After Uluru, we carried on down south stopping at Cober Pedy.
Now, for those of you that don't know, Cober Pedy is a famous Opal mining town. IT has to have a lot of opals because there's absolutely no other reason to live there! But the reason most tourists go there is not to see the opals, it's to see how people live. Because it's so damn hot and barren there, many of the houses are actually built into the rock faces and are essentially under ground keeping them and the occupants cool all year round. We got to look round one of the houses, which was interesting. Now, I don't dispute that the people who actually live here have it extremely tough and have to endure harsh conditions, but come on, sort out the 70's decor. It was like being in a time warp. I was waiting for the Brady bunch to appear round the corner!
Friday, 28 December 2007
Climb any mountain.
From Alice Springs we booked a 6 day trip to take us down through the centre of Oz to Adelaide. This was where we were to take in one of the world's most iconic natural wonders, Uluru, or Ayres Rock to you and me.
We spent most of the morning driving back and fourth through Alice picking up various passengers for the trip. With 24 of us in tow, the journey began.
This was proper Australia. The roads were red and dusty, the sky was clear and the heat haze was rising from the road. This was the outback. Strange then that in this context, the fact that we were a coach full of Irish, German, Korean and of course, English.
Our trip was to start with the biggest attraction first, Uluru and the Olgas. We'd then head south to Cober Pedy and Flinders ranges to name a few. Now, I had mixed feelings about Uluru well before we got there. One, we'd travelled a long way into barren Australia to see a what essentially was a rock in the ground, not just that, a sacred rock. I'd seen it so many times on TV, I was a little worried that it might not live up to expectation. Secondly, there was the question of whether to walk up it. As I mentioned, to the Aboriginals Uluru is a sacred rock, part of their heritage and fundamental to their beliefs. In their eyes walking up it is a big no, no. But, it's also a major tourist attraction, so you are actually allowed to climb it, if it is open and you've got the energy and will power to do it.
So, what to do. First of all, I thought, I'm gonna climb it. Then I heard about the aboriginals beliefs in the rock, and I thought, no I won't climb it. Then I saw it, and thought, yes I am.....then no I'm not. Phew. Yes, no, yes, no. Blimey this was getting stupid. Then we found out it was shut. Decision made.
We spent most of the morning driving back and fourth through Alice picking up various passengers for the trip. With 24 of us in tow, the journey began.
This was proper Australia. The roads were red and dusty, the sky was clear and the heat haze was rising from the road. This was the outback. Strange then that in this context, the fact that we were a coach full of Irish, German, Korean and of course, English.
Our trip was to start with the biggest attraction first, Uluru and the Olgas. We'd then head south to Cober Pedy and Flinders ranges to name a few. Now, I had mixed feelings about Uluru well before we got there. One, we'd travelled a long way into barren Australia to see a what essentially was a rock in the ground, not just that, a sacred rock. I'd seen it so many times on TV, I was a little worried that it might not live up to expectation. Secondly, there was the question of whether to walk up it. As I mentioned, to the Aboriginals Uluru is a sacred rock, part of their heritage and fundamental to their beliefs. In their eyes walking up it is a big no, no. But, it's also a major tourist attraction, so you are actually allowed to climb it, if it is open and you've got the energy and will power to do it.
So, what to do. First of all, I thought, I'm gonna climb it. Then I heard about the aboriginals beliefs in the rock, and I thought, no I won't climb it. Then I saw it, and thought, yes I am.....then no I'm not. Phew. Yes, no, yes, no. Blimey this was getting stupid. Then we found out it was shut. Decision made.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
