to those living in the outback including the aboriginal people. Here's a picture of Eric doing a flight simulator of landing a plane in the outback (or at least trying to!).



Our most exciting moment of the day was our kangaroo tracking experience! We were supposed to be observing the old telegraph station that used to relay messages throughout Australia, but we got distracted! One of our fellow tour goers, Marty, caught our attention and told us that he had spotted some kangaroos off in the bush. Off we went tracking them through the dry land. We got some great shots and definitely enjoyed ourselves!



For dinner we went to an outback BBQ on a cattle station where we enjoyed some damper bread with coggy’s joy. You can see the host Danny making this by hand below. The coggy's joy is a syrup like substance that was placed on the bread after it was cooked in the hot coals of the fire.





Danny also taught us the three types of boomerangs used by the aboriginals: hunting - slightly curved, war - pointed end, and the one we all see as a traditional boomerang which would have been used to get birds out of the grass, or knock out an Emu's legs! He also demonstrated throwing technique, but don't expect us to be experts!



The night also included some discussion of the aboriginal people, as one of our guides grew up as part of a tribe, some star gazing, and singing of cultural songs around the camp fire while drinking bush billy tea. This tea was amazing - made from tea leaves in a billy pot on the fire with eucalyptus leaves. IT was truly phenominal to look up at a sky and be able to really see the entire sky. The lights show up so much better when there are no city or house lights for miles. We could actually see the milky way along with Jupiter, Saturn & Mars - all with the naked eye!



The following morning we traveled off to the Aboriginal Dream Tour. We were taken out into the bush where several aboriginal people spend their days creating masterful works of art. See our picture done by Shakayla Brown.



While in the bush we learned more about the people and their lifestyles, as well as the foods they found in the desert and lived off of. We had bush tomatoes that were awfully bitter, but declined the witchety grubs. We were brave enough however to try the kangaroo tail which was cooked by the aboriginal people in a fire pit. Though it was a bit disturbing watching him cut it up! Despite Eric's face it wasn't really all that bad!

Bush tomatoes:


Witchety grub:


Kangaroo Tail:


Yum!


PS- Ricochet enjoyed his native environment, but is in desperate need of good American food (or at least we are!)

Great Ocean Road

Another excursion we went on was to the Great Ocean Road which travels along the southern shore of the continent. It was constructed by World War I veterans after they returned home in need of work. The road is 280 km long and is the host of 157 shipwreck sites, along with many famous rock formations. We stopped in Anglesea for some fresh bush billy tea and lemingtons. These are two traditional Aussie treats. Lemingtons are white cake bars dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut. As you can imagine, Eric was a big fan! One of the neat facts about Anglesea is that they offer a 5 day surfing course as an elective for Melbourne upperclassman. Students travel down there to learn the ropes of surfing as well as ocean water safety. Wish we had that as an elective!
We then continued along the windy bumpy road, Jess desperately trying not to get carsick, until we reached the Twelve Apostles. These are giant limestone pillars that reach out from the water towards the sky. Originally there were actually more than 12 pillars, but not there are less than 10 because water erosion has taken its toll.





Our next fun point was traveling on a helicopter ride! We strapped in and soared in the sky circling the 12 Apostles and several other beautiful rock formations. The sights were fantastic!





After landing we returned to our group at Loch Ard Gorge, which contains a secluded beach and caves along the cliff line.







Our final stop was at London Bridge! (not the one in London!) This rock structure was named London Bridge because it originally had a double arched shape similar to that of the bridge in London. However, again water erosion took its toll in 1990 knocking over the mainland half of the structure. Two tourists were actually marooned on the outer section for hours until helicopters came to rescue them!

Melbourne, Australia

G'day mate, welcome to Australia! Melbourne was our first stop in Australia. Melbourne is a large city in the state of Victoria. The streets of Melbourne were originally designed so that a cart pulled by a team of bulls could be turned around without backing up. As a result, the modern city has been able to retain its famous tramcar system in these same roadways.

Melbourne Skyline shot from the top of the Shrine of Remembrance:


Australia facts:
Until 1901 Australia was made of separate countries. At that time they were united and the government sat in Melbourne. However, Melbourne and Sydney fought for years over which city should be the capital, and thus neither city received that honor. The capital is Canberra which is directly between the two!

Opal:
Our first stop in Melbourne was to Altman & Cherny a famous Opal manufacturer and jewelry company. There we saw the world’s largest opal which is worth over $2 million. Eric bought me a slightly smaller one! We learned there are 3 different kinds of opals – fire stone which is white and sparkly [this is what Jess got], black opal which is actually not black at all but full of vibrant colors, and boulder which is light or dark and usually cut in a more rough shape. Ironically, very few people who dig or mine opals ever make it big!



Church/Fountain:
We then stopped by St. Thomas Cathedral, which is the largest in Australia. It is similarly modeled to that of St. Peter’s Cathedral in NYC. Our favorite thing about the church was actually the fountains surrounding it. These fountains were not only beautiful, but they had touching verses written around them.





Shrine of Remembrance:
This shrine was created after World War I, during which ANZAC (The Australia & New Zealand Army Corps) fought alongside the British. Throughout the battle they took many casualties, and lots of soldiers were never returned to their country. As a way to remember these fallen soldiers this shrine was created and has since been expanded to honor other soldiers who fought in further battles. From this point ANZAC vowed they would never blindly follow Britain into another war again.





Tram Lunch:
For lunch we caught a restaurant tram car through the city. From the decor and the food, one would think the place was a 5 star restaurant with its velvet seats, hanging lights and exquisite cuisine. On the cart we were served by a true Italian who kept us entertained by singing Frank Sinatra. Grandma Holden you would have loved him! We were served an entrée of tasty kangaroo steaks. (P.S. we learned that in America we are actually incorrect in calling a main course an entrée because it actually means starter) Our meals consisted of delicious chicken and beef fillet. We were then served tea and an assortment of Australian cheeses, crackers, and dried fruits and nuts. By far the BEST meal we’ve had on the trip!





Phillip Island – Penguin Parade:
As an excursion we traveled out around sunset to Phillip Island which is off the southern coast of mainland Australia. The sand dunes that cover the island are home to the world’s smallest penguin. These little penguins are full grown after just 8 weeks at an average of 32 centimeters in height. Just after sunset, every night, no matter what the weather, 365 days a year these little guys travel in from the sea across the beach and up the dunes to their homes. We walked down to the beach where we watched them swim in, wait for a few friends to arrive, and then waddle precariously up the beach. The scene was a riot! At times the little guys would get scared because of a bird’s shadow overhead and suddenly the whole pack of them would scurry back into the water. The reason they travel in at night is to protect themselves against their main predator – large flying birds. Today foxes, dogs, and cats have been introduced to their environment, thus endangering them more. Environmentalists are trying to keep these creatures at bay though, to protect the little penguins. After reaching the sand dunes we watched them waddle through little trails to their homes where they met mates and family with loud calls and pruned themselves. They also reactivated the oil glands in their tails to ensure their feathers would be water proof for their next day’s travels. Unfortunately, we couldn’t take pictures, but we did buy some and we’ll be happy to show you when we get back!