Alice Springs and the Outback

We arrived in Alice Springs in the burning heat, with no car to take us to Uluru (we didn't manage to get a van for the dates/price we were after) and our accommodation plans based on the hope that a bloke called Aaron would meet us and offer a couch to sleep on.

We hadn't run out of our luck though. At the airport we found a tourist information booth, and booked ourselves not a car but a 3-day tour of the main sites in the area. We had also booked our returning flight one day too late for our original plans, which turned out to be lucky because we were only able to get on this tour the following morning, and so had we got our flights right we wouldn't have been back in town in time. Sweet!

Safe in the knowledge that we were going to see Uluru, we headed out to town to buy some swimming gear, which we hadn't anticipated needing in the desert.



After a bit of shopping and a well deserved pint (or two, to be perfectly honest) in a western style saloon we still hadn't heard anything from Aaron. Slightly concerned at this point, we decided to send him a text message to see why he didn't want to meet us. It turned out he had been calling us but our phone claimed to be switched off! Damn Aussie sim card! Five minutes later we were picked up from outside the saloon and chauffeured to Aaron's place for our first Aussie barbecue.



Aaron turned out to be a really nice guy who had a big house with several bedrooms, and a pool in the garden. We are starting to really get into this couchsurfing business; you just can't argue with good company, fine food and a cold beer by the pool! Aaron was also very patient with me when he was explaining the rules of cricket, a game I have failed to understand several times. I can't say that I'm a real fan yet, but at least I can make an educated guess at why the players suddenly start cheering when seemingly nothing happens.

Before the tour we had one day to explore Alice Springs, so we decided to do the cultural thing for a change (and also because the air-conditioned indoors were just too inviting). We visited the Royal Flying Doctors and the Alice Springs Cultural Centre. Both were good experiences and gave us more of an idea about the history of the place and also the vastness of the area. If I remember correctly, the area serviced by the flying doctors is equal to roughly 21 times the size of Finland.

After another pleasant night at Aaron's, we were picked up at 6 in the morning for our tour. We were a bit worried about the whole idea of going on a tour because we much prefer to do things on our own, but it seems that this time we made the right decision. Our tour group was very nice and very international. Luckily our group had no 18-year-old Americans (no offence, but, you know). Our guide was very knowledgeable and fun, and we learnt a lot more about the Aboriginal traditions and culture as well as geology and biology of the outback than we would have learnt on our own.



After a few hours of driving on straight desert roads we reached our first main attraction, Kings Canyon. We did a three-hour hike in the scorching desert (although the locals thought that the 35 degrees was quite mild and pleasant) with a stop for a swim in a natural water hole half way through (hence the shopping for swimmers). The walk was beautiful in an arid desert way, and certainly got us ready for lunch.





In the evening we stopped at bush camp in the middle of nowhere - quite literally - and rolled out our swags and sleeping bags on the ground around a fireplace. Crawling into your sleeping bag and gazing at the clear stary sky after a day that involved a lot of driving and walking was a lovely feeling.



The next morning we were up before sunrise and moving on to Kata Tjuta (aka the Olgas). There we did another nice walk, slightly shorter this time, but equally nice. The Olgas are rock formations that rise from the ground at a 20 degree angle, and look bizarre to say the least.



From there we went to the Cultural Centre to learn more about what we had just seen. In the evening we headed to Uluru to catch the sunset. Even though it seemed that every tourist in the southern hemisphere had decided to do the same, we really enjoyed having our dinner while watching the last rays of sun change the colour of the rock. After dark it was another night out in the open, but this time in the relative comfort of a camping ground (showers, yay!).



The early mornings continued as we had to be up to see the sun rise at Uluru. This time we found a more quiet spot for viewing, and munched our breakfast while the sun was rising behind the rock. After that we went for a walk around Uluru, which took a couple of hours, and then started making our way back towards Alice Springs.



We arrived in Alice Springs in the evening and had a nice evening with Aaron and another couple of couch surfers that were also staying in his place. The next morning it was time to fly back to Adelaide.



Overall, we had a great time in Alice Springs and on the tour. Considering how thoroughly we had managed to screw up all our bookings, we landed very nicely on our feet; making new friends, enjoying the beautiful scenery, and not having to drive the entire 1000 kilometer loop in the desert more than made up for the fact that we didn't manage to do it on our own.

We are now back in Adelaide, and will be going on a wine tour of the Barossa region tomorrow (I'm pretty sure we have the dates right this time), so we will soon have another tour to report on. Let's see if we change our minds about the touring life.