1 July 2016

As you can tell from the title we are now in dingo country.  They wander the campground and can be seen along the walking tracks.  The country is wide open and very empty except for the amazing sites of Uluru, Kata Tjuta, Mt Connor  and other geological interruptions to an otherwise dead flat country.  This is a landscape that was forged 400 million years ago.  Of course there are those pesky retired people filling up the campgrounds but I will avoid going on about them.

My latest reflections:

• We have now walked to the top of Uluru (Ayers Rock) and around the rock.  This time it was the ‘around’ bit.  The first time I was somewhat younger so the climb to the top was the only option.  Maybe in another 40 years you will be able to walk through the rock!   This time it was a 10km (6.2 mile) walk and after the rain large sections of the track was under water so after much dodging, jumping and going off the track we both ended up with wet feet.  Some water is still flowing off the rock.
• The required energy food for such a walk is of course snakes.  I don’t mean the reptile version, I am of course referring to the edible lollies (candy).  Many who know me will not be surprised by this revelation.
• The desert  is amazingly green, even the Spinifex is green.  The mulga and desert oaks look healthy and not like they are about to die from a lack of water.
• This landscape is very ancient with 400 million year old rocks.  These mountains existed before Australia existed and before the Australian continent separated from Antarctica and 150 million years before the dinosaurs died out.  By comparison the North American Rockies are about 80 million years old.
• In the Flinders Ranges we came across information signs that had the ‘million’ as in million years rubbed out.  One sign had the added graffiti of ‘bloody creationists’.  Well it seems this vandal continued on from the Flinders Ranges because his/her handiwork is in evidence up here.  This kind of graffiti has been known to bring forth the grumpy old man in me.
• Diesel at  a 63% mark up from prices at home!  You can buy a loaf of bread for about $1.99 which is pretty close to prices at home, or even a hot meat pie for $4.00.  Post cards are still $1.50.  (Yes we have to buy postcards for the granddaughters.  We want them to experience mail from sources other than the internet and without viruses .  I realise we are trying to maintain a rapidly vanishing past.)   So why is it that diesel or petrol is inflated by 63%.  Of course there is no competition and you can’t drive to the next petrol station when they are about 300km apart.  There is no lack of patrons when it is unusual to ever enter a petrol station without at least a couple of patrons queuing for fuel.  Of course on top of paying $1.96 a litre the petrol station today was unable to accept credit cards so it had to be in cash.  Ahhhhhh!  End of rant.  And ‘they’ wonder why Australian families holiday in Bali!  Ok, now I will stop.
• Kings Canyon is an amazing place to visit and to walk through, exploring the water holes and creeks that are flowing following the recent rains.  There are ancient cycad trees growing in the middle of the desert, remnants of when Australia was a wetter place.  The ambience is amazing and somewhat overwhelming until your drifting thoughts are interrupted by a family of noisy teenage boys who insist on climbing all the rock domes, yelling down to their parents and throwing rocks to mum and dad for their examination.  We would slow down or then walk faster all in the remote hope of putting distance between us and our contemplation of the place and the noisy ones – no luck.  But as luck would have it over a 6km walk the noisy boys started to tire and climbing the rocks became less interesting and just walking quietly with mum and dad became more attractive.  Yay, we could again enjoy the scenery and the silence.
• Dog Sitting on the Tucker box is an Australian icon however the new version is a dingo on the garbage bins.
• The butterflies are at it again wearing white parkas hiking the Australian bush or maybe Ugg boots on rocky tracks or how about shiny gold sneakers.  I despair.
• We are enjoying the fact our van includes a gas heater.  We may be in the desert but these mornings are pretty chilly so the heater makes life that little bit more comfortable.  We are soft, yes I can but agree.
• You can tell this country gets very hot with very high levels of UV exposure when you notice every road sign, advertising placard or painted wall is so faded.  It explains the weathered look of the locals.
• We drove the direct route from Kings canyon to Alice Springs.  It was a 200km dirt road with lots of corrugations.  We drove the road with two other vehicles keeping in touch via radio.  We had to watch for wild horses crossing the road.  The horses are in very good condition after the rain and green growth.  This section of road was our preparation for the Tanami Road which is 800 kms of dirt with very limited fuel.  More on this part of the trip to come.
• Today is Territory Day and the fireworks are going off.  Fireworks can only be bought on one day of the year and can only be set off after 6.00pm on that same day.  However as I was driving home from the shops at about 4.30pm the fireworks were going off which was pretty disconcerting when the blast was coming from the road just beside where you were driving.

Tomorrow we are off to drive the length of the Tanami Road of about 1000kms.  We have plotted where we can buy fuel and will be carrying extra fuel.  Looking forward to the peace and quiet of the remote desert.