Adventures Down Under: Alice Springs, Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjata (The Olgas)

On Friday, Abby, Jenn, Cassie, Ryan and I flew to Alice Springs in Central Australia. We had a very early flight, so we had the full day in Alice Springs. We got to the hostel, checked in then decided to take full advantage of the warm weather and hung by the pool. After a nice nap, we all got hungry so we decided to explore town and get some food. Alice Springs is not known for being the safest of towns unfortunately due to the high Aboriginal population, and the reputation the Aboriginals have given themselves in some parts of Australia. We all stuck together and went in and out of shops. We spent a good chunk of time in a didgeridoo shop where we all unsuccessfully tried to play a didgeridoo. The shop owner told us to blow our lips like a horse into the mouth piece. Easier said than done. It started to get cooler, so we decided to head back to the hostel and break out the cards. I cannot count the number of games of Eucher my friends and I played this weekend, but it was a ton.

We played outside for a while until we were all too cold, and headed inside to go to bed early for our tour the next day. The extreme weather differences in temperatures are due to Alice Springs being smack in the middle of the desert, resulting in heat during the day, cold at night, little rain and little wind.

The next day our tour bus picked us up bright and early at 6am! We began our four hour drive to Uluru with multiple stops along the way including Mount Connors aka Foolaru because it is a mini Uluru aka the Toothbrush because it looks like a toothbrush. We finally got to the National Park where Uluru and Kata Tjata are located. The tour took us to the Olgas first and we got some time to walk in between two of the heads into a gorge. Because of the lack of wind we were all doing the Aussie Wave and fanning away flies. After walking through the gorge, we hopped back onto the bus and went over to Uluru. Our tour guides highly discouraged climbing the rock because it was considered disrespectful and dangerous. We were basically told that if you fall off, you are not going to live the fall. To climb also there is a single rope that you hold onto and that's it. The rope itself doesn't start at the bottom of the rock, nor does it go all the way up. The rock also gets way hotter than the ground, so it is common to dehydrate or suffer heat stroke. All of these reasons convinced us not to climb. Instead we walked around portions of the bottom of Uluru hearing Aboriginals stories, which were pretty interesting.

After hearing all of the stories and seeing Uluru up close and personal, the bus parked at a good viewing spot and we enjoyed a nice Aussie BBQ at sunset while watching the rock turn bright red in the sun. The best times of day to view Uluru is at sunrise, or sunset. We finished eating then went back on the bus for a five hour drive back to the hostel. The bus driver put on a movie for us, so that passed some time, but we worked on a lot of crosswords as well.

Once back at the hostel we played more Eucher, and a new card game a guy at the hostel taught us. The next day we got up for breakfast, walked into town to go shopping and to eat. We ended up sitting outside playing cards for hours then we got dinner. After dinner we sat by a camp fire at the hostel with other people staying there too. One Australian man just moved to Alice Springs from a town on the boarder of Queensland with a total population of 25 people. The closest pub was four hours away, the closest neighboring town was five hours away, and in order to go to the hospital you had to wait two hours for a plane to get there. Crazy to think people could live like that.

Our flight the following day was early, so we got back to campus around six. Overall it was a good experience and a fun trip, and sadly my last trip around Australia (for now).

Finals begin for me on the 10th, and then I have two on the 14th then I am done! My friends and I wanted to head back up to the warmer weather by the Great Barrier Reef, but instead we decided it would be too rushed and we figured we would spend our last days in Australia hanging in Melbourne and Geelong. We have made a list of things to do, places to eat etc... so it is something to look forward to. I am heading back to the states in ten days. It is unreal, and crazy that my time in Australia has flown by. My friends and I are already talking about visiting each other, and I am sure visits will happen this summer and school year! I am excited to go home, but I will be sad to leave. It is bittersweet. At least it will be warm in NJ!