Pacific Harbor

(Written Sunday 27/9/09)

I like the word Pensive. I think it embodies the meaning in the word itself, which is always a good characteristic for a word to have. Like most days on any holiday, yesterday I did a lot of thinking. One of my thoughts was about my thinking pattern. I have decided that my thought pattern is best called Pensive, than thoughtful.

I am not yet sure if it is a good or bad attribute, but I find that when left to myself, I will think a lot. Unlike the definition of Pensive, I don’t think that deeply, but I can easily, and happily, spend long spans of time mulling over thoughts, ideas, memories, and fantasies – and this is usually, as is included in one definition of Pensive, sad or morose.

Yesterday was a pretty typical opportunity for me to be pensive: Alex and I left the lodge around noon and drove the 150km to Pacific Harbor. This small village, though a bit more touristy than others, yet still seemingly rugged, is acknowledged as the cultural center of Fiji. Alex and I had hoped to go there and learn the history of Fiji and the Fijians in a more hands-on and entertaining method than the web.

Unfortunately, and to no fault of Alex’s though she seems to think otherwise, this “cultural center” consists of a “museum” (Jori – you would probably find it unworthy of the name: it was a single room with a few objects on display, poorly photocopied photos pinned onto one of the walls, and about 4 pages of articles that were either taken from some published journal, or typed up in a very unprofessional looking manner), and a tour.

Of course the tour only happens three times a week at very specific times… and we missed the one for Saturday by about 5 hours. There had been no information about times online that I know of, and when it was described as a cultural center, we expected something more substantial and less rigidly scheduled (ie a large museum with reasonable daily hours). So we wandered around for about an hour before hopping in the car for the 2.5 hour drive back.

Perhaps because of the car travels – and the dynamics of a large family going on long car rides – that I went on with my family as a child, but for whatever reason I find that car rides and other types of traveling is the time when I am most pensive. I usually take a book with me for traveling (currently I am reading Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky – a bit heavy for a vacation book, but still good), but I inevitably spend at least half the time just browsing through the archives of my memory, ideas, and fantasies.

Especially on vacations like this when I have lots of free time for my brain perusing, I get very tired of my thoughts. I often just go over specific memories or thoughts that are of particular annoyance at the time. It is times like those when I am glad to take a break from the trip to stop on Sunset Strip and watch the sunset (photos to follow). The funny part about that is that the road was parallel to the path the sun takes and is on the South of the island, therefore you had to look down the beach to see the sunset (the street itself did not see much of the sunset).

Fiji is still great, and though I have had more free time to be pensive than is healthy, I am glad to have taken up the opportunity to come here.

Cheers!

Westward HO!

(Written on Saturday 26/9/09)

This story is referring to an adventure we had on our first visit to the beach near our lodge (so really this is an elaboration of the second to last paragraph of the “Bula, Bula” post written on the 21st)

If you will recall, on the 21st, Alex and I found the local public beach just 1.5 miles from the lodge and went to get some sun. Our plans were minorly foiled by the clouds which did not let the sun shine through too much, but it was still an enjoyable experience. The walk over took about 30 minutes to get there, and upon arriving, I was a bit disappointed. The whole area was a bit trashy. It looked nice, but the whole parking area (in and amongst a patch of palm trees) was unkempt and covered by litter.

Because of the poor appearance, and the awkwardness of a group of natives sitting around under the palm trees, we decided to walk down (well, actually North) the beach to a more distant part of the beach. On the way to the place where we would eventually lay out, we crossed this little creek. It seemed pretty insignificant, and very pretty. You’ll see a photo once I upload them (not until I’m back in Adelaide, sorry! The internet here is SUPER slow), but it had high sand banks with dense tropical foliage on both sides. It was very beautiful with this slow trickle of water flowing out of the stream into the ocean.

We finally got to a pretty good location and got ourselves set up for some tanning. Over the next few hours (or however long we stayed there) we had to move several times as the tide came in. So by about 5:30 when we left, the tide was pretty high. Perhaps you can see where this is going: when we came back to the little stream, it was no longer a little stream. Although not wide, it was pretty deep, deep enough to not be able to see the bottom through the partly turbid water.

After about 2 or 3 minutes of discussing our options, I tried wading across. The water actually only came up to my mid thigh, but it was a steep slop into the water, and as you step in you dread that it will be several feet deep. Afterwards I laughed at myself. I was filled with so much consternation and had to consider the options before crossing this rather small and safe stream, while the explorers of America, and the families who made the movement out west would cross rivers of much greater magnitude than this several times. And we had a pretty well defined knowledge of the bottom of the stream and its characteristics.

It was a fun experience, and one that makes me appreciate more one of the major obstacles that were faced by those who made the United States what it is today.

Cheers!

Twenty Two Down, Sixty Six To Go

(written Saturday 26/9/09)

I want you to imagine your most recent birthday. Ok, now picture where you went and/or how you celebrated it… Good, good. Now keep that in mind as I describe to you my birthday celebrations from yesterday…

For my 22nd celebration of my natal day I just sat around reading, I sat around talking with Alex, and I sat around doing some inconsequential thinking… while tanning on one of the most beautiful beaches on Viti Levu in Fiji!

The day started off with some casual tanning at our lodge, which I’ve been doing every morning while Alex was still asleep (the bed here wont let me sleep much later than 8:30am). Then after getting a little burnt, she and I went to a beach 50km to the south of Nadi. It was gorgeous! It was well worth the time it took to get there, even including the two mis-turns. The sand was a dirty white, and the water was a clear blue. I have swum (swam? Swam-ed? – past tense of swim) in the Gulf of Mexico before, but I don’t remember having seen such clear water as here. It was really fun to just stand knee deep, and watch the movement of the sand as the waves crashed just behind me.

After reading, laying out, and talking with Alex on that beach (Natadola beach) until sunset (just after 6pm our time – that is 3:30p Adelaide time, 4p Gold Coast time, 2a NY time). After that we drove to Port Denarau for dinner. Port Denarau is almost a peninsula, and it is the location most cruises, both day and extended, leave from Viti Levu for the islands. As you might imagine, that means that it is built up for tourists. For example, for dinner we ate at Hard Rock Café.

This was my first Hard Rock experience. I had a tasty Hickory BBQ Bacon Cheese Burger, with the drink Purple Haze (I think it was a mix of vodka, rum, grenadine, sweat and sour, and some raspberry flavoring… it looked purple and was a bit hazy, but very tasty). It was funny to be in such an American resturante in Fiji. Almost all of the diners were Caucasian tourists from Australia, Europe or the States (judging by our guesses, most of them were probably Aussies). The only thing that made this HR different was that the live music was being performed by some Fijians, and there were two items on the menu that were Fijian (both were burgers: one had an egg on the burger, the other had some pineapple).

After dinner, which Alex was nice enough to cover (including the drink which was $20 – the cheapest alcoholic drink listed on their menu was $15.50FJD), we drove back to the lodge where we sat around recovering from the day, enjoying some fun conversations.

Other than the light burn I got from all the sun, it was a very relaxed and yet remarkable day. Thank you all for your good wishes! I hope your next birthday can be as enjoyable as mine was, weather tropical or not.
Cheers!

Look Ma! I’m Driving On The Wrong Side Of The Road!

(Written on Thursday 24/9/09)

Today, Alex and I rented a car! We did this so as to better get around and do some things here on Viti Levu that otherwise we may not have done. Granted, we could have taken a taxi or a bus to most places, but we haven’t really appreciated how the drivers here handle their cars. And we were both pretty excited to try out driving on the wrong side of the road.

Fiji, like Australia, drives on the left side of the road, with the steering wheel on the right side of the car. Although I can drive a manual, we got an automatic after Alex reminded me that I would have to shift using my left hand. Not as cheap as we would have liked, we got a new Toyota Carola with AC!

We are renting it for 5 days, which we have filled with plans that will be more convenient with this car. So immediately after renting the car, we took it out for our first destination. I got to try this new experience first: and it was much easier than I expected. Perhaps it was the fact that I haven’t driven in over 2.5 months, or just that it is similar enough to the American right-sided driving, but I quickly got into the groove of things.

During our drive we encountered, as we expected, a traffic circle, but that too was simple to handle. I don’t want to use one that is more than one lane, but this single lane-ed circle was fine. When it came to be Alex’s turn to drive, I think she too quickly became comfortable with the left-sided business. The hardest part is getting used to all the bad drivers surrounding us, and the poor conditions of all the roads!

Hiring the car in the first place was a bit of a conflict for me. Those of you who have been following my blog may recall that I had intended to get a job ASAP but have so far failed to do so. Because of that I have felt very much to be a financial burden on my dad who has been lending me money for my travels. Thus you can see how spending a substantial amount of money to hire a car does not help, however I also want to take advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that have thus far fallen into my lap.

Today Alex and I spent a number of hours at this great garden, the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, not too far from our lodge. It has hundreds of different types of orchids and had amazing and beautiful paths through the gorgeous trees and plant life on the slops of one of the nearby Fijian mountains.

We had planned on going to some hot springs in the same area while we were there, but we decided against it. For both of us we didn’t really feel that interested in paying what would likely be around$ $10FJD each and we would have only looked at them (swimming in the Mud Baths was common, but neither of us were digging it at the time). And yet we both didn’t want to skip it, just to feel later that we regret not going while we were so near.

It is an easy feeling to cope with, and I feel certain that I would always have to consider what I might miss out on with every event based decision I make. And this may be even more true based on how much time and money I had available to me here to do more events.

Cheers!

Nadi

(written on 22/9/09)

Today I spent some time sitting by the pool just contemplating Life, the Universe and Everything... Ok, just life, but that is enough on its own. Needless to say, there have been many things that I have been thinking about. Please excuse me if I stray a little in my post.

Being in Fiji, I have experienced a most odd mix of worlds. What I say may be a bit ignorant, but I guess as far as traveling the world, I am a bit ignorant. I am under the impression that Fiji is a major tourist location, and because of that I had the preconceived notion that the parts that I would visit might be built up for that reason. I was thus surprised when I quickly realized that at least the city of Nadi and the surrounding area have the strongest feeling of a third world country that I have so far experienced.

It is an odd blend: a weird mix of tourism and the slum.  I don’t doubt that we are not in the areas most tourists visit. For example, it seems to me that Alex and I are the only real tourists staying at this lodge. They may be locals visiting on holiday from a different part of the island, but I suspect that the only other guests are here semi-permanently.

Perhaps, than, our experience so far is more like a glimpse at the local living standards. That being said, our trip into Nadi the city was a good way to describe the whole ghetto/slummy feel the place has had. We walked out to the bus stop and was waiting for it to arrive, but the taxi drivers here being what they are, very persistently tried to get us to take their taxi instead.

I will diverge from the main story to tell you about these taxi drivers. Of my  little experiences spent abroad, these taxi drivers are the most persistent – to the point of annoyance – of any that I have encountered. Alex and I, in the first few hours in the area our lodge is in, both became annoyed at the number of taxis that honk at you as they drive past. All of the taxis are very obvious: most are bright yellow, and all have very prominent signs on the top of the car, but they all still honk to get your attention. It is all quite annoying.

As we waited for our bus, we had two taxi drivers – sitting out of their cars by the supermarket – approach us several times to see if we wanted a ride. At one point, the one driver approached me and after being turned down smooth talked me, but without lowering his price of $5. After I declined his offer a second time he proceeded to ask me if I wanted to by some weed. I declined with a laugh – I couldn’t suppress it, it came out of its own accord. It was only a chuckle, but it was very interesting to be offered it in such a way, and I have no doubt that it was just another way to get me to use his taxi.

A few minutes later, that same driver then helped out a friend of his: a different driver already had two passengers also headed into town. He offered us the ride for one dollar a head. We declined knowing that the bus was only 70 cents per person. So without trying we haggled this driver down to 70 cents before hopping in for a 7 minute ride into the city.

The hour or so we spent in town was mostly uneventful. It really is a small place, the main thoroughfare being only about ¼ mile long and the hub of all activity. This trip was mostly just to see what was there and save any of the actual events for another day. We found the temple I mentioned before, but did not go in today. If we have/find the time we may visit it later, but not today. We quickly felt a bit uncomfortable about being white.

It was interesting, almost every shop had one or two men standing in the doorway who would try to convince you to buy something from their shop.  They would greet you as you pass “Bula” and if you were to politely return the greeting “Bula” or even just nod your head in acknowledgement, they would pounce “How are you doing today, where are you from? Oh, that is nice! How long are you here? Yes? Very good. You like it here? Good. You find us to be very nice people, we are very welcoming. Come on in, we have the best carvings here… no, no, just look around. It doesn’t cost anything just to look around. No don’t go to them down the street, they’re not as nice as we are. Ok, ok. When you come back down this way come on in.” I think you now get the idea.

In a different way, it has the same social awkwardness as how you should react to the homeless. You want to be polite and treat them with the courtesy they are showing you, but if you even look at them with enough interest they will start a conversation with you which no doubt is supposed to end with you  entering their shop

But to be fair, I should mention that so far I have been pleasantly surprised at the honest welcome we have been shown. Other than on the main street of Nadi itself, a large majority of people we have passed on the street will greet you. And if you greet them first, they will acknowledge your greeting, most times with a smile. And our hostess has been very helpful, and genuinely interested in helping us find stuff out. 

I think as we explore this island and the others more, we will see more of the utopian side of Fiji. Until then, I am content to walk to the beach, relax by the pool, and sleep in.

 

Cheers!

Bula, Bula!

(witten on 21/9/09)

            The first thing to know about Fiji, is that the greeting is “Bula.” Here I am here on Viti Lavu, the largest of the islands that makes up Fiji, next to the town of Nadi. Alex and I are on this visit as a means to waste our first of two spring breaks relaxing on the beach, snorkeling in the clear blue water, and hiking the mountains. Not all of those adventures might happen, but so far we have done some relaxing on the beach, and I hope we can get the other ones in too.

            To start from the beginning: Alex and I took off from the Adelaide airport, after a 5:45am wake up, around 9:30am Adelaide time (Sept. 20^th). At that time, it was noon in Nadi, Fiji (Sept. 20^th), and 8pm (Sept. 19^th) on the east coast of the States. The flight was a smooth and relaxed 5 hours (no matter what time zone you counted those hours in). The plane was actually only about 40% full (or less) which meant that I spent some of those 5 hours leaning against the fuselage with my legs stretched across all three of the seats on the starboard side of the plane.

            At around 5pm Fiji time of the 20^th (2:30pm of the 20^th in Adelaide, and 1am of the 20^th in Bryn Athyn, Aiken, Darrtown, Clemson, Atlanta and all towns in that same time zone) we landed at the Nadi airport. We quickly made it through customs (which was less existent than that of the screening it took to get out of Australia in the first place) and found our driver. After another 10-20 minute drive we arrived at the Sandalwood lodge where we were going to spend the next 11 nights. 

            The flight, by Pacific Blue, charged for any food or drink that they offered. The flight wasn’t exactly a cheap flight, so I wasn’t really feeling like spending even more during the flight as well. Because of this, I was pretty hungry by the time we got to the lodge. Alex and I then got directions as to where we might find some food, then went for a walk. After seeing all of the little stretch of road that the lodge is on, we chose a restaurant and ate a nice quiet dinner.

Despite the jet lag, we both felt pretty tired and went to bed early. After more sleep than I’ve gotten in a while I woke up around 8:30 and spent the next few hours reading in the hot sun of our little porch. We then spent the rest of the day settling in.

We have discovered the local internet café and grocery store. After chatting online and looking some stuff up at the internet café we walked to the beach to enjoy the cloudy day. The beach was nice, but nothing I am not familiar with. The water was much warmer than I am used to, but that specific beach is not the white sand, clear blue water. It really was pleasant, but it was the normal grey/tan sand with brown-ish water. I’ll get you a photo soon, don’t worry.

Those are the events of the past two days. In the next post I’ll explore some more of my reactions to being here.

 

Cheers! 

Barossa Valley Wine Tour

Assuming you have been following my blog (even only roughly), then you may noticed that I arrived back in Adelaide after touring the Uluru area on Wednesday the 9^th of September. The following Saturday (the 12^th) Alex, Ryan and I went on an Exchange Society arranged wine tour of the Barossa Valley.

 

       The bus left around 8:30am and we drove for about an hour before getting to the valley. The first winery we stopped at was Jacob’s Creek. Here we tasted some fine wine, but more importantly we were instructed in the process of wine tasting. The Jacob’s Creek lady that we leading this tasting explained the basic process people use to analyze the wine. This included observing the legs, analyzing the smell, and the proper way to taste and analyze the taste of the wine.

 

            I had never before been formally instructed in the process, and so as simple as it was, I finally learned why those techniques (as fun as they were to mimic as a child using water in a plastic cup) were used, and what I was supposed to get from them. We also took the opportunity and fired off question after question about the differences between types of wines, the food they should be served with, the cellar life of different wines, and other related questions. It was very informative, and the lady was very nice. I left feeling satisfied and loose.

 

            The next winery took around 15-20 minutes to get to (enough time to sober up a bit and get excited for the next stop). It was the Seppeltsfield winery – I still can’t pronounce it even after visiting it. This stop was a bit different: We had a lot less instruction in the process of tasting (in fact, we had no instruction in this regard), and had to ask direct questions to learn anything about the wine we were tasting. The setup was also different: at Jacob’s Creek we were guided through a tasting of 6 specific wines in a specific order (a sparkling rose, then two whites, a rose, then two reds), but at Seppeltsfield we were given a list of 20 wines to try (some of which were not available at that time).

 

            Because of this, there was more alcohol consumed – or at least I consumed more here than at Jacob’s Creek – and a wider variety tried. Having Alex along was great because she seems to have more knowledge of wine than I do. This, if I’m not mistaken, is due to her parents. I got to taste it and decide if I like it or not while we discussed how it compared to the other wines we had tried.

 

            Offered here that wasn’t at Jacob’s Creek were a decent amount of dessert wines. After trying a few of those, Alex and I decided to buy a bottle of Tokey. It is a very sweet and thick wine that tastes of raisins (surprise, surprise) and caramel. Since then I have enjoyed sipping it, but it goes down even more pleasantly after 3 glasses of varied wines. J

 

            After another short drive we ate a tasty meal of Chicken Schnitzel on a warm, breezy patio of a pub. Then we hopped back in the bus for the 20-30 minute drive to the third winery: James Holiday.

 

            Here they wine was enjoyed, but my favorite part was walking through the cellars to get to the tasting area. After asking the lady who served us, we learned that the shelves pictured here currently holds 250,000 bottles of wine which I think is 1/3 of the total possible capacity. Unfortunately for them, because of the people moving through the areas, and the lights and other similar reasons, these wines are no longer good for consumption – just looks. I guess that would explain why the ones we checked were only 10 years old.

 

The last winery on our tour was Wolf Bass. They had some good wines. I enjoyed their German style Riesling (at Jacob’s Creek we learned that Riesling from Germany is a sweet wine, while the Riesling produced in Australia – or at least at Jacob’s Creek – is a dryer wine), and I think the three of us enjoyed their new summer red wine. It is a light, sweet, fruity red with a dark pink colour.

 

It was a very enjoyable day. Although the grapes were not growing while we were there, the scenery was gorgeous. There were few clouds, it was sunny and warm. Perhaps because we were in vineyards, but the whole time I enjoyed the subdued sound of the wind with the feeling of the sun on my back… what can I say, at the end of every tasting we had time to mellow outside before moving on.

 

            Next time you hear from me I’ll be in Fiji. Until then…

 

Cheers!

Kings Canyon (Uluru Trip Day 4)

Reminder: this is a series, please start with the post “Alice Springs (Uluru Trip Day 1).”

On the morning of the 8^th we were able to sleep in for the first time in what felt like a long time. After a more restful sleep than the night before, I got up at the late hour of 5:40am with enough time to change and pack up before a breakfast under the weak early rays of the rising sun over the land of the outback. After a quick breakfast, we broke camp (we would not retune to this site) before leaving for the 30 minute ride to Kings Canyon. 

We started off the hike by climbing out from the bottom of the canyon where we drove in. They called the series of stairs (I’m guessing around 100 or more steps up) is in 3 segments and combined are called “Heartattack Hill.” I enjoyed the climb despite the steep height.

 

Once on top we started the 3 hour hike around the rim with stops along the way to hear about the vegetation or culture of the local Aboriginal People. We were introduced to the local plants and their uses. For example we were introduced to a tree that makes a substance that protects itself from the sun’s harmful rays. The Aboriginal People used this substance as sunblock!

We learned about the tree that has a very fragrant sap that would be used to disguise the smell of BO for the purposes of hunting, the wood, sap, and stone used to make a light spear for hunting, and a method of punishment. At Uluru we were taught that the Aboriginal People of that area used a spear to the thigh as the punishment for a crime (the offender was then forgiven and accepted back into the community). This was possible for them in Uluru because there is a tree there the sap of which has antiseptic powers and thus you could wound the offender with less risk of killing. And yet to disable them from walking, it was a serious issue as far as getting food and water for yourself.

 In Kings Canyon there was a plant (I believe its name is translated to be Milk Milk) the white milky sap of which was caustic and if rubbed on the eyes would cause temporary blindness (I think it was for a week or so long). As  you probably have guessed, the punishment in the Kings Canyon area was for the appointed punisher to sneak up to the offender in the night and dab some of this sap on their eyelids, so that in the morning if/when they rub their eyes the sap would get rubbed in and cause the blindness.

This photo is of the fun stratigraphy of the rock. It was explained when we saw it: it was once layers of sand that compressed the lower layers into rock. They rock would shift, and the dunes move causing the different angles of the layers.

An interesting side note is that this same sap (unless I’m mixing up plants) was believed to have a very different effect on the human body as well. Applied as an ointment, it was used for its supposed breast augmentation abilities. As Justine put it, this was the first form of breast implants. It is interesting that this would be used for this purpose as well as punishment.

This area was once the floor of a very large inland lake. The sand beds became stone where they sat... you can still see the ripples.

This area has water in it for a lot more of the year than the rest because the rock in this little valley is impenetrable and so the water pools on it. Because of that there is a lot more vegetation and has been given the name the Garden of Eden.

Another type of plant we were introduced to was used in combination with a second native plant and used as tobacco for its nicotine. Not dissimilar to the situation between the white settlers and Native Americans, this became a major trade commodity as the explorers passed through and settlers spread.

After the beautiful sites and great information, we got back to the bus in time for a short drive then lunch. After lunch we had the long haul back to Alice Springs. For this leg of the drive, we actually had a movie to watch along the way. Justine had been holding out on the ride out – which I think was a good thing – and told us about the built in tv that the bus had. As a group we chose to watch Million Dollar Baby for the portion of the ride directly after lunch. I’m not a big fan of the movie, but it did make the next 2.5 hours fly past a bit faster.

This is a little pool in the Garden of Eden where we stopped for a short snack.

They're hard to see, but those are people standing on a ridge, on a later part of our hike, looking down at us at the pool.

This flat face illustrates an interesting factoid: a true canyon is formed when the rock forcefully splits apart leaving these flat faces with a gorge in between them. This means that the Grand Canyon, formed by water slowly eroding away at sitting rock, is not actually a canyon.

With only one stop to gas up and hit the toilets (toilets = bathroom, not the plumbing fixture itself), we made it back to Alice Springs by 5:45pm. After settling into our hostel (and showering etc.) we went back out to meet up with our fellow Uluru trippers at a local pub. We ate dinner there and took in a few drinks before calling it a night and retuning to our hostel. It wasn’t too much longer before we had all collapsed back in bed.

This is us entering back into Alice Springs. I felt super touristy by stopping to get a photo here!

            This post is long enough, but I will brefly mention the last day of our trip. The following morning Dustin, Laura and I slept in until around 8am. The three of us then went for a walk to Anzac hill to look over Adelaide. Then we met Alex at the local McDonnalds for breakfast (I was hoping to introduce Laura to the McGriddle, but they are not served in Australia! It was a major let down). After that we went back, finished packing up, checked out, the got a ride to the airport. Going through Check In took about 1.5 hours, but security was easy, and we were there plenty early. The flight was with Qantas and was much better than the flight out – including a complementary lunch!

            So that is a summary of the events of our Uluru trip as I experienced it. I have intentionally not gone into any description of my emotional state during the trip. I felt a bit rough around the edges emotionally, and it put me in an odd mood for parts of the trip. That aside, it was a very enjoyable adventure!

 

Cheers!

G'Day, G'Day and Mt. Conner (Uluru Trip Day 3)

Hello again. I would like to now finish the events of the day that was started in the post “Sunrise and Base Walk”

During the walk I mentioned that Justine took us on she told us many things, and for the most part I have skipped those, but I realize I do want to mention the “caves” that she showed us. As you may have seen from the photos, there are a lot of divots in the surface of the rock. Justine referred to some of the bigger ones (perhaps the ones with more spiritual significance?) as caves.

 

Although I would not consider them caves, they were pretty spectacular. Looking at the photos, you can see a more accurate colouring of the stone itself which isn’t actually red. These caves had significance for the Aboriginal People who lived here for a few reasons. Most, if not all, had some sort of spiritual significance with the belief that some gods lived in them or somehow used them. Uluru itself was believed to be one of many gods who roamed the earth and made it what it is today (creating the geological features that we know), and when its work was done, it settled down and became part of the earth.

Another significance of the caves is that they, or some of them, could be used for shelter. In one case that we saw, a cave was used as a nursery. The children could be corralled into the cave where just a few adults – perhaps Justine even said they could be unaccompanied? – could take care of them and watch them while the rest of the adults were hunting and gathering.

After the walk and a little more looking around, we reconvened and left for the long drive to Kings Canyon.

I think it was part of this drive (I think the drive was a couple of hours long) that we were introduced to Slim Dusty. Slim is a music artist that seems to be a folk comedy/kids artist; the type of artist that the Australians of my generation the one before me grew up on his songs. I wouldn’t exactly call them kids songs, but they have that feeling to them. There was a fun song about drinking with “me mates,” but the one that got on EVERYONE’S mind was (I think) called “G’day, G’day.” It had a very catchy tune, and it was all about the Australian greeting: “and it’s spelled with a G apostrophe a D-A-Y.”

It’s a great song. You should check it out, but just be sure you are ready to have it stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

I would like to take a second here to mention an amazing tree we learned about. In this photo you may notice two trees on the left in the foreground (the older looking tree in the middle distance is not what I’m talking about). They are both Desert Oaks at different stages of their lives. The one on the left looks younger (fewer branches), however we were told that that is not necessarily true. These trees establish a deep root system before they grow above surface. They don’t look established until their roots find a permanent water source. If it is bigger it is not necessarily older, it just reached a permanent water source sooner.

As we drove away from Uluru we passes (for the second time) Mt. Conner and took a short break to view it from a distance. It is sometimes called Fooluru because it looks a little bit like Uluru, and supposedly some people have driven from Alice Springs, saw Mt. Conner (which you pass on your way to Uluru), though it was Uluru then turned around and went back.

 

On the other side of a sand dune in the opposite direction from where we stopped there was a salt lake, so we climbed the dune for a quick look. 

During our stop, I photographed the road... the amount of turns and hills reminds me of Nebraska

At dinner time we arrived at our camp: the Hilton... Ok, it would be funnier if I could remember the real name, but suffice it to say that the campsite was called (Something-or-other) Hilton. Justine (with help) made dinner while the rest of us lunged around. The five of us decided to go climb some rocks not far away to see the sunset.

We did not get those tents, this is just the terrane

Our campsite is the one in the shadows in the centre. This was a very remote area, the closest other people (there was only one other group of campers here as far as I remember) was a couple of kilometers away at a small petrol station.

After a delicious dinner, we did some more lounging and camp hangout stuff. Alex, Laura and I made some s’mores (as best we could – some cookie-crackers, some chocolate bars, and some flavored marshmallows). At some point Justine taught us how to find South by the stars (which were amazing! And so many shooting starts too!). Every now and again people would make quiet outbursts as they spotted a dingo just outside of the ring of firelight (in a good way – most people liked seeing them). If you left them alone, they left you alone. We did have to make sure we left nothing out like backpacks or shoes, because they might steal them during the night. They just seemed to be shy dogs. Then we set up our swags and went to bed at the late hour around 9pm. Yep, we were able to stay up late because we were looking forward to a bit of a sleep in, in the morning.

I’m feeling a little sleepy now. Perhaps I should make some dinner before I fall asleep. I might have a little trouble getting to sleep tonight, though; I can’t stop thinking in my head… “G’day, G’day! And how ya goin’?  What d’ya know, well strike a light…”

Cheers!

Sunrise and Base Walk (Uluru Trip Day 3)

I apologize for my short siesta. I nowfeel a bit refreshed, and without expectations that held me back (I felt pressured to finish the Uluru trip).  I hope that now the reading experience for you is that much more enjoyable. Again, if you have not yet done so, this is part of the Uluru series, so you should start at the post “Alice Springs.”

  Monday the 7^th was the earliest rise for us. The first activity of the day (after breakfast) was to see the sunrise on Uluru, and especially because of how flat the outback is, this meant a 4:30am wake up time for me.

  The sunrise itself wasn’t until after 6:30 am, but we had several things to accomplish before heading out: We had to get up in time for a 4:55 breakfast, and to avoid a rushed breakfast that meant that I wanted to pack up my sleeping bag, and swag before then. After packing up, I prepared myself for the day (cold gear because it was probably around 10 C, or colder, during the sunrise – or 50 F – and a hike immediately following that).

  Breakfast was cold cereal and toast with Vegemite. Like Marmite in Britan, Vegemite is the Australian yeast spread that is loved by many Auzzies. On the day before, while driving, we were instructed through a Get-To-Know-Each-Other session by Justine, the tour guide, and during it one of the questions we had to answer was whether or not we liked Vegemite. It seems that you must like Vegemite if you are to be a true Australian. Having had Marmite before and not liking it, I was hesitant to try. But I did and found that, in moderation (ie very very small quantities) it does add to a dry piece of toast.

  On our way to the sunrise we took a short break at a lookout point on the Western side of Uluru. In this way we got to see the first rays of the sun behind Uluru give a very beautiful silhouette of the amazing rock formation! 

Then we got to the Eastern side, jumped out of the bus and took our positions, among a large number of other tourists, and josteled for space to watch and photograph Uluru as the sun rose behind us.

  I expected this to be one of my, if not THE, favorite parts of the trip, but I was bound for a bit of a let-down. Although it was beautiful, I think the Sunset was even better. However, I have to admit that the decision may be affected by the lookout situation: for the sunset, we had enough room to get an unobstructed view of the rock, but for the sunrise, the lookout was actually a straightaway of the road as it took you almost directly away from the rock. Because of this angle it was extremely difficult to get a clear shot (both just your own view, but even harder for a photograph) without someone (or a road sign) in the way.

After the stunning sunrise, we jumped back in the bus and headed closer to Uluru. Once at the base, we jumped out and started our 2 hour walk around the base. Some people of the group had wanted to climb Uluru, but at that moment the trail was closed (probably due to winds a little too strong), but that would later change before we left – which was still too late for those who had wanted to climb.

  I had been debating whether or not to climb for the past 24 hours or so, leading up to the evening before. I had been told by Dustin that it is offensive to the Aboriginals for people to climb Uluru, but the government allowed it. I had tentatively decided that I did want to climb it because I would probably later regret not doing so after traveling so far to get there. However, the evening before I had to make the decision, Justine stated in more depth that it was considered an ethical crime to the Aboriginal People to climb the rock.

Then and there I decided that I wanted to respect the beliefs of the Aboriginal People and not climb it. As Justine put it: although it does not look like what we call a church, doesn’t mean it isn’t. I may not believe the same things as all other people and faiths of this earth, but I think that it is a common courtesy that they deserve as humans to show respect to their beliefs.

I would quickly like to explain about the photos; although they all look pretty similar, I promise that walking around the base, each face and each ripple in the surface of the rock was beautiful and unique. 

We spent most of our time looking to our right, at Uluru. But all the time to our left was a good view of the stereotypical landscape of the rest of the outback

 

(Note for those the Weber and Overby families. I am including the above photo for two reasons: 1) because it was funny and the memory deserves inclusion here, and 2) because this in one method I'm using to not let Laura forget it. First off you need to know that I like playing the game of occasionally taking photos of people who are taking photos (of other things, usually not of me). Laura generally doesn't like that (if it actually annoys you Laura, let me know and I'll stop), and I think out of revenge she was taking a photo of me as I was taking a photo of Uluru. However, I noticed and looked over at her, posing for the photo. This not being how she wanted the photo, she waited for me to look away - the problem for her is than not only did I not look away, but I took some photos of her from my knee without her realizing it. ) 

After the 2 hour self-guided base walk, we met back up with Justine and the rest of the group at the base of the Climb trail (also the main parking lot). From there Justine led us on a much shorter walk in which she led us and stopped many times to tell us about some of the features and beliefs surrounding the history of Uluru.

Some of the Aboriginal Paintings that we saw

One note that Justine explained was that the rock itself is actually a light grey/white stone, but the high iron content in the surrounding sand (giving the sand the red look) clings onto the stone. This iron then corrodes, or rusts, when in contact with water and oxygen. This rust is what gives Uluru its colour (yes, the “u” is intentional), and is one of the types of erosion affecting Uluru (which is VERY VERY slowly wittling away at it)

  I won’t try to tell you any about the beliefs and rituals that we heard about the Aboriginal People from Justine. This is because I am afraid to mis-represent their beliefs, and because I don’t think I can spell the names to even be phonetically correct. But believe me, there was a lot of info to absorb, and I really enjoyed getting to hear it.

  This post is long enough. I will finish the day’s events in my next post…

 

Cheers!