Ozzie Road Trip - The prequel

[steamtrainfan]

What a fantastic trip you are having. The rock is amazing and photos do not do it justice. The shoe tree must have been quite a sight.

Do you maybe have a photo of one of those road trains?

Thanks so much for keeping us up to date.

[Mel]

2014 roll on! Uluru looks absolutely stunning.
(And I intend to adhere to the Aboriginies' request not to climb it -
although I'll find it hard not to. )

[Sprocky]

Absolutely educational and entertaining mith!!!

I just hope that the 'shoe tree' didn't make use of all five senses.

[mouseinthehouse]

On our second day at Yulara we headed over to Kata Juta (the Olgas). It is 48kms away. The Anangu people named it Kata Juta which means 'many heads' as that is what the formation looks like. It is geologically hundreds of millions of years old as is Uluru. They were both formed as sedimentary fan deposits from erosion of a higher, more extensive mountain range which existed 500 million yrs ago. Eventually after being covered by sea and compressed and cemented into rock during eons a drier time returned and the rock was pushed up and tilted. Uluru is 90degrees from its original plane and the Olgas about 45 degrees.







We walked up the main gorge which was over a kilometre and the towering walls on either side were impressive and beautiful. The gorge narrows at one end and there is fresh water streams running the length of it with ferns, grasses, shrubs and small trees growing in the base of the gorge.



It was quite hot and we didn't care to do any of the longer walks further around. We timed our gorge walk well; as we were coming back about 70 teenage kids from posh private schools on the east coast doing a camping trip arrived and descended on the place like screeching banshees. At the same time lots of strange people from a cross continent car rally (see pic!!) arrived. Only in Australia would you see a guy in a Power Rangers morph suit running up the gorge at the Olgas!! -O Or two men in frocks or two guys who looked like they walked straight off a cattle station.





After this amusing interlude we headed back to camp where the crowds (hundreds!!) were starting to irritate me - unsurprisingly The aforementioned teeange girls were taking over the ladies showers so I went another night without a shower. I got up in the dark next morning to beat the hapless teenie boppers only to find NO WATER in the ablutions.

So we packed up and headed off for the 600km or so drive we wanted to get done today. We had only gone down the road about 15kms when we spotted a dingo trotting up the road towards us!! We pulled over and managed to get a few photos as he obligingly stopped to chew up a tasty morsel.



Then it was endless straight roads, no traffic and heat (no air-con in Vannie!) for hours.


A shady stop for a drink and snack.

Through Alice Springs only stopping for fuel until we pulled up here at Ti Tree for the night. 300kms south of Tennant Creek. Another big drive tomorrow as we hope to get to the Queensland border after throwing a right turn at Tennant Creek. See you there!

PS. Will try to get a pic of a road train tomorrow! And I will post extra pics of other stuff when I get home.

[Flutterby]

Very interesting pics mith!!

The crocheted car!!! I can see that going down quite well in certain parts of SA!! -O -O

[Bushcraft]

Sorry about the banshees

Amazing rock formations

No aircon in Vannie You are brave

[Mel]

Thank you so much for sharing this with us, mith!
I can't emphasize enough how much I appreciate it as
I will be there next year in August.

[nan]

wow a Dingo
I had.... once, a dog alf dingo at home... it was a destroyer
thank for posting

the hills are very spectacular... are they these ones we name "chocolate hill"

[Lisbeth]

Kata Juta looks even more interesting than Ayers Rock!
"Vanning" is not for sissies -O I'd be all right having all the camps for myself, but sharing.....

[steamtrainfan]

Very interesting tale with excellent pics to go with it.

Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us.