An Outback Adventure!

On Thursday, June 14th, I boarded a late morning flight from the Adelaide Airport that would take me to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. I arrived around noon and stepped out of the plane to bright, sunny and hot weather! I dropped my luggage off at the hostel, and took a walk into the downtown of Alice Springs to check in with the tour company for my outback trip. Alice Springs was a rather small town that wasn't too busy and didn't have much of a spark to it. The outdoor mall was probably the most lively place of all and only because that's where all the restaurants could be found. I bought some lunch at the food court and a couple souvenirs before heading back to my hostel to check into my room and change into shorts.

Todd Mall.

 On my second journey out from the hostel (this time armed with a hat, shorts, sandals, and two water bottles), I walked around the dried up river and across the "bridge" - which was no higher than the bottom of the riverbed - to the Olive Pink Botanical Gardens. The gardens were more of a bushwalk filled with native vegetation than organized planting but still nice to walk through. There was a large hill that I climbed up with the prize being an spectacular view of the surrounding landscape.

Lots of steps...

View from the top.

My second destination was Anzac Hill, which I had seen from Kaitlyn's pictures of her time in Alice Springs, that had a great view of the town. The walk up was called Lion's Walk and shorter and less steep than the Botanic Gardens but the views were no less impressive. I made a quick stop at a reptile centre but shortly left since I wasn't too keen on having snakes free to roam around and I'm too much of a wuss to get my picture taken with one. I spent the rest of the evening relaxing at the hostel before going to sleep early to be able to wake up for my tour the next morning.

'The Gap' from Anzac Hill.

Anzac Hill Lookout.

And so began my three day camping tour in the Australian Outback. Our three destinations were Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), and King's Canyon (in Watarrka National Park). The first day I was picked up at 6:00am and we began our drive to Uluru - 200km, stop for fuel, then another 250km to our campsite. We stopped for lunch where we walked up to a small lookout point and got our first view of the well-known Uluru (otherwise known as Ayers Rock). Next, we spent an hour at the Cultural Centre, learning about the rock from the Aboriginal perspective - which was quite interesting as they have many different stories and it was nice to understand its importance. I also loved seeing all the artwork, although that which could be bought ranged from $85 to at least $1200, which was only a little bit out of my price range.

The tour then took us to the base of Uluru where our guide, Geejay, took us for a short 30 minute walk, before we broke off in separate groups with the choice of climbing Uluru or walking 10.8 kilometers around the base of Uluru. I chose the latter as the Aboriginals ask all visitors not to climb the rock and although I was sure the view would be spectacular from the top, seeing it from all sides would be awesome too. The walk took several hours, but luckily it wasn't too hot and I drank enough water as to avoid becoming dehydrated. It was about 4:45 when finished and time to head to the Sunset Viewing Area to see the rock change colours with the setting sun.

Panorama of Uluru.

Classic Uluru Photo.

Sunset in the Outback.

We headed back to Yulara (our campground), which means the howl of the dingo. We had some delicious chicken stir-fry with noodles  for dinner before sitting around the campfire and exchanging travel stories. We eventually started setting up our swag for the night. For all those that are unfamiliar with swag, it looks like a large sleeping bag with plastic on the bottom and canvas on the top. It has a zipper down each side and a "hood" flap that covers your head so your head doesn't get cold during the night (however it doesn't close completely so a little bit of fresh air can still come in). It has a mattress in it that provides some cushioning so you don't have to lie on the hard ground and in addition, you put your sleeping bag inside it. Our guide informed us that they were called swags as a short form of 'Sleep With A Guide'. It turns out the swags were super warm (without a guide) and I had a great sleep. It was such a great experience to sleep under the stars in Australia; not only were the stars completely amazing (I was able to recognize the Southern Cross and Milky Way) but I also heard dingos howling.

We woke up early on the second day to drive to a viewing area near Kata Tjuta to watch the sunrise. The rocks changed colour a little bit, but I thought the silhouette of Uluru with the rising sun in the background was more beautiful.

Silhouette of Uluru.

First look at Kata Tjuta.

We drove to Kata Tjuta for an early morning walk of 7.4 km around and through the beautiful rock formations. Along the way, we even got to see some feral camels. After this, we drove about 500km to our last stop of the tour, King's Canyon, however we did stop along the way at a roadhouse with an emu walking around free, some salt lakes, and Atilla - another large rock formation.

Lookout point along the path at Kata Tjuta.

Salt Lake.

Atilla. A.K.A. The toothbrush & Fool-uru.

Our campsite for the night was a bit more rustic than the last, but had a great big fire pit. That night we got to have some kangaroo, sausages and chicken for dinner, as well as some bread and potatoes that were made with the coals from the fire. I fell asleep under more amazing stars and the howls of dingos nearby.

The last day of the tour was spent walking around Watarrka National Park and the well-known King's Canyon. Our tour guide gave us lots of interesting background stories along the way. The most beautiful part of the walk was going into a canyon where, at the bottom was The Garden of Eden (not at the bottom of King's canyon, but between another canyon). King's Canyon was pretty cool too and provided some awesome photo opportunities.

The Garden of Eden.

Kings Canyon.

Living on the edge!

Before we got back to Alice Springs, we stopped at a camel farm where a couple people on our tour got to ride camels. We also stopped at the entrance sign to the town of Alice Springs for a group photo. That night we all went out for dinner at a local restaurant called Monte's. It was a nice ending to a great tour. I'm so glad I got the opportunity to travel to the Australian Outback - it was definitely one of the highlights of my tour to Australia.

My awesome outback tour group!

Next: Only a few more days spent in Adelaide before travelling to Tasmania with my good friend and travel buddy, Kaitlyn! Although the weather is a bit chilly, we're having a great time so far. As of today, it's seven days and counting before heading home!

So excited!

Kangaroo Island

On Monday, June 11th, I woke up bright and early to be picked up by my tour bus that would take me to Kangaroo Island at 6:15am. The bus left the station at 6:30am and headed toward the Fleurieu Peninsula. The driver talked a lot during the trip, giving lots of interesting background information about the places we drove past. Unfortunately I think most of the bus would rather have been sleeping. The landscape we drove through was mostly beautiful rolling hills - much of which was used for agriculture. One highlight for me was when we came around a bend and the driver pointed out a water reservoir that had a beautiful layer of fog above it. After another bend, a great canopy of trees enveloped the road and the sun was just shining through a little bit. I was also quite surprised when we drove through the small town of Myponga and there was a bit of frost on the ground.

We arrived at the Ferry dock at around 8:30am and had lots of time before it left for its 45 minute journey over to Kangaroo Island (KI). The water was fairly smooth so I managed not to get sea-sick. We met our cheerful tour guide, Kate, at the docks on KI in the small town of Penneshaw. Our first stop was a local farm to watch a sheep shearing demonstration. I thought it was really cool to watch the dogs round up the sheep and I was quite surprised at the amount of wool that came off the sheep! Shortly after, we stopped at a lookout point and got our first look at the beautiful coastline of Kangaroo Island.

Coastline of Kangaroo Island.

For lunch, we stopped at a Eucalyptus oil company and got a chance to see how the company was run and buy any of the merchandise before we ate some simple but delicious sandwiches. I was quite surprised to see that they also sold mouthwash and toothpaste.

Our next stop was the famous Seal Bay Conservation Park where we got to see the seals in their natural habitat and observe them from as close as 8-10 meters away. This part of the tour was really interesting because I got to see baby seals playing, suckling milk from their mothers, two males fighting on the beach, and a baby seal surfing the waves. I thought the baby seals were the cutest, of course. I'm also a bit jealous of them - lounging around on the beach in the sun and surfing the waves every day seems like a pretty good lifestyle to me. Plus, they have some awesome scenery!

Two male seals.

Baby seal calling for his mom.

So close! Well not really, but still pretty cool.

Some of the awesome scenery. 

How cute are they!?

Finally, the time came for what I was the most excited for: sand-boarding at Little Sahara! There were two kinds of boards - large, wide ones that you sat on (or could fit two people on) and skinny ones that you  stood up on. Starting off small, I sat down on one of the boards and went down the hill just to see how fast I'd go. My second try was more successful. Although the dunes looked pretty steep, I got up the courage on my third try to stand up on the skinnier boards. It was much more fun (and difficult) so I tried a few more times. I was only partly successful, but I still had a blast.

Super stoked!

First try.

Courageous!

Yeeaah!

Before arriving at our hostel for the night (which was quite nice), we stopped at another lookout point that overlooked Vivone Bay. We relaxed at the hostel for a couple hours and had some great barbeque for dinner before heading out after dark for a walk to see some penguins. We saw quite a few but unfortunately my pictures aren't too clear because we weren't allowed to use the flash on our cameras as it can negatively affect the penguins eyesight. No worries though, it gives you all a reason to go to Australia in the future.

Vivone Bay.

Penguin!

We got a bit of a sleep in on our second day before heading off to a nearby koala sanctuary where I saw more koalas, kangaroos, cockatoos, and even a wallaby. We continued driving to Flinders Chase National Park, home to the Remarkable Rocks - which were quite impressive - and Admirals Arch - even more impressive - where I spotted both New Zealand and Australian Fur Seals as well as whales in the bay!

Big yawn!

Classic! Rock on!

First view of the Remarkable Rocks.

Pretty cool!

I felt like I was on top of the world.

Admirals Arch.

Next was a long drive to the North coast of Kangaroo Island where the landscape changes to beautiful green rolling hills, beautiful beaches, and more impressive coasts. We stopped quickly at a Snellings beach before heading to our final destination of Stokes Bay. Stokes Bay was really cool as we had to walk through a rock cave to get to the beach, parts of which were a little bit claustrophobic. Nevertheless, I made it through the cave to the beach, which was lined with tall cliffs. I rolled up my jeans a bit and walked through the cold sea water along the beach. It would have been a great end to a trip. Unfortunately, I still had to make it back to the mainland before a two hour drive back into Adelaide.

Rolling Hills on the North Coast.

Path to Stokes Bay.

Chilly water.

New friends.

Rocks at Stokes Bay.

Another ferry ride. No worries, right? Wrong. The wind had been blowing quite strongly all day and I didn't think much of it until we arrived back in Penneshaw and Kate mentioned that it might be a rough trip back. All would have been well and good, but I get seasick. Thinking that I'd be brave, I lasted a total of about 8 minutes before taking a travel sickness tablet that my friend happened to have. Let's just say that the 45 minute trip went by VERY slowly and was not enjoyable at all. I barely made it through the ferry ride. Ah well, not everything can go smoothly. It was still an awesome trip and I'm glad I got to go!

Here's a bonus for all of you:

Next stop: Alice Springs and the Australian Outback!

Officially Done!

Well folks, there you have it: my third year of university is officially over! I have completed all my projects, finished my exams, and survived high stress levels! It's been a great year - here's a bit of the a silly (picture) summary of everything that has happened:

First Semester

The most awesome group ever was created!

For the win!

Lots of (cough...boring...cough) lectures and field trips:

Oh yes...so interesting...

Lots of projects that used up tons of energy and requiring staying awake well into the night:

Is this done yet? Can I go to sleep yet?

Making time to go to important events, such as a Supernatural Convention in Toronto:

Nothing like getting your picture taken with your favourite actor!

Celebrating after design projects were finished:

Woohoo!!

Meeting a great boyfriend:

Eric and me.

Second Semester

Relaxing and snowboarding for 2 months before travelling for another 3 weeks:

Travel buddies!

More of the same: lots of projects and exams - but this time in Australia!

University of Adelaide

Forget working on assignments on the weekends, let's go to the beach!

Glenelg Beach

Time for exams? Why stress over studying? Travel to Kangaroo Island and the Australian Outback instead!

Living on the edge!

Don't worry, I passed all my courses and my exam went well. But now that it's over, there's only one thing left do: Celebrate! Throw your hands up in the air!

Tour group from my camping trip in the outback.

Congrats, students of third year BLA at Guelph: another year done! We're almost there! Here's to looking forward to a great summer!