The Red Centre

While we were camping in Kakadu, some interesting political developments were taking place. John Howard declared the Aboriginal lands in the Northern Territories in a State of Emergency. He used his federal powers to take back control of the Aboriginal lands - that would be like George Bush taking back all the Indian Reservations I suppose. Some Aboriginal communities have been in a state of crises with domestic violence and child abuse fueled by drug and alcohol. John Howard had decided to seize control of the areas and declare all the communities would no longer be able to sell alcohol or pornography. Also, military troops would be sent in to keep public order and ensure the safety and welfare of the children. Some communities had already been "dry", but that seemed to drive people into nearby towns looking for alcohol. This had led to problems in towns like Darwin and especially in Alice Springs.

On the second leg of our trip, we headed to "The Red Centre." Alice Springs is the jumping off point for all the tourists in the area to see Ayers Rock - now known as Uluru. I wasn't expecting much of Alice Springs after reading Bill Bryson's book and the things I had read in the papers. It was uncomfortable to see a lot of Aboriginal people milling about on the street in front of the liquor store and also to see some of the make-shift camps people have set up around the town. However, there were a lot of interesting things to do and see in Alice and I would have liked to stay longer. We did manage to see the Desert Museum, but we could have spent a lot more time there. The highlight for Elliott would have been the camel ride. Camels were brought over to Australia to help build the railroads thru the desert. If we go again in future, I would like to stop by the Telegraph Museum.

But the real highlights of the trip was the scenery. We loaded back into the car for the 4 hour drive from Alice Springs to Kings Canyon. Well, there wasn't much scenery on the trip out - miles and miles of nothing in the desert. Red dirt and the occasional camel carcass. We did a walk around the rim of Kings Canyon and the scenery was fantastic. The rocks have been whittled away to make honeycomb sort of shapes. I hope I have a picture that will show it in detail.

Next day- off to see the Olgas. The Olgas are slightly smaller rock formations just past Ayers Rock. There is a spectacular walk thru the rocks called The Valley of the Winds. Sadly there was only one toilet place within 30 miles of this beautiful scenery. This brings me to the interesting topic of toilets. I have a new appreciation of water conservation here in Brisbane as we have reached level 6 water restrictions. (Blog to follow I'm sure...) But up in the Northern Territory there were a lot of waterless toilets - a sort of pit toilet. Oh my goodness. Some were so foul, there was just no going in. And I won't go into too much detail, just remember, if you ever see the truck at the rest stop cleaning out the toilets....DON'T STOP! But the Olgas were fantastic.

Last day was spent at Uluru, the world's largest monolith. The sandstone monolith is 348 metres high. It is a spectacular sight jutting out of the landscape. We did walk 10 km all the way around it, as well as going up it. You can go up the rock by holding on to a chain that is about knee height. It was a little scary and I did chicken out after a while. People do fall off and die each year or some people have a heart attack while puffing their way up. For Elliott and Tim, this was probably the best day of the entire trip.

We enjoyed the whole experience very, very much. We are so glad Linda, Michael and Amanda could come. To have someone to share the experience with made it so much more fun. We are hoping to do the Kimberly Region and the Bungle Bungles next year. We are now looking for another set of intrepid travellers to join us as our friends don't see themselves getting back to Australia as soon as next year. Any takers?