The Australian Outback

Hey Everybody!

Now that I have (a) landed in Melbourne, (b) successfully driven all around the city center at traffic hour on a Friday evening, and (c) checked into an actual hotel for the first time since arriving in Australia.....it seemed like a good time to write about my days in the Northern Territory. Don't believe me... :-) Here I am: hat, jacket, backpack, camera, and all.... bushwalking near Kata-Tjuta (The Olgas). The Olgas are the less famous (but possibly more beautiful) rock formation at the national park.

First of all, The Outback it is unbelievably large...I saw only a small part & then was lucky to be able to see a few hundred kilometers of it during the flights in and out. Secondly, it is stunning!

Yes, it's desert. Yes, it's dry - 12inches of rain per year on average. The sand is SO much harder to walk in than at the beach because it has no moisture to hold it together. Yes, it was cold before sunrise (approx 30F) and gets hot (up to 130F in summertime); so glad it's winter here! Out temps were probably not over 80*. This place is full of life and the colors change throughout the day. It's very cool!

So, on 7/31 I flew to Uluru (Ayers Rock) to spend 3 nights in The Outback. In Sydney a few people told me 2 days was enough; I wish I'd had one more night. But it's ok...I met a very cool expat when I was checking in tonight. Before he went to his room to do paperwork he gave me lots of good ideas for the rest of my trip. So did the man on the flight today. And the woman at the car hire counter at Ayers airport...and.... People here seem very happy to share tips with visitors.

This was my first glimpse of Uluru.

Even from a distance I'd swear I could see or feel this rock breathing. Unfortunately, the Ayers Rock resort (the ONLY place to stay) has a real noise pollution issue (in my opinion) and I found it very difficult to hear the desert sounds until I went bushwalking for hours each of the next two days. But I did get the first true opportunity - under a cloudless sky - to see the Southern Cross for the first time.

Now a little closer:

First close-up of the Outback's red earth while walking around the resort area:

And the first desert flower:

There is animal life here too - lots of birds, very cool lizards (sadly, they hibernate in the winter), and these guys were hanging out in the area too!

The one-humped camel....

And a larger kangaroo. I got to see two kangaroos here, but barely a chance to get a photo. Turns out I was walking with former kangaroo factory workers (yes, really! I thought they were kidding at first) and I'm pretty sure the 'roos sensed their presence!

Another view of The Olgas:

The first full day I went to Kata-Tjuta. The long hike there is called Valley of the Winds. It's long and not always easy - up and down hills like this - but it's the only way to really see the place!

This is how orange the rock turned in the afternoon, out of the sun...even my skin and hat were turning a bit orange.

 

 

That's probably enough pics for one post....more on the way.

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Bushwalking

G'day Mates!

I never actually say that to anybody here....I fear it would sound too fake coming out of my American mouth! But I admit that I get a kick out of it when somebody says it to me.

Anyway...about the bushwalking: I hopped another ferry in Palm Beach (home of a local soap opera) to Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park. Here's a photo of Palm Beach - big homes & I'm guessing great faith in Mother Nature since some folks built at water level and put their driveways on stilts above them.

This park is not far from Sydney and was totally worth a visit. First of all, it's beautiful from the second you arrive. Secondly, it was deserted except for one tent (yep, there's a small campground) & even that was gone after my bushwalk. Clearly, the perfect time to camp here is during a Sydney winter - a bit cool at night, but great weather during the day.

As an aside: last night this 20-person female dorm was not full and it was quiet inside. Tonight it looks to be full and BOTH snorers are next to me. (No, they are not as loud as R!)...worst of all, they are not synchronized & that means the snores are off-beat & nearly constant! Oh joy!

Back to the park....the third reason this place is so cool: Swamp Wallabies!! I had read about the park but didn't know I would get to see dozens of little kangaroos! Beware of just one thing: the ground nesting birds (didn't know about them either) REALLY don't want you near their nests. Apparently, I got too close to a nest. I thought I was gonna lose an eye or worse! Just FYI: telling them you're sorry doesn't help.

The fourth reason the park is worthwhile - Aboriginal Rock Etchings.

As a reward for my first official bushwalking experience I went to Chocolate by the Bald Man for dinner. Here it is! Some people come to Australia and splurge on hotel rooms and opals. Not me...I choose chocolate. Commando, if you are reading this.... I did it for you too! :-)

Now, a few images from the bush walk. Let me just say that I couldn't take a photo that would do justice to the steepness of the climb. What I can tell you is that it was just over an hour steadily up to the top; while it was less than 30min back down to the beach.

 

Oh....almost forgot....Manly is the first place I've ever seen a surfing Ronald! And it was a couple days before I noticed this one. I was busy noticing the wharf benches.

Soon I will post about bushwalking in The Outback. For now, I think you should know that I got the first left-side driving under my belt in The Outback! It's a breeze. I haven't gone to the wrong driver's side once. However, I have turned on the wipers 6 times when I wanted the blinker. They switched those levers too! By far the weirdest thing to me is having the rear view mirror on the left....it's awkward & I have to remind myself to use it. Most importantly though....I haven't hit any 'roos.

Speaking of 'roos: I will not be eating any kangaroo meat. I have asked a few people and have yet to find one person who liked it. Besides I didn't want to anyway. Somebody must enjoy it....not only is it served in a wrap, but also it's a pizza topping....same as croc meat.

I gotta pack, gas up the car and get to the airport....more soon. But nt before I tell you that one of the snorers has followed me to the commons (wifi) room....she eats loudly too!

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More from Australia....

Hey Everybody....

I must confess that I begin each day at the beach. Each morning before sunrise I started wandering for a couple of hours. Technically, I might have been walking along the Tasman Sea not the Pacific Ocean (according to a local who isn't quite sure)... But I think the Pacific is pretty close if not right where I was. Each morning I run into surfers and swimmers.... The water is cool right now - prob'ly mid-60s - but it feels pretty good. And these folks hit the water daily. I so appreciate that! :-)

I get distracted quickly by the shells..... GOOD shelling here and in some places it's okay to collect them. This area cannot be collected.

The little parrots (rainbow lorikeets) hang out in the trees along the beach and are pretty distracting too. They can get loud and they're cute.

So, a few sunrises images:

After wandering through the Australian Museum and up & down numerous streets I decided it was time for a real bushwalking experience, which will have to in another post (sorry).

A couple of scary pics from the OLD days....first, a Diprotodon (a distant relative of koalas!). And secondly, another distant relative of those cute little koalas....a marsupial lion.

By the way, here's the Manly Wharf since I keep mentioning the Manly Ferry.

So, this the trip in a nutshell....will try to be in touch again soon. Hope this finds you well. Thanks for stopping by!

PS Sharm, this is for C! :-)

 

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Sydney, Australia

Hey Everybody,

I am way behind on the posts, but I will get caught up..... technology has not been easy to access so far.

Here are a few pics to get started.

The city with a ferry and the Opera House. Sydney is quite easy to get around by foot, ferry & bus or rail. I've mostly been on foot and ferry, using the bus to get to distant ferries.

I've heard and read that Melbourne is the true snob when it comes to coffee in Australia. But this past weekend Sydney had a Festival of Taste and people were in lines for at least an hour (I'm guessing) to get a taste of various coffees. I didn't stick around to see how long the lines actually took.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge - if you look closely you can see a group of bridge climbers at the top.

The Sydney Opera House. It has been packed with people inside and out every time I've passed by it.

Because you depend on me to deliver :-) A Harbour lighthouse....and/or fortress.

Like Norway's Royal Palace Park....Australia invites everyone to enjoy the Royal Botanic Gardens. The difference seems to be that Norway encourages walking in the grass & hugging trees while Australia takes it a little further: walk, hug, picnic on the grass and talk to the birds (but don't feed them). This is one of the garden's sculptures. It's called Earth Mother.

And an Italian Restaurant that uses old sails to create patio seating. Patio seating seems to be quite popular even in the winter. The weather has been beautiful since I got here. It does get chilly sometimes but lots of sun. In fact, the first rain was just about sunset on the 30th and a little on the way to the ferry.

Will keep trying....thanks for being patient!

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G'day Mates!

This is just a quick post from the ferry to let you know I made it. I already love this place! And I don't think it's because I'm "home" - as in on the Pacific Ocean once again, but maybe it is. Weather is beautiful.... I am on the ferry from Manly Wharf (a few miles from Sydney) headed to Sydney Harbour.

The plane ride was long, but not too bad. But I confess that I still have "plane legs" - I don't know if there is such a thing - but sometimes when I walk I feel the ground under my feet moving like the plane in light turbulence; I hope that passes soon!

I landed in Sydney right on schedule (6:30am on Saturday). I stayed up and explored all day until about 8pm when I allowed myself to go to bed. I woke around 5am and head to the beach shortly after for sunrise. I love this place and will get something more posted soon.... The only free wifi I have found so far is on the ferry!

Just FYI:

1. Toilet flush looks exactly the same so far, not counter clockwise, but I will keep checking :-)

2. Driving doesn't look so bad - even though it is backwards! - I have been studying the roads and turning lanes as I walk and ride the bus. Gonna be a piece of cake....assuming I remember to get in on the driver's side of the car!

Enjoy your weekend. More soon.

 

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Glacier National Park...in a nutshell

Hey Everyone!

I am back in Billings after a quick trip to the northwestern part of the state. I know now that I need at least 5 days in the park to see and do things. But even a short trip is worth the drive if you don't have much time.

I put a lot of pressure on this National Park because I've been staring at one image of Going-To-The-Sun Road on my wall for nearly 20 years. I can't find a copy of that print online to show you, so I am including this one (photographer unknown; sorry!) just to give you an idea of why I was going.

Saturday morning I was on the road at 4:30 in order to get to certain spots for sunrise. When I got to spot number one around 5.30am here's what I saw:

Yep....just like I've imagined all these years :-). As luck would have it there was a weekend photo workshop/tour and they beat me to the spot. But it's okay....in my 4:30am-9:30pm explorations I found several other spots I want to visit at sunrise and sunset. You know, someday.....

If you want to see wildlife this is a great place to visit. I saw pretty much everything I think: moose, deer, bighorn sheep, cows & horses (free range in or near the road) - drive carefully; those black cows are REALLY hard to see at night! Be careful of the sheep...they seem quite mild here, but apparently they've gotten comfortable with us humans & aggressively go after picnickers!

And a couple of bears - I am pretty sure both are Brown Bears (Grizzly) ...this one is about a car length away from me. I have decided that's as close as I ever need to be to a bear. I've also come to the conclusion that wildlife opportunities can turn intelligent people into fools....I really shouldn't have been standing in front of my car with nothing between me and the bear.

The second one caused such a traffic jam of onlookers that the sheriff had to shoo people away. He looked small, but the way he was digging up big rocks and tossing them aside gave me another reason to think I've been as close as I want to be to bears.

The rest of the park visit was much calmer and safer.... here are some pics of the area.

From Going-ToThe-Sun Road.

One of the really impressive aspects of this road is how well the man-made stuff fits into the natural scenery. If you aren't paying attention, then it's hard to know where one ends and the other begins. Very cool!

There's a visitor center at the continental divide (Logan Pass) and some hiking trails start here. The next two pics are from that area. This spot gets VERY busy... get here early if you want to avoid the crowds.

This is Many Glacier Lake. Lots of great hiking trails here too.

The park has had a couple of big fires in the last several years....the earth is coming back to life quite nicely.

Because of the rain and wind I was unable to get a picture of the pretty little glacier lilies. But this cool little yellow flower made up for that. I haven't found the name of it yet....

This is Running Eagle Falls - named after a great Pikuni woman warrior.

Two Medicine Lake - a nice, quiet place for a boat tour or some kayaking.

 

And from a junction in Montana because I love a sign that can stop drivers and horses... :-)!

 

That's all from Montana for now. I leave for Australia in a few days and hope to have wifi from time to time as I explore. I hope all of you are having a great summer. As always, thanks for stopping by! I will be in touch soon.

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