Spring Break started out on Friday morning when Jessica, Lizzie, Mark, and I caught the bus to Byron Bay. Here we had lunch and hit the ATM before loading Grayhound Australia for our 3 1/2 hour bus ride to Brisbane! This was the true start to our trip! Once we arrived in Brisbane we hailed a taxi to our hotel, checked in, and headed off for dinner. Our hotel room (to save money) was booked for two and the other two just snuck in later. The room was tiny but we made it work...two in the double bed, one on the floor, and one on the chairs we turned into a bed. It might have been small and crowded but we saved money and were only staying for one night. The rest of the night was spent playing card games such as spoons, bs, equptian rat screw and much more! It was a fun night and we were all excited for the next leg of our journey early the next morning.
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On the bus to Brisbane! The first leg of our journey |
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Our first hotel room...we booked for two and squeezed in four!...the room was so small we couldnt get a picture without part of the wall in it haha |
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We started with two in the bed...but by the end of the night Lizzie joined...the chairs were not as comfortable as she though they would be! |
Waking up at 6:30am on a Saturday is crazy! We slowly crawled out of bed and hurried to get up and get ready for our 7:15am taxi. One thing I will never get use to here is the taxi and bus drivers...everytime im in a bus or a taxi I feel like im on a rollercoaster...but we always make it safely to our destination so I cant complain to much. Once we got to the airport we printed our boarding passes, made it through security, bought a magazine for the flight and boarded. We were right on time and the 3 hour flight went smoothly. We arrived in Alice Springs 20 minutes ahead of schedule and the airport was tiny! When they unloaded the plane we exited right onto the runway and walked into the airport...this was the first time I have ever done that before! I felt like I was famous or in a movie! Spirits were high in our group as we found a free bus that took us right to our hostel and getting a local tour on the way! The bus driver was full of jokes and interesting to talk to. Once we got to the hostel we checked in and immediately went to the rock tour company to secure a spot on our Uluru tour. After that we explored and did some shopping! Alice Springs was a lot smaller than I expected but we got some great tips on what places to check out. The reptile center was a deffinate must see! We got to watch a saltwater crocodile be fed a chicken, pet a goanna, hold a snake, and had the option to hold a bearded dragon and blue tounge lizard! I was not going to well with the reptiles but I am trying to stay open minded and fearless on this trip so with the help of Jess and Lizzie I held the snake! Then we headed back to the hostel to rest up a bit before heading to the local bar for dinner and heading to bed early.
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Taxi to the Brisbane airport |
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Made it to the airport terminal...heading to Alice Springs |
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Our bus to the hostel from the airport |
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:) we made it!!! |
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Our hostel |
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Layin next to a goanna |
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Saltwater Crocodile |
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Feeding time |
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yummmm chicken!!! |
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Add caption |
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Reptile show |
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AHHHHHHHHH im holding a snake...I was freaking out...and nervous...but I am living with the fearless motto so I did it :) |
We woke up early on Sunday to get ready for the Rock Tour bus to pick us up and start our journey! Breakfast consisted of two pieces of toast and a lot of waiting around. Our motto for the morning seemed to be “hurry-up-and wait!” When the bus finally did arrive we tried to get comfortable for the five hour bus ride into Kings Canyon! Our first hike! Our tour guide was a very interesting one. He reminded me a lot of my brother…he was outgoing and full of adventure! On the way we saw our first outback tumbleweed and had a surprisingly very green view. I guess when all of the locals kept calling it the Green Center instead of the Red Center like usual they were not kidding! It was beautiful!! Along the way we stopped a few times to stretch, fill up with gas, and use the bathrooms. The first stop was a t a Shell station and everyone was shocked by how many flies there were…we all bought fly nets to wear…it was quite annoying to have flies landing on your face! Another must have on the trip was 3 liters of water…we were not allowed to go on any of the hikes without a minimum of 3 liters! That’s a LOT of water!!
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warming up by the fire! |
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setting up our swags |
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time for bed...hope all the creatures stay away! |
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all tucked in for the night :) |
In the morning on Monday we had to get up bright and early 5:30am! I slept pretty well listening to the storm all night was relaxing. Breakfast was tea and toast again, all cooked at the camp site. We didn’t waste any time getting back on the road! We loaded everything up and headed to Kata Tjuta for another hike! It was still raining outside but it didn’t ruin our good spirits. The best thing about the rain was the fact that we got to see waterfalls on our hike! This is a once in a lifetime experience and it was quite the site! To respect the Anangu people and their beliefs we were only allowed to hike through some of the rock. Today the Australian people really respect the Anangu people and their land…it hasn’t always been that way.
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wrapped in a towel to stay warm...it was a little chilly and rainy |
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view during our hike |
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Kata Tjuta |
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part of our trail during the hike |
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Yippppyyyyy |
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Group shot! |
After the hike, while battling the flies, we had a sandwich lunch and then headed off to Uluru! We couldn’t see Uluru for quite some time because of the rain and clouds but as soon as we saw the outline of the rock we all were excited for our first hike on this beautiful and sacred rock! Before we went for our hike at Uluru we went to the Culture Center to learn more about the Anangu people and Uluru. We were not allowed to take pictures here but I bought a painting from an Anangu woman who was sitting in the shop painting. I felt very lucky to be able to watch her paint the story on a canvas and also be able to learn how to read the painting so I can tell the story to others.
After the waterfall fun we drove to the sunset lookout. I was a little disappointed that we couldn’t see anything because of the clouds but I was still super excited that I could see Uluru at this rare moment. Next stop was our camp. This time we stayed at a campground however, it was still raining so we had to cook dinner under a shelter and then set up our swags and put tarps up again to keep us as dry as possible. Most people still got soaked, but I was perfectly dry in the spot that I picked! This was the first time we got a warm shower and it felt amazing after being cold and wet for the majority of the day.
Tuesday March 15th
We all woke up around 5:30 am again in order to make it to sunrise! This time we packed up camp and loaded the bus so we could take off. Once we got to the site we made breakfast and sat around watching sunrise over Uluru. The rain had cleared and the clouds were starting to move away so we could see a little bit of the colors during sunset but it was still a little cloudy. None the less a sunrise over Uluru is always beautiful!
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BSU group with our tour guide |
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the entire tour group at sunrise |
After sunrise was over we drove to the base of Uluru again for our last hike around the base of Uluru. The hike took about an hour and took us almost around the entire base. There were a lot of caves, boulders, and different colored rocks to see on the hike. Scott didn’t go on this hike with us because it was suppose to be an individual hike but I did miss hearing all of his stories and learning about the different sacred places around the rock.
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the rock formations and different colors amazed me |
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a map of the walks around Uluru...this is where we are! |
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more caves and caverns...the amazing this is that none of the Anangu people have ever climbed up Uluru and have never explored anything besides the base of the rock |
When the base walk was done we were on the road again. This time we were heading back to Alice Springs. I was a little sad to say goodbye to the rock but also excited to move to the next chapter of my Spring Break.
On the ride back we stopped off at a few gas stations to fill up with fuel and get some food. I love the culture here and how laid back everyone is. We could walk right into the gas station without shoes on! (I did this because my shoes were soaking wet from the waterfalls and base walk) We also stopped at a camel farm for a quick ride on camels. It was a lot of fun but also a little painful bouncing around on the camel’s back!
To end the Uluru adventure on a good and fun note the two tour buses had a friendly race back to the airport and Alice Springs. Along the way we threw random food items at the other bus and of course they threw stuff back…while passing each other on a two lane road. Scott was having a blast and the whole group was getting in on the fun. (Don’t worry it was safe…the road was straight and there were no other cars for miles…when a car came along we were on the right of the road…well…the left side of the road to be 100% accurate).
We made it back to Toddy’s Backpackers hostel just in time to shower, do some laundry (our wet clothes smelled terrible, and rest up a bit before heading out for dinner with the group.