Back to the biggest autralian city at last, it is really a nice place to visit. Tomorrow in the plane...

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Back to Sydney, the trip is near to the end. As we could not find an accommodation for the night, we had no other choice than renting a car and avoid Sydney downtown today as parking would be a hell of a headache. Instead we went to Kamay Botany Bay National Park 20kms south of the CBD. That is an awesome coastal park with rugged cliffs. It could be a twin park with the Royal National Park as they are very similar. To get an internet access, we went to McDonald’s for tea. It is allowing me to sort out the picture and plan the day tomorrow in Sydney. After that, it is going to be a tough night in the car...

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Last day in the red centre, on the way back to Alice Springs we had a stop in Henbury Meteorite conservation park. The park is composed of meteorite craters that hit the Earth many years ago. Some craters are today invisible due to the erosion and the ones still existing are filled with vegetation and shallower than at the time of the impact.

Concerning Alice Springs, nothing exciting much, it is a modern without building of interest.

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This park is a jewel of the nature. Two mounts are included in the national park, the well-known Uluru/Ayers Rock and the less famous Kata Tjuta/Mount Olgas. Walking around Uluru base is really interesting as you find out that the smooth aspect seen from away actually hide sharp drop-offs and cliffsides. The vegetation is also greener and thicker than I was expected for such a dry place. Kata Tjuta is also a magnificent place which is worth the trip.The main walks pass through gorges revealing lush forest. As the day goes by, the sun x-rays reflection give the impression that Uluru changes color. At sunset, the color turn dramatically and beautifully orange. What is disappointed about the site is the commercial side. Indeed, fees are important to enter the park and a huge resort is 20 kms off the mountain. The resort is not shocking itself as it is a major tourist site in Australia, but the nightlife is very busy and that shows a little respect for the sacred place a few miles away.

red centre way

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Uluru

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Kata Tjuta

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The day started yesterday at 11.30pm. Due to the long drive ahead of us to reach Kings Canyon, we decided to leave Glen Helen by midnight. Past Alice Springs, the speed limit is 130kph on the Stuart Highway, what a good thing as it is not even a motorway. On the road we met two road trains which are trucks with three or four trailer. They are quite impressive. After several stop to refuel the car and a 6 and a half hour drive, we arrived at the canyon for the sunrise. We also hiked the rim track after the sunrise as the temperature was still cool. The trail follows the ridge of the canyon and dramatic views present themselves to anyone who does the tramp. As we finished the walk early around 9am, we went to the hostel for the check-in and have a nap as we were awake for quite a while already. In the afternoon, we carried the sightseeing at Kathleen Spring which is a sacred place for aboriginal people. Back to the canyon we went for another walk but in the valley that time. It was not as interesting as the one in the morning but still good. As I stayed to the Backpackers after that last walk till the sunset dad drove back for the third time to the canyon to watch it from the rim. While the sun drops down quickly, the colour of the mountain dramatically turns orange, nearly red due to the x-ray reflection. The most famous Australian megalith is around the corner, tomorrow.

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Getting very close to the end now and it is desert time.  Alice Springs is probably the main gateway to that part of the country so it is where we touched down around 9am. After a useless detour to Maccas as I do not have a visa yet, we drove west of Alice Springs in the West MacDonnell National Park. Accessing the park is very easy as a sealed road gets along it. The main points of interest are well signed on the roadside and short walks give the opportunity to not suffer of the heat. Also, we did not have the opportunity to upgrade the car so we will need to use the long way to go to Kings Canyon. The shortcut through a trail is not suitable for a 2wd car. It means that we will start driving around midnight as a long trip is ahead of us. Fortunately we have finished the sightseeing early and after the short last night, no doubts that we would fall asleep in the afternoon in Glen Helen. So far, so good in the Red Centre.

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Third and last day in the Queensland. We have spent a few hours in the Glass house Mountains which is a range a dormant volcanoes, active 25 millions years ago. The range was named by James Cook as it remembered him the Glass house of his homeland. Aboriginal peoples worship those dykes and refused to climb them up.   A few are accessible anyway due to their steep rock faces. On top of that, two were closed owe to a rockfall for one and a recent bushfire for the second one. After that visit, we went to Birbie Island to have some lunch and while I was chilling out on the beach and was having a swim in a 27 degrees sea, dad walked along the beach. 2.30pm it is now time to go to the airport, return the car and wait for the plane to Sydney.

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Brisbane, capital city of Queensland, third largest Australian city with 2.2 millions peoples. As many other cities, old historic buildings sit in the shadow of modern skyscrapers. I noticed an important number of church within the city centre in Brisbane. Contrary to Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide, the downtown is quite far from the sea, maybe 25 to 30 kms away. I started out around 8.15 am and finished my long stroll in the street about 3.30pm. Walking in the main cities is finally like hiking, many buildings are once again hidden behind trees, but not as many as Melbourne or Sydney. By the way I will try to take new pictures of a few buildings in Sydney I saw one and a half year back as I noticed many are on a wrong angle or almost invisible. But prior, we still have one more day in Queensland then the Red Centre.

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Chilling out was the master word today. On the Gold Coast I met up with a old kiwi mate in another state, another day. The beach is sitting at the bottom of skyscrapers so it is quite easy to reach the beach from the city centre. The highest building of the country, the Q1 tower, was built on the Gold Coast by the way. We climbed it up to a sky desk overlooking the coast. From up there, you notice that the city was built along many waterways. It is also the highest tower with people living in it in the world. Queensland is on the same time zone as Sydney or Melbourne but because the daylight saving is not implemented in the state, there is an hour of difference in Summer between here and there so the sunset is quite early and it gets dark around 6.30-7pm. We also experienced a lot of moisture in the air today; it is weird as you sweat without any effort. Once I finished catching up with my mate, we headed up to Brisbane for the night. We will visit the big Queensland city tomorrow.

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Only then more days to go and another day spent in the New South Wales. The destination today was the Gibraltar Range National park which is a World Heritage area. On the way we had a stop in a nice town named Glen Innes. Concerning the national park, it is an alternation between a rainforest, outcrops and obviously a mountain range covered with a veil of mist today. It created a strange atmosphere while walking in the forest. The hike was however nice as the temperatures were quite cool and the landscapes beautiful.

On the road to Grafton, a heavy rain started to fall but fortunately, no more sightseeing was planned. Tomorrow another State will come to us, I mean we will come to it.

Glen innes

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Gibraltar range

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