Palya Everybody!

Ok so it actually wasn't that long since my last blog and you are getting another one you lucky things! To be honest I have seen so much in the last 2 weeks or so that it seemed like I should do another entry. Plus it is 42 degrees outside and I would much rather be in an air-conditioned room today!

The last time I had written I had just arrived in Melbourne, a city I had really looked forward to visiting as I had heard so many amazing things about it. So after I had settled down after our redirected flight and had a good night sleep it was time to explore the area with my friends.

Melbourne

We went to an area of Melbourne (it is massive) to see yet another friend from camp who I hadn't seen since my first year there so about 5/6 years. It was lovely to catch up with her and meet her little boy. We then did a tour of the area and found a Brighton beach so of course I had to go there, it even had the beach huts like Brighton in England.

The next day I took a tour of the city to learn about the area and the history. The main thing I found out was about a man called Ned Kelly who was a bit like a Robin Hood of Australia but did a few things against the law too. He tried to fight of the police in a home made iron armour which worked well to start with but was eventually caught.

I also saw lots of grafitti which I'm sure a lot of the current and old Year 6 would find interesting after your debates in class. There were some truely beautiful pieces of art, but it was interesting that it seemed offensive when people did their "tags" over the talented pieces of work.

Whilst I was in the area we also thought we would pop in to friends in Beechworth, a mere 3 hours away (that is like popping in in Australia!)

Before long it was time to start a road trip I had been dreaming of for a long time....THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD!

We hired a car and headed for the famous coast line. Despite the weather being a little cloudy, the drive was beautiful and we were grateful that we were not getting the month's worth of rain in two days that had been predicted.

We first stopped at the famous Bells Beach and moved on to Lorne which was a lovely little town with a gorgeous waterfall tucked away behind it called Erskine Falls. We did a number of stops along the way as the beauty of the drive was so stunning. One of which was the famous site of the Twelve Apostles. It is were there are 8 coastal stacks in the ocean a very iconic location in Australia. But wait I hear you say...why are there only 8. Well aparently there never were 12 it just sounds more exciting to say 12!

From there we stayed with friends in Warrnambool (big name I know!) for a night after 7 hours of travelling, before heading off again a bit further along the coast. This time, after another 5 hours or so, we made our way to Mount Gambier a beautiful town with a giant sink hole which has been made into a VIctorian garden (it is a place where the ground has literally sunken away). The town also has a lake that is a water filled crater hole that is the bluest water you will ever see! And scientists can't even explain why it is so blue!

Then it was the final day of our road trip. Another 6 or 7 hour driving ahead of us we set off nice and early for Adelaide. This part of the drive was quite uneventful. We had to head inland a little more and the landscape became the typical dry Australian countryside. In the distance we could see stange clouds and as we got a little closer we saw it was smoke, so we assumed it was one of the bush fires that had been going for quite a while. Luckily we were driving at a safe distance of a number of miles away, but we kept an eye on it until it was out of sight.

Finally we made it to Adelaide and it was an early night for me as I had to say goodbye to my friends and prepare myself to meet a whole load of new people on my tour as I made my way up through the center of Australia!

Groovy Grape Tour

During my tour we would travel over 3,000 km to the centre of the country, so I was lucky I was with such a nice group of people! Over the next 6 days I would get to know people from Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands as well as a few Brits too.

We headed straight out of Adelaide to Alligator Gorge, the first of our 4 hikes. It was named after a man called Ally who went through the gorge on his camel but dropped his gun, which the camel then stepped on and Ally was shot in the stomach, gruesome I know but he is still known as the only man shot by his camel! The gorge itself was another beautiful sight, but I will let you see the photos when I upload them. We then moved on to a little ghost town called Quorn.

The next day we had a lot of driving to do to get to Coober Pedy. On the way we stopped off at a Salt Lake. An ancient Lake that has pretty much dried up and during to evaporation what do you think was left over ( you should all know this!) a lake made of just salt! A pretty impressive experience to walk on it!

Eventually we arrived at Coober Pedy. It was getting pretty ot by this point. Well into the 30s. But the temperature wasn't going to bother us as we were staying underground!

Most of the residence of this town do the same! It is much cooler under ground which is what they discovered when the area was originally used for opal mining. I tried hunting for opals but I was unsuccessful in finding any. While we were there we also got to visit a Kangaroo sanctury and say a baby joey up close!

The next day it was an early start, around about 5am I think! Early I know! But it was to watch the sunrise over the mounds the had been taken out of the mines. I had to get use to the early starts, there were many more to come! We continued on and this was our longest day on the bus, 9 hours! But we had a laugh chatting and sing on the journey! And before long we had arrived in time to see the sunset over Kata Tjuta and the famous Uluru (Ayres Rock).

The next day we were up early...yet again to see the sunrise this time over Uluru. From there we headed to Kata Tjuta, to do the first of our 3 hour hikes, through the Valley of Winds. And thank goodness there was a little breeze as the temperature was getting pretty hot, around 34C!

And that was only in the morning. In the afternoon I had planned to see Uluru from a different angle, this time from the air via helicopter. I honestly think I was my nervous with this than my skydive! It was pretty breeze up there and it was only a little helicopter, and with the doors off needless to say I was feeling a little vulnerable. But all this was worth it for the view an absolute stunning view of the second largest solid rock in the world just sticking up out of the flat terrain! Amazing.

However the fun didn't stop there. After the helicopter ride I went with my group to an Aboriginal Dance show which I afraid to say I got involved with. I learnt to do a dance which was pretty much acting like an emu and shaking my legs on every few beats. It sounds odd (and it was) but that was what the Aboriginals would do. Their dances told stories and gave thanks to their surrounds that they believe they live at one with, so it was an honour to be part of it.

That day over it was an early night again in my swag under the stars ready for another early start to walk around Uluru's base, a 10.7km walk in the 36C of heat, over 3 hours, with the order to drink 3litres of water to make sure I didn't get dehydrated!

The size of the rock can not be easily explained but it was massive! We got togo up close and see a few watering holes which where unbelievablypeaceful despite the tourists. We also got to see cave art that was hundreds if not thousands of years old. One such spot was were children of the tribes would have been taught so it was like looking at an ancient whiteboard. The only thing is it is considered offensive to wipe of someone's art so they would draw over it is they needed the space. Imagine that in the classroom :S

The walk, although flat, was definately the toughest due to the heat but was worth it and after we all deserved a swim in the pool, and needed as we were all rather smelly.

So after the quick dip we piled into the bus again and drove to the location of our final 3 hour walk. Kings Canyon. Luckily we could have some sleep before doing this walk but only a few hours as we had to be up at 4am for this one to beat the heat!

It was a tough start and we were all very tired but the early start was yet again worth it. We arrived at the base of the canyon before sunrise so it was pretty dark but it meant we got to do the toughest part before the day got going. We saw the sunrise at the top as we looked down and were the first in the beautiful Garden of Eden inside the canyon before any other tourists.

All three walks done successfully and me being that little fitter for them as well as having seen some beautiful sights, it was the last time for us to jump in the bus for the last leg of the journey to Alice Springs.

And that brings me to my current location, I have now said good bye to my new friends and am preparing to meet new ones tomorrow as I continue up to Darwin.

Right blog done! Time for photos! Read, look and enjoy!

Until next time... Palya!