After two days in Cairns we decided to rent another car to leave the city life behind and explore the area around Cairns. Unfortunately no camper van whatsoever was available so we had to give the tent a try and hired a little Hyundai Getz.

On Friday 7th November we headed north towards famous Cape Tribulation. Hadn’t really slept the night before cos I went out with Lee and Leigh and the two Dutch girls Soe-tjoe and Sharon to wander along the Esplanade at night, trying to spot crocodiles that had been sighted right at the beach. Eventually ended up killing Leigh’s mobile phone with a very accurate throw of some sort of nut (I’m rally sorry, I only wanted to hurt you like you hurt me, not brake your phone!) and having water fights at Lee’s room until the early morning. So I was back in my bed at about 7am, just before wake-up time basically.
Before leaving Cairns I also had to sort out my visa which took ages due to a computer brakedown in the office. Eventually I got the extension as a visitor until end of January and we finally hit the road north.
First stop was Mossman Gorge, a beautiful river with crystal clear, cold water which flows between round granite boulders through rainforest. We arrived quite late so the swim had to wait till the next morning. We pulled into a little road leading through sugar cane fields and put the tent up, fighting off millions of mozzies. It was so hot! Hardly any ventilation inside the tent but opening the door would mean exposing ourselves to hungry mozzies – we’d rather sweat until we fell asleep.
After the really refreshing swim the next morning we drove on to the Daintree river ferry to cross the saltwater croc infested Daintree river. Since we hadn’t seen any crocs in Kakadu NP we decided to take a tour with the rivertrain but we only spotted three small salties, all hidden under water. Wrong time of the year, apparently in winter they all come out of the water cos they need the sun to keep their body temperature near 28 degrees but now with the warm water they rather stay in the river.
For the night we decided to camp at Koala Resort at Cape Kimberley, a nice camp site close to the beach (again no swimming unfortunately due to the bloody stingers). We even saw a goanna the next day which decided to drink the water from the pool.
North of Cape Kimberley there are some really nice beaches such as Cow Bay and Thompsons Beach wherew e spent some time relaxing and drinking iced coffee.
The next two nights we stayed at PK’s djungle camp and did a day trip on the catamaran ‘Rumrunner’ to snorkel at Endine and Mackay reef. The latter was just awesome – shallow water and hundreds of different corals only an armlength below, many different colors (what size you want? same same! hehe). It almost looked like flying above a flower garden. And although the weather turned really bad it was a great day and worth every single dollar.
At PK’s we also ran into Lee and Leigh again – their coach had crashed into a motor cyclist (we actually had come across the accident on the way up!) and they had to wait for a replacement bus to bring them back to Cains.
Before returning south we drove along Bloomfield track (a 4WD track that leads all the way up north to Cape York) as far as Emmerson Creek which is only passable with a 4WD and went for a swim in the creek.

Cape Tribulation is definitely a very special experience, rainforest meets the sea, one world heritage (the Daintree forest) meets another (the Great Barrier Reef). The beaches are white and almost empty and apparently the reefs are in a much better condition than a few kilometres down near Cairns | See the pictures

Hey there, in Cairns now. Arrived two days ago and booked into an 8 bed dorm with 4 girls from Niederoesterreich and Zuerich who speak English with each other ALL THE TIME! But well, they’re young … and then there’s this slightly smelly guy sawing trees at night, I think he must have cut half of the rainforest already! Still haven’t really found out who’s in the last bed, a girl is all I can tell. Have only seen her sleeping.
The hostel itself, Gilligan’s is rather a resort than a backpackers with huge pool, hundreds of nice rooms (with their own shower/toilet), a beauty salon downstairs, in-house club (with interesting body-paint competitions) but the kitchens are really poor. Stoves don’t work properly, no cutlery nor pans and pots, and people pinched half our food last night.
Having a good time anyway, went out pretty much each night, sitting downstairs listening to live guitar music and chatting to other people. Everybody here seems really young though …
Cairns itself is somehow not quite as nice as Darwin, not sure why, maybe cos there are too many backpackers, that’s basically all you see. Gonna explore the lagune (a nice pool directly by the sea) today and also check with the Dep. of Immigration to sort out my visa.
Really looking forward to get out of here – tomorrow we’ll pick up a car, quite a downgrade actually. Neither Jucy nor Wicked had any Campers available before the end of next week – too long for us to wait! So we decided to get a little Thrifty instead, got a tent anyway so we’ll get to use it finally!
Heading up north tomorrow, Cape Tribulation and then back down to the Athertons Tablelands which is basically the hinterland of Cairns and has lots of lakes and waterfalls. Then further down the east coast and by the end of the month we should arrive in Brisbane. I’ll keep you posted!
Cheers

The last day

The last day began already at 4am. We had to be early to avoid the heat at Kings Canyon where we did another walk. The first bit is named Heart Attack Hill Climb and although it’s not really a climb but rather steep stairs I can see why you don’t want to be there in the hot sun during the day. Mind you, even when we started the walk it was already pretty damn hot!
The walk was nice and offered some spectacular views across the canyon. As always Kev explained at various stages historical and geographical facts about the area.
The Garden of Eden offered some shelter from the sun and a water hole as well as a balcony like outlook.
When we were back at the car it was only 10am but incredibly hot in the sun. So the pool at the Kings Canyon Resort was a welcome playground for a while. After a swim and lunch (once again toasted sandwiches) we started the long drive to Alice Springs where the tour would end with a dinner and some drinks at the pub. One last attraction on the way was Jim’s place where Dinky the worlds only singing dingo was loitering in the shade and it took quite some effort to get him to sing. Here a demonstration what he is capable of when not so tired. It was fun to watch him anyway.
Final stop of the tour was Alice Springs, an old telegraph station now developed to a city. Everybody went off to their accommodations and a bit later we all met again for the last supper at Bojangles where you’re dining right next to two pythons (of which I got to hold one at some point). Back at the hostel we sat together till late, laughing and chatting and trying not to think about saying good-bye …

It was an awesome tour, made possible by a group of nice, funny and keen people from all over the world (Ireland, England, France, Korea, China, Italy, Netherlands, New Caledonia and Germany) and a great guide who deserves a big thanks!! I can only recommend this tour to anyone wanting to experience the outback in a fun but also informative way. Thanks also to all of you who were there as well, it was great meeting you and spending time with you!
See ya in another part of the world maybe …

Kata Tjuta

Thanks to a better time managment we actually managed to reach the lookout in time! The sun rose next to Uluru, shining onto the very close Kata Tjuta. Another amazing spectacle not to be missed!
Still early in the day we started a walk through the mounds of Kata Tjuta itself. Three hours and even at 10 in the morning the sun was burning down like you wouldn’t believe! That’s why the walk is actually closed after 11am. Back at the resort we had an early lunch (awesome taccos!) and had a water war with Kev. We also grabbed some fire wood for the night and started the long trip to Kings Creek cattle station where we would stay for the night.
On the way we stopped at a red sand dune from where we could see the salt Lake Amadeus and Ulurus ugly twin brother Mt Connor which looks quite similar but is 4m smaller and not nearly as famous.
The rest of the day we pretty much spent in the bus driving along the MacDonnell Ranges which stretch all the way up to Alice Springs and form an impassable barrier. We arrived at Kings Creek cattle station and David prepared some spaghetti (he is Italian) on his birthday (yum!) and I wandered around the bush trying to get some good shots of the sunset.

Sacred grounds

Another early start, 5 this time. And we still didn’t make it to our planned destination, the lookout to watch the sun rise behind Uluru. So Kev decided to change the program a bit and we started with the base walk around Uluru, a stunning 12 km walk. Many parts of the rock are still enormously important for Aboriginal people and you’re not allowed to take photos in order to respect their tradition. Climbing the mountain is still allowed but many believe it shouldn’t be permitted anymore. We were lucky and the moral decision was taken off our shoulders due to the hot weather (when the expected temperature reaches 36 degrees or it is windy the climb is closed). I could imagine it looks most stunning from the ground anyway rather than at the top.
We even spotted a rare Thorny Devil, a cute little fellow that looks much scarier than it is.
During a short walk guided by Kev we heard many interesting stories from creation time when kangaroos were still able to fly and snakes were big enough to carve rivers into mountains. The information centre offered nice cool drinks and back at the camp we prepared burgers with the lot for lunch and then jumped into the freezing pool and had the afternoon off.
To watch Uluru during sunset we drove to another lookout where we had some prepared snacks and some beer while watching Uluru on one side and Kata Tjuta on the other.

To Uluru

Uaah, 5.30am is an early start. But it was worth it, when we reached the Outcrops of the Stuart Ranges we had amazing views of the landscape in the morning sun, the moon still up. The landscape changed again dramatically, now everything was deep red, just a few green bushes around.
For lunch we stopped at the border of SA and the NT where we had sandwiches and a extensive photo session … the first of a few …
Kev had come up with a game, the wheel of fortune. Each time we stopped the position of one wheel marked a number of the passenger list and the two designated persons had to do funny things like hopping around the bus like a kangaroo.
We also went past an Aboriginal community to visit their art gallery but unfortunately it was abandoned. The community members must have been off to a ceremony or something alike. Those communities are quite traditional, they only have teachers for basic maths and English and medical support. Normally no white people are allowed to enter those areas, heavy penalties apply. I wasn’t allowed to take any photos because Aboriginals think that their soul can’t rest once they’re dead if they are shown around on a photo. The little village was very dirty, lots of wrecked and burnt car corpses and rubbish everywhere. A view little kids waved to us but that was the only sign that there was actually someone living there.
Following the Lasseter Highway, we rushed towards THE mountain, Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock but now officially renamed to its Aboriginal name). Lasseter was a guy who apparently found a huge amount of gold but wasn’t able to carry it all back so he returned to civilization to get more camels. But when he came back to the outback he wasn’t able to find the spot anymore but instead met some Aboriginals which was the first encounter of a white man and Aboriginals. They obviously couldn’t understand each other but he followed them on their way from water hole to water hole and ate what they ate – not quite. At some point he must have eaten some poisonous berries (the desert is full of food but you have to know when you can eat what) and he eventually died. His body was found although there are doubts that it is really his.
Uluru and Kata Tjuta (question: which famous American TV star resembles the shape of Kata Tjuta? Hint: the person is male and laying on his back) are both located within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. All visitors have to stay in Yulara, a little town and resort now owned by an American company. The resort features accommodation, a pool and facilities. From the local lookout we watched Uluru in the light of the setting sun we actually missed sunset by a few minutes but it was nevertheless amazing.
The day ended with a great stir fry and some beer before a short night in our swags.

The desert from above and below

The day started rather exciting: a scenic flight over the desert! A few of the group decided to change perspective and enjoy a totally different view of the desert. We flew over an area called the painted hills where the morning sun created amazing colors on the rugged surface. A totally recommendable trip!
Before we headed off (Kev had actually managed to fix the tyres) I went to the pub to look for Joergs student card which he had left here, following an old tradition. Almost a fluke but I found it! And of course I left my student card, too.
We had actually met two thirds of the population of William creek – at the moment three people are living there! Apparently they used to be five but two couldn’t bare the crowds anymore and moved away recently.
In the literal middle of nowhere we stopped for some group shots and built a memorial made of one rock for each group member at the side of the road.
Crossing the dog fence a couple more times we approached Coober Pedy, the opal city. 80% of the worlds opals are found here, and 80% of the people live in dug-outs rather than normal houses. Inside those caves the temperature stays at a constant 21 degrees whereas outside temperatures vary from -5 in winter to 55 degrees in summer! While mining in town is not permitted anymore, people still try to find opals by officially extending the house which means here digging another room – and obviously if your lucky you find an opal and become rich!
Coober Pedy also made it to the cinema: because of the vast and moon-like appearance of the place movies such as Pitchblack, Mad Max and Red Planet were shot here.
We had fish ‘n chips for lunch and then joined a museum tour where we learned about the history and practice of opal mining. I didn’t know for example that opals a valued according to the number of colours rather than weight or size! Now I know.
After the tour I went for a stroll around the town, not too easy in the heat but I was rewarded with a huge road train stopping right in front of me. Impressive! I also came across this funny sign which makes totally sense as there are about 1.5 million holes in the ground and they never get closed (someone might want to dig deeper).
After dinner we went to the Underground where we played pool and table soccer (a very rare thing in Australia, actually still the only one I’ve seen here down under so far). We slept under ground that night, in bunks dug deep into a hill.