An Alphabetical Stroll Through Bali and Australia- P is for: Pressing On Further Into the Outback Proper! Alice Springs to Yulara/Ayers Rock (1/5)

[zanzibar138]

He was speeding super fast down the highway and sadly, at some point about halfway, he hit some animal.

Oh, not a good start Unfortunately it's very common in Tassie, but sounds like it probably could have been avoided on this occasion.

My only consolation and sweet satisfaction was that once again we both skated past the gate agents without being made to pay for or check our carry-on bags.

Well at least you got that.

To be fair, I do love me an Aussie meat pie and these were decent. (I’m now an official meat pie expert and connoisseur.)

They actually did look like decent meat pies too.

I had been warned about the rough nature of Alice Springs by other visitors and I will talk more about this in another chapter.

Unfortunately it really has a reputation now. Mum and Dad went last year on a caravan tour of Australia and came back with stories about the camping compounds being surrounded by razor wire.

About 2 hours into the flight, I started to be thoroughly intrigued with what I was seeing below.

Great aerial shots!

They call it “naked traveling” now

Haha did not know that.

These small fly-sized aggressors would be a constant threat for the following 4 days – there was no escape. However, we were prepared for their onslaught and armed with counter measures that we’d deploy soon…

Ugh, the flies

We’d been warned by the staff to ONLY park the car in their guarded lot or in front of the police station. This made me incredibly nervous about having a rental.

Yes, I hadn't thought about that from the perspective of having a rental!

In all however, we only spent about 2 ½ hours there, not for a lack of things to see and do, but because Alice Springs can dish up a hearty helping of inferno-hot weather.

It's a super dry heat. Like you're literally being cooked in an oven. We get a taste of it sometimes in Perth, like the other day when it was 111°.

So, if weird (to most N. Americans) birds intrigue you even a little here is a montage of Aussie birds:

Most of those birds are weird even to me lol! Any type of wren are super cute, but I also like the finches.

This next guy turned out to be a bona fide bootyhole. We really needed a drink of water but turns out this is a private perch for his majesty.

What a jerk. We had a similar experience at Healesville Sanctuary in Victoria once.

The museum has several talks and shows throughout the day, and we decided to sit in on a short lecture on Aboriginal foods and methods of cooking.

We learned about bush tucker in primary school. Basically the only thing children of that age take notice of is witchetty grubs.

Anara and I were making our way along one of the trails, trying not to spontaneously combust in the scorching heat, when I spied a very long lizard basking on a dead piece of wood straight ahead of us.

Ooh he's a beauty!

The animals in the indoor exhibits were very foreign to me and it was fun seeing so many new-to-me critters.

Now those ones look pretty normal to me lol!

My snickering turned instantly to terror-filled shrieking when they suddenly changed course and literally headed STRAIGHT FOR ME!!! Like right. at. me. I froze while they, unaware of my very existence probably, raced right between my legs. I $h!t you not; they zoomed right through and past me leaving Anara practically wetting herself laughing. It took me a solid minute or so to realize I was not going to have my face eaten off by two fighting, meter-long lizards in the outback of Australia and I’d live another day to be tormented by the black flies that very well might have driven me to death by insanity. I was wrong, Australian Outback lizards are ferocious monsters whose very existence is to instill nightmares in human prey.

I actually think that would startle anyone - I'd certainly be a bit taken aback!

So, we did what any common tourists would do; we headed straight for McDonalds.

I didn't realise they had Maccas in the Alice, but I suppose I should have realised. Good thing for you guys though!

The town was utterly deserted. Like completely. There was not one soul in sight for as far as the eye could see at 9:00.

That's pretty normal outside of major cities in Australia

 

[Steppesister]

The quilt is beautiful.

There was so much fine detail on it. It was really a work of art!

I like the bird pictures. The birds are much more colorful than most of the birds around here.

They seemed to be so much more bright and flamboyant than most birds around here. At least in my neck of the woods. Our most brilliant birds are the cardinal, the blue jay, I guess that's about it. LOL!

The thorny devil is very scary looking.

It really is! I would NOT want to run into one as a close encounter. EEK!

Wow! I would have had nightmares after this incident.

It was just to fast and so random. I mean the odds of them being able to go RIGHT between my legs! Crazy!

I've heard that flies CAN drive a person insane.

Of this is now have no doubt! They were awful the entire time in the area!

Gorgeous pictures!!

Thanks!!

 

[Steppesister]

Shuts down laptop... walks away...


Oh, fine. I'll read along anyway.

Awww, you're sticking around!

Too early! Inhuman!
Betting Anara was not a fan.

No, definitely not!

Assuming since you didn't have an accident that it was something fairly small.

I'm sure it was, but still made a thud. Made me very sad and I really hoped it wasn't a quoll or Devil.

Really? When the flight is at 5:10? That seems very late.

I thought so too, the airport is super tiny so

I'm with security on this one. For all I know, you might've trimmed a cuticle on an unsuspecting victim.

Yes, a very

I can tell that you've gotten over this. Completely.

Oh totally. <shoots a stink eye Westward>

I did a double take at that... And then Googled the flight time...

I forget just how big Australia is.

It's HUGE!!! There is no way to drive from major city to city on even a 2-week trip.

That is cool! I have no idea what those canister looking things could be. And the emergency escape is quite the thing!

Yeah, a design I've not seen before. So odd!

I believe you. For future meat pie tests, I will come to you.

<Meat Pie Snob> :

Get his number?

Heh, uh, no.

I'd heard about that. But seeing it for yourself must've been something else.

It honestly was like being on a different planet. I"ve seen red landscapes before, like in Eastern Oregon, but not to this extent.

So... I had to do some research. I was sure you were wrong and had actually posted Sydney, not Alice Springs. I saw that A380 and thought "There's no way that can land there."

And I was almost right. You can land an A380 (and a B747) at Alice Springs. You just can't take off from there... if you're fully loaded. Must be quite the sight to see, especially on a hot day. Actually... I'm betting they simply don't take off in the heat of a summer day. (Morning or evening)

I actually did do some research on this airport before I posted this chapter as well and found the same information. BIG planes come and go from here, but as suspected none go out full. Products come in but not much goes out. And yes, I'd also thought about the hot climate and the additional reason for needing a super long runway. I'd imagine they gotta get out before sunup or late at night. The airport is a ways out of town which makes noise abatement measures a bit of a moot point and yeah.... that'd be quite something to see! Big planes at a bitty field!

Interesting that they accommodate wide-bodies, but only have mobile stairs.

I did wonder how they unload the incoming cargo. Maybe raisable conveyors? No idea.

You're trend setters!

That's US!!! LOL!

I don't know much about quilting, but that looks pretty impressive.

The detailing was quite something. The patience required must've been quite something.

I first read this and thought you meant by people. I thought "Wow! She wasn't kidding about Alice Springs being rough!"

Hah!!! But... I did forget to mention:

While we were at the Maccas (as Zanzibar called it) they had to ask several loitering Aboriginals to leave as they were becoming a bit squirely. Kinda arguing with staff, looking in the trashcans, etc... It's such an odd place!

Holy crap...

Yeah...

So what did the temp get up to? Did you find out?

I didn't. But when we got out to the Uluru area I did take a photo of the temp on the car dash. It was like 103 at 10:00 AM.

I won't quote every picture, but I looked at them all. I think my fave was the Dusky Grasswren followed by the bustard.

The bustard was like something I'd never seen before. Such strange features.

Whoa! Looks like he'd poke your eye out without a second thought.

Yeah, after a 2nd hiss and ZERO signs of moving off the fountain we moved on... cautiously.

Interesting. At least sounds it, to me.

It was! We both learned a lot during this short presentation.

What the heck is going on here?!?!?!?

It's a picture of a baby in a bed made from bark and lined with some sort of grass, but the lady put a rock on top of the photo which makes it look hilarious. Just a funny optical illusion here.

This just screams aussie to me. "Whacked into a pressure cooker"???

I'm no Aussie-dialect expert, but it does kind of approximate my perception of something that'd come from there.

Or your perspiration was turning into steam.

I'm thinking it was!

Ah! So Mickie Dee's was just a stopgap until you could get some real food.

Yep, a perfect something to just tide us over until a bigger meal later that night.

That's... eerie.

It really was. And maybe the reputation of it being a crime-ridden/rough place made it even more creepy. Like... the calm before the storm.

 

[Steppesister]

Oh, not a good start Unfortunately it's very common in Tassie, but sounds like it probably could have been avoided on this occasion.

I was so, so, soooo careful to go slow and NOT hit anything. I'm sure locals can't do that- they've gotta get to places, but this guy was clearly speeding WAY too fast and it totally could have been avoided for sure. Was hoping it wasn't the endangered Devil.

Well at least you got that.

In all I only pain once.

They actually did look like decent meat pies too.

I ate them both.

Unfortunately it really has a reputation now. Mum and Dad went last year on a caravan tour of Australia and came back with stories about the camping compounds being surrounded by razor wire.

So sad.

I didn't write about the folks getting escorted out of Maccas. They were generally loitering, looking into the trashcans, and being loud. And there were other instances too that I'll write about in another chapter.

Great aerial shots!

Thanks! It was so fun to see it change as we went west.

Ugh, the flies

They were SO HORRIBLE!!!!

Yes, I hadn't thought about that from the perspective of having a rental!

EEK! I did worry about it quite a lot.

It's a super dry heat. Like you're literally being cooked in an oven. We get a taste of it sometimes in Perth, like the other day when it was 111°.

Yes! It's much like the climate in Tucson where I have spent my winters the last few years. Come May, it's uninhabitable, at least in an RV with limited insulation and AC. Dry. And so hot it literally hurts your nose when you breathe in.

Most of those birds are weird even to me lol! Any type of wren are super cute, but I also like the finches.

They are so colorful and have such odd shapes some of them. LOVE IT!

What a jerk. We had a similar experience at Healesville Sanctuary in Victoria once.

It's so weird that they'd even let that happen. I guess I'd have had the fountain moved to outside of the enclosure myself.

We learned about bush tucker in primary school. Basically the only thing children of that age take notice of is witchetty grubs.

We learned a LOT more at the visitors centers in Yulara. Absolutely fascinating! Witchetty grubs came up a lot in the film.

Now those ones look pretty normal to me lol!

HAHA! I do wonder what critters in OUR area would look weird to YOU? I have heard squirrels are strange to Aussies? Yes?

I actually think that would startle anyone - I'd certainly be a bit taken aback!

I was so shocked! I mean how could they, without even realizing it, aim for and actually GO right between my legs. Crazy!

I didn't realise they had Maccas in the Alice, but I suppose I should have realised. Good thing for you guys though!

It hit the spot for what we needed at the time. Seems like when we travel together we end up at one about every 7-10 days.

That's pretty normal outside of major cities in Australia

Yeah, I honestly didn't know if it was because it was A.S. or more a widespread cultural thing. We did see that on Tassie too with things closing up early. Hmm, now that I think of it, KI too. That winery closed at like 5:00!!! Say WHAT? Most of ours around here close later because they serve dinner.

 

[pkondz]

I'm sure it was, but still made a thud. Made me very sad and I really hoped it wasn't a quoll or Devil.

I guess they treat the smaller critters like we treat squirrels. I mean... you don't want to hit a squirrel, but if it's unavoidable and you do...

Yes, a very

You spelled "aviary" wrong.

Oh totally. <shoots a stink eye Westward>

<Meat Pie Snob> :

Heh, uh, no.

Opportunity lost. No private tour for you!

I did wonder how they unload the incoming cargo. Maybe raisable conveyors? No idea.

If things are on pallets... forklift?

While we were at the Maccas (as Zanzibar called it)

they had to ask several loitering Aboriginals to leave as they were becoming a bit squirely. Kinda arguing with staff, looking in the trashcans, etc... It's such an odd place!

Really! Huh!

It was like 103 at 10:00 AM.

The bustard was like something I'd never seen before. Such strange features.

It's like a child's drawing of what a bird looks like.

It's a picture of a baby in a bed made from bark and lined with some sort of grass, but the lady put a rock on top of the photo which makes it look hilarious. Just a funny optical illusion here.

I could see the rock was just a paperweight, but... I was like "Is that its... coffin?? Or... no... she wouldn't post that, would she? Maybe it's a bath."

It really was. And maybe the reputation of it being a crime-ridden/rough place made it even more creepy. Like... the calm before the storm.

I had that same thought.

 

[zanzibar138]

I didn't write about the folks getting escorted out of Maccas. They were generally loitering, looking into the trashcans, and being loud. And there were other instances too that I'll write about in another chapter.

It's much like the climate in Tucson where I have spent my winters the last few years. Come May, it's uninhabitable, at least in an RV with limited insulation and AC. Dry. And so hot it literally hurts your nose when you breathe in.

Ooh I've always wanted to get to Tucson! Love the Saguaro cacti!

Yes, the heat hurting your nose!

I guess I'd have had the fountain moved to outside of the enclosure myself.

But why would one use such common sense?

I do wonder what critters in OUR area would look weird to YOU? I have heard squirrels are strange to Aussies? Yes?

Haha I am like Dug when it comes to squirrels. I'll be mid-sentence and suddenly be all 'OMG there's a SQUIRREL!!!', and stop what I'm doing to take a million photos. Seeing squirrels might be my favourite thing about visiting the US

I was so shocked! I mean how could they, without even realizing it, aim for and actually GO right between my legs. Crazy!

Yeah, I've never heard of that happening before lol!

It hit the spot for what we needed at the time. Seems like when we travel together we end up at one about every 7-10 days.

Absolutely nothing wrong with the occasional cheeky Macca's run when travelling. Sometimes it's nice to not have to think too hard about what to eat and just have something familiar.

Yeah, I honestly didn't know if it was because it was A.S. or more a widespread cultural thing. We did see that on Tassie too with things closing up early. Hmm, now that I think of it, KI too. That winery closed at like 5:00!!! Say WHAT? Most of ours around here close later because they serve dinner.

Most of our wineries just do lunch, but there are a few in the major areas that also do dinner. A lot also just do functions in the evenings.

In Perth, it was only a few years ago that our grocery stores were allowed to open from 11am-5pm on Sundays and stay open until 9pm weeknights other than Thursdays (which has always been late night trading). Other stores (clothing etc) open on Sundays now, but most still close at 5pm every night other than Thursdays. The local independent grocery stores have a little more freedom, but there's really not much open after 9pm other than fast food, 7 Elevens and some petrol stations. Most restaurants are pretty much done by 9pm too.

 

[Steppesister]

P is for: Pressing On Further Into the Outback Proper!​

The hostel ended up being quite nice as hostels go. Getting a bit ahead of myself in order to compare, the one in Alice Springs had a definite "adventure traveler" vibe whereas the one in Cairns was geared towards the “I’m in my 20s and I need to drink til I puke” vibe. The folks at this hostel were a lot quieter and almost all of them were in bed early because, like us, they were up early to get to Uluru or catching flights out of the area.

Given that the girls in our room were a bit older and also had early morning agendas, we got to sleep at a decent hour and weren’t interrupted by late night entries. It didn’t hurt that I also took an Ambien and slept well. That didn’t stop me from having to go out to the bathroom, but it wasn’t me that did that first, so when I did, I didn’t feel quite so badly about any noise. We were up at 7:00, showered, and in the kitchen by 7:45. As I mentioned in the previous chapter, putting a free sign on any food you’ve got leftover and want to give away is very common. In fact, a couple of the hostels had pre-printed labels both for labeling your OWN food with your room number and departure date and give-away stuff with the date so it gets cleared out in a timely manner by the hostel staff.

​

Neither of us was hungry that early, but we did find enough stuff in the fridge to make some tuna sandwiches with some fresh broccoli and dip. I did make some coffee to sip before we headed out and we tried to call home to let everyone know we were having a nice time, but no one answered.

While Anara finished getting ready, I walked to the police station to get our car, and we were on the road by 8:15 or so for our 5+-hour drive through the middle of the true Outback. (At least that’s what Google says. This is compared to “The Bush” which are the lusher areas along the coasts. Am I right @Zanzibar ?) Between Alice and Yulara there is a whole lotta nuthin’! However, in between the “nuthin’s” there are a few points of interest. Let’s adventure, shall we?

**Edited to add: It may very well seem to most there is "nothing" in the desert, if you really dig deeper, there is much beauty there and things are very much alive. There is a lot more diversity in flora and fauna than easily meets the eye. The same is true for the Desert SW in Arizona- a place I've become passionately in love with over the seasons I've lived there the past few years.

Random scenery between Alice Springs and Stuart's:

​

Our first stop was in the small hamlet, well only a little rest stop actually, of Stuart’s Well Roadhouse. We bought some chips and a drink and took interest in the local avian residents after using the restroom. If one is inclined, this a fairly nice place to camp with some great amenities like swimming pools, a restaurant, bar, hiking trails, etc…

​

Authentic culture:

​

We didn’t linger longer than we needed to stretch our legs for a bit then moved on. One thing that struck us was how little roadkill there was compared to the other 2 areas of Australia we'd visited. There was virtually none except for a particularly disturbing one a bit later in the day...

The next stop was in Ghan, another small roadside stop for travelers with a bit more of a touristy feel to it. There is a motel here as well, but also a much larger gift shop with lots of sundries that a traveler might need including the most important item one could possibly have in this neck of the Outback- the Fly Hat. I bought and brought my own after heeding the warnings of fellow travelers who’d gone before us; Anara did not and guess what she ponied up a precious price for? (I did try to talk her into getting one before she left.)

Random scenery between Stuart's and Ghan:



​

There were quite a few people who’d stopped here as well who were on tour groups in buses. All of us could not help ourselves but be fascinated by the road trains. They so perfectly represent all that I'd pictured of something unique to the Australian Outback- behemoth trucks, MUCH larger and longer than anything we normally see here in the US, transporting goods to places where everything has to be brought in. I found it a bit comical to find myself joining the crowd taking photos of the couple that were parked in front of the Erldunda Desert Road Park. It was equally silly to take photos of the grasshopper and bird in the bathroom, but here we are- taking all the “new” in.

(Yellow-throated miner bird)
​

At Ghan we turned due west and knew there’d be no more “civilization” before Yulara, the “base camp” for all things Uluru and Kata Tjuta. There was semi-civilization though. We came across a picnic area and free campground that was perfect for spreading out our lunch. Well, it would have been perfect, but the flies had other ideas. Clearly, this was THEIR territory, and humans could either co-exist with them all over their faces and food or just… not be there. We chose to not co-exist whilst trying to eat and retreated to the car for our repast. We had to keep it running though because it was approximately one billion degrees outside and one trillion degrees inside without the AC on. I exaggerate, but not much.

​

We also took an interest in the odd phenomenon of the burned out cars randomly spaced along the journey. I was intrigued at this and did a little research. It's just far too expensive to tow a car out if it breaks down and the heat and otherwise harsh climate makes breakdowns more likely. Fuel is sold at extortionist prices and the distance between pumps is a very, very long way. Sometimes dangerously so. It's just easier at times to abandon the vehicles altogether and I actually found some articles saying that many Outbackers want the cars to just stay rather than foot the bill forgetting them removed. I also asked about this at our next Airbnb when we got back to Alice and that hostess told me that the Aboriginal kids set them on fire for fun. I really have no way to know for sure, but that also seems plausible. Some are pilfered for parts and others have even turned into art canvases for legit art projects. Anyway, just some thoughts on local phenomenon we thought was odd, but understandable.

(We saw no less than a dozen of these carcasses.) ​

Our next point of interest was here. We were sooooo excited to finally get our first glimpse of Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock. Except it was not. This was the ultimate fake out which fooled us all the way into Yulara. This was not indeed Uluru, but Mt. Conner- one of three sacred monoliths near the town of Yulara. A couple of tour buses were also parked there for folks to take photos. These formations truly are quite impressive and neat to see off in the distance. Their silhouettes create landmarks that are hard to miss making it easy to understand how First Peoples would use them for worship, shelter, and sanctuary.

(I played around with different foregrounds just for fun.)

Random scenery between Mt. Connor Viewpoint and Yulara:




(They don't get old)​

Finally, right about 2:00 (with stops it took a bit over 6 hours) we pulled into the hostel we’d be at for the next 2 nights in Yulara- base camp for all things Uluru and Kate Tjuta. While there are several luxury hotels for hundreds of dollars a night there, we went with the budget option and stayed at the Pioneer Outback Lodge for $23/night pp for bunks in a 20-bed all female dorm. What we saved would pay for the gas for the rental. Yes, it cost me over $100 to fill the tank both times I did. We got top bunks again which was fine and got our stuff stashed and locked away in the provided cupboards. Anara had researched staying in hostels quite a bit more than I had and came prepared with small locks for us to use.

You can find more info here:

https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/accommodation/outback-lodge

I was antsy to explore and had looked at several hikes that I wanted to do in the National Park. I started with a super-duper short on the Pioneer Overlook Trail right there at the Outback Lodge/Hostel. It was just a super short walk up a little hill for views of Uluru and Kata Tjuta, the other, lesser famous rock, but IMHO even more impressive and scenic.

From my short walk before my bigger walks:

(So many varieties of Eucalyptus!)

​

Anara didn’t want to really do that; admittedly, it was quite hot and we’d had a packed schedule for days and days. But I knew that the chances of me ever seeing this part of the world again are about 0% so off I went to see what I could….

 

[Steppesister]

You spelled "aviary" wrong.

Opportunity lost. No private tour for you!

He was working....

If things are on pallets... forklift?

I think it shall always be a mystery. But that's a pretty good guess I think.

It's like a child's drawing of what a bird looks like.

I ran across an Insty the other day of a series of "If a child drew..." things. Cars, birds, people.... Hilarious!

I could see the rock was just a paperweight, but... I was like "Is that its... coffin?? Or... no... she wouldn't post that, would she? Maybe it's a bath."

Nope, just a baby in a bed. Awwww....

 

[Steppesister]

Ooh I've always wanted to get to Tucson! Love the Saguaro cacti!

Yes, the heat hurting your nose!

This is my backyard where I live when I'm in Tucson. I adore my "other home".

But why would one use such common sense?

That's becoming more and more UNcommon.

Haha I am like Dug when it comes to squirrels. I'll be mid-sentence and suddenly be all 'OMG there's a SQUIRREL!!!', and stop what I'm doing to take a million photos. Seeing squirrels might be my favourite thing about visiting the US

LOL!! We almost always have a dead squirrel or rabbit in our neighborhood that's been run over. That's hilarious it's be those.

Yeah, I've never heard of that happening before lol!

Definitely a defining moment of the trip!

Absolutely nothing wrong with the occasional cheeky Macca's run when travelling. Sometimes it's nice to not have to think too hard about what to eat and just have something familiar.

We had to go again in the airport on the way home. It's easy and predictable.

Most of our wineries just do lunch, but there are a few in the major areas that also do dinner. A lot also just do functions in the evenings.

In Perth, it was only a few years ago that our grocery stores were allowed to open from 11am-5pm on Sundays and stay open until 9pm weeknights other than Thursdays (which has always been late night trading). Other stores (clothing etc) open on Sundays now, but most still close at 5pm every night other than Thursdays. The local independent grocery stores have a little more freedom, but there's really not much open after 9pm other than fast food, 7 Elevens and some petrol stations. Most restaurants are pretty much done by 9pm too.

Definitely a difference in culture there!! Maybe just not enough foot traffic to justify the extra hours.

 

[Paulaparm]

Absolutely stunning!!
Your backyard looks amazing too!!