I hope you enjoyed my last trip report.  I got tired of the same old reports, so I decided to do something different.  Hopefully it gave you a feel for what my days are like.  Anyway, back to the same old reports, until I need another change ;-)

The Red Centre is what they call the area around Ayer's Rock and Alice Springs, because of the deep red dirt.

I got to Ayer's Rock early enough to try to climb it in the afternoon.  I got all my hiking gear and rode from the campground the 15 miles to the Rock.  The afternoon had turned out to be beautiful - slightly overcast and cool.  Imagine my surprise when I got to the Rock and the climbing route was closed!  They close it when there's inclement weather, and today it was closed because of the rain in the morning.

So I did the base walk - an interpretive walk around the entire base of the Rock.  The walk is about 10 kms or 6 miles and it's very interesting because you see the Rock from all the different angles, including the parts that are away from the normal tourist viewing areas.  It took me about an hour and 45 minutes and it was quite worth the time.

I left Ayer's Rock and rode the 30 miles to the Olgas (Kata Tjuta).  The Olgas are another collection of huge rocks - the tallest rock is even higher than Ayer's Rock - but there are several of them so they're not one monolith like Ayer's.  I did a couple mile hike through a canyon between two of the rocks.  It's a pretty walk, but quite crowded with tourists this late in the afternoon.

After my hikes I got some sunset photos of the Olgas and Ayer's and then headed back to my campground.

Jennifer wanted to know what I'm eating in Australia, so I'll take a little diversion here to explore my dietary adventures (sorry Baldy)!  Finding vegetarian food on the east coast was quite easy.  I was mostly visiting tourist areas and I could always find something vegetarian - pasta, pizza, salads, kebabs, etc.  However, it's tough to find vegetarian food in the outback.  They really like their beef out here, and if it's not beef it's kangaroo meat or something else not on my menu :-)  So at many of the isolated roadhouses I've been eating salad sandwiches - a sandwich made with lettuce, tomato, carrot, beets (mmmm Jennifer!), and sometimes pineapple.  It doesn't sound like much, but quite tasty, especially when you haven't eaten during the entire day!  Salad sandwiches do get a little tiring when you've eaten them 2 or 3 times during the day though!  Luckily I'm usually traveling through a good sized town every few days so I can find something else to supplement my salad sandwiches.  And in the mornings I'll often have yogurt with fresh (or dried) fruits and some sort of pastry.

That night in the campground I could have had dinner at one of the resort restaurants, but I knew it would be expensive and ritzy.  So instead I bought a loaf of bread, peanut butter, cheese and some fruit at the supermarket and made my own light dinner.

I was determined to climb Ayer's so the next morning I got up at 5 AM and headed to the Rock to be there at sunrise.  The morning was perfectly clear so I knew the Rock would be open for climbing today.  They open the climbing route gates when it gets light enough to see, which at this time of year was around 6:50.  That only gave me 27 minutes to get to the top in time for sunrise (7:17).  Despite my best effort I was about 10 minutes late to the top.  Damn!  The same thing happened last time I climbed Ayer's.

Despite missing the sunrise, it was still spectacular on top, looking out over the flat bush and towards the Olgas.  I was the first one to the top, despite a group of about 20 of us leaving the base at the same time, and I had about 10 minutes alone on top before the others arrived.

 The climb itself is very strenuous.  The first part is very steep - so steep that they sank a chain into the rock to help steady you, or in the case of many people, to help pull themselves up.  In fact, there are places in this first part where you need the chain to pull yourself up, it's so steep.  I set a good pace up this first part, but I had to stop and catch my breath several times.  After this steep section, the route along the top dips into crevasses and climbs up steep walls until you eventually reach the highest point on the rock.  Nothing technical, but quite a bit of scrambling.  It's a strenuous climb and quite rewarding to be the first to stand on the top that day (not that I'm competitive!)

 Going up is strenuous, but coming back down is just painful!  Descending the steep sections is like walking down a plank at a 60 degree angle.  I could feel it in my quads and shins, and eventually my knees began to ache.  By the time I made it to the bottom I was barely walking!

 It was still early so I packed up my tent and headed to King's Canyon, which is about 200 miles from Ayer's Rock.  King's Canyon is a beautiful area quite different than Ayer's Rock or the Olgas.  It's a sandstone canyon with lush vegetation, waterfalls, and wonderful views.  The afternoon was sunny and relative cool (around 80 degrees) and I enjoyed the hike in the canyon.  That night was more camping in the nearby campground where I had the pleasure to be joined by 4 other travelers on motorcycles - all from Sydney.  We had a good talking motorcycles and travel, and drinking beer.  I inquired about dinner at the resort nearby, but it was $45!  I'm sure it would have been delicious, but I chose to eat a vegetarian pizza at the pub we were drinking in.

 The next morning I packed up and made the leisurely ride of 300 miles back to Alice Springs.  This day the sun was out and the weather was cool, making a much more pleasant ride than coming out in the rain!  On the way back I saw a herd (pack?) of wild camels in the desert, and I saw a wild dingo cross the road just in front of me, then stand there and watch me ride by.  I also saw countless exotic birds - more red-winged parrots, and other types of parrots.

 So now I'm back in Alice.  Today I changed the oil and filter in the bike at the local BMW dealer.  I bought the oil/filter and they let me change it myself in the back.  I also asked them to take a look at the leak on the right side, which I've decided is a gasoline leak from the carb, but they didn't know what was causing it.  I think it's leaking from around the Bing plate, so I bought some sealant and I'm going to try to seal it up.  I'll let you know how successful I am!

 Tomorrow I head to Darwin at the "Top End" to visit Kakadu National Park where I hope to see salties - huge salt water crocodiles that are the terror of Australia.  Stay tuned for that exciting report!

 TTFN,

 Story