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2004 Journey Australia Erik's Travels

A town called Alice…

I have been in Alice Springs for a week now. It is a pretty nice, though small, town right in the middle of Australia. The highlight of my visit here (and pretty much all the other tourist here) actually did not happen in Alice Springs itself, but about 400K away. It was my visit to Uluru (Ayer’s Rock), King’s Canyon & The Olgas. Anders I and went on a three day tour and set off last Friday (March 5th) morning bright and early. The first day we drove to King’s Canyon and did a hike up to a swimming pool named the Pool of Eden. There were a lot of stairs, lots. After we got back to the camp we ate dinner and slept out under the star in swags (which are like big sleeping bags you put your own sleeping bag in).

The next day we drove to Uluru and I went on a walk around the base of it which is 9.2K. It was really fantastic to see. It is amazing how far away it looks just like a big smooth round rock but up close there are lots of caves and different parts to it. After the walk we went back to the campground which was about 15K away and watched the sunset. Then dinner and swags again.

Sunday morning we got up really, really early, 4:20am if I remember right. We set out to walk through the Valley of the Winds in The Olgas. The Olgas are another set of smaller (but still big) rocks that are spread out in a small area. There are 38 rocks in all. Then we headed back to Alice Springs. On the way back we stopped at a roadhouse (gas station and store) and got to see the world famous “Singing Dingo.” A guy had trained his pet dingo to stand a piano and yelp when the piano was played. Then it was back to Alice getting in at 7pm.

Monday we went and saw the old Telegraph Station (which was the reason why the town was started). Anders left yesterday to head off to New Zealand and I have just been hanging out and relaxing until my 35 hour train ride starts tomorrow afternoon.

After I get back to Melbourne on Friday the plan is to head up the East coast with Pete for about a month and then it’s off to Santiago, Chile where I meet up with Thomas in the middle of April.