Across Australia
in 80 days
November 2000 till January 2001

Australia Tour - Part 3 - the Red Centre
Launched, January 6, 2001 - Links update, January 21, 2005
Ronald Langereis - Amsterdam

links

maps and tools                            Nederlandse versie

NW Australia Flags & Facts Indigenous sites Alice Panorama Alice Local Pics Alice streetplan CATIA - Alice Central Australia ANZwers Discount tours Discount vans

Map Australia NW: Darwin, Kakadu, Ayers Rock/Uluru, Alice Springs Flags & Facts on Australia - and on every country in the world ABC Link site to anything aboriginal: Indigenous Australia Alice Springs Virtual Panorama - 360 degrees view from Anzac Hill Alice Springs Photos - Places, People, Events Alice Springs Red Centre Resort - Streetplan of the town Central Australian Tourism Industry Association - Alice Welcome to Central Australia - Tourist Publications A very apt search engine for Australia and New-Zealand Elkes - Discount adventure tour and accommodation directory Discount Campervan, 4wd Car and Motorhome rental operator

links

Petra's report

Alice Springs desert red centre McDonnell Ranges Kings Canyon Kings Canyon Priscilla Palm Valley The Amphitheatre Mt Connor Olgas Ayers Rock Uluru Alice Springs reptile centre flying doctors date garden botanical garden Panorama Guth bike red centre gallery red centre special bushwalks swags snakes dingoes Alice Springs Adelaide

To put myself up at Alice Springs, eventually. Life at last, and a place that bears a modest resemblance to a true town. I love the desolation of the desert, but every time I'm entering a town or city, I must admit, it's there I do belong. In the meantime, I've arrived in the red centre and day by day my clothes and further scanty belongings are turning more and more crimson. But it's really lovely here. I make trips to the McDonnell Ranges, Kings Canyon, (where they shot the movie Priscilla, Queen of the Desert), Palm Valley, Mt Connor, the Olgas and of course Ayers Rock, which the Aborigines call Uluru. After climbing the rock in the evening, and while being treated to champagne, I observed the rock turning its colour as the sun was approaching the horizon. It's a great happening taking place there every evening. All around the rock there are buffets and for those who have a mind to squander a buck or two, waiters in bow-ties are swarming the place, huge round tables are decked out with china and glassware, and endless trays with delicate foods. And in the mornings the same circus opens its gates again to serve a sumptuous breakfast to those who want to admire the turning of the rock's colour at the break of day. In Alice I went to a reptile centre, the flying doctors, a date garden (promoting itself by the slogan: 'Date in the date garden'), the botanical gardens and the Panorama Guth (all of these by bike, really; wearing a helmet is mandatory here). Mr. Guth (Henk), actually, turned out a Dutchman who's become rather a popular figure in OZ. He's set up a round building and to the inner wall he's applied a panoramic painting of the red centre with every special attraction in it I came to see myself. I didn't like Henk's style of painting too much, but the completeness of the overview made it great, in its own way. The red centre was very hot, too. I mostly walked there, about 10 or 12km / 6 or 7.5m a day, generally. I often slept wild in the bush without any camp kit. Many times I slept in swags (a canvass sack with a mattress inside, to be shut by a zipper and with a flap at the top to pull over your head for protection against wind, gnats and snakes) under the stars (difficult to be 'under' the stars, here, for everything is upside-down in this part of the world) and with all those sounds of the wild outback around you (especially the howling dingoes are very peculiar). Because of the heat there often were rain and thunderstorms. These are really a thrill. There's enough time to prepare yourself, for you can hear the approaching onslaught for hours, but there's little that you can do about it. The only two things to hang on to are the 4WD and the trailer, but all the rest will be dragged along with the storm without mercy. Then I flew from Alice to Adelaide, a town abounding in parks.

Across Australia - next pages
Part 1 - The South-West   |   Part 2 - The North-West   |   Part 4 - The South-East
Part 5 - Brisbane ~ Fraser Island   |   Part 6 - Noosa ~ Tasmania   |   Part 7 - Tasmania ~ Sydney

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and more
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Freshwomen's Rag

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