We had high hopes for Dunedin since it is named after the adorable city of Edinburgh, but we were pretty disappointed. Besides a few nice buildings, such as the train station and a cute octagon shaped square there was noting to it.

People dress wierd in Dunedin

We thought there would be lots to do and had allocated a whole day to the town but were rather bored. We went to the art museum to fill time, which was nice, had lunch and then drove north. Before we left the town we had to go to the advertised “steepest road in the world” which is located in Dunedin. It is called Baldwin Street and the slope is 19° at it’s steepest. It definitely looks steep and daunting when you drive up. Only Simon, the avid hiker wanted to climb up and we drove, twice, since Hendrik thought it was so fun. It’s worth a drive up and down, which must annoy the residents, but the pictures don’t do it justice since it’s hard to take a picture of a slope.

Me driving down the steepest road in the world.

On the way we stopped at the famous tourist site of the Moeraki Boulders which are huge perfectly round rocks by the sea. There we encountered more tourists than at any other site along the southern route. The boulders were spectacular and we had fun climbing and jumping from them.

I had fun directing a photo shoot.

Later, we stopped in Oamara for coffee and the old part of town was adorable, much nicer than Dunedin. Further on our way we stopped in Timaru for dinner and had the hardest time finding a restaurant. We walked up and down the whole main street and only found three. One Indian, one Thai, and one really pricy one that claimed to be the best in town but it was out of our budget. We went to the Thai place which was jam-packed, and had to wait for an hour to get our food, but the food was good. Other than in the restaurant the town was a total ghost-town and it was a Friday night.

We frequently saw farms of this interesting animal but don't know what it was.

Today Hendrik’s parents booked a tour to some of the places around Cairns. All the tours including the ones to Cape Tribulation were booked and this one was the only one available. Hendrik and I were less then thrilled to know we would be going back to Paronella Park and thought it would have been much wiser to just rent a car.

We went with Tropical Horizons Tours and the first stop was Lake Barrine where we had tea and scones, yes I felt like I had aged 50 years in a matter of 2 hours. Then we went on a cruise around the lake which was relatively small. The guide pointed out as many snakes and birds as he could but there just weren’t that many. We didn’t see any cassowaries or a platypus.

Giant curtain fig tree

The next stop was also my favourite which was the Giant Curtain Fig tree. I thought it was pretty spectacular the way the tree grew but it was also impossible to take a descent picture of since we couldn’t back up far enough. Then we were off to the Millaa Millaa waterfall, which was pretty and had lunch by the Mungalli waterfall. There was a 30 minute hike to the waterfall but we didn’t have time to do the hike so that was disappointing. So we didn’t get a good view of that waterfall.

How the tree formed

After lunch we did the Ma Mu Rainforest Canopy Walkway which was nice and our guide was well informed. The last stop was Paronella Park which Hendrik and I skipped and relaxed outside in the café. I wouldn’t recommend this tour to people who have a limited time in Cairns. Go to Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation but as a tour it was well organized and the tour guide was very nice and passionate about nature and Australia.

Ma Mu Rainforest

This concluded the trip with Hendrik’s parents and the next day we all had morning flights, and Hendrik and I went back to Melbourne.

Yesterday we spent relaxing and shopping in Cairns so there was nothing worth mentioning. Today we set off to the Great Barrier Reef. We went with Reef Magic since they had something for everyone. Hendrik and I wanted to go diving, Hendrik’s dad wanted to snorkel, and Hendrik’s mom just wanted to relax. Reef Magic takes people to a pontoon, Marine World, where people can dive, snorkel, relax in lounge chairs, go on a semi-sub, or view the ocean from an underwater viewing gallery. So this was the best option for us.

The ride out to the reef was rough as usual so I took my travel-calm but many people did barf. I just stared out at the horizon the whole time. The ride to the reef is the worst thing about going to the reef from Cairns since it takes about 2 hours and it’s terrible.

Once there we went diving straight away. There is a platform that is underwater under Marine World to which stairs lead and this is for divers to enter the water. I really liked it since it was so smooth and allowed me to get situated with my BC and flippers while being able to stand in the water making the load on my back light. The reef was really nice below Marine World. We were with a group and had a guide and she was able to point out many interesting creatures like a trumpet fish which I had not seen yet while diving and three nemo families. Then we saw Wally, the resident Maori Wrasse which we each took a picture with. They had a really great photographer, much better than on the Kangaroo Explorer and I got a nice shot with Wally. He definitely does wonders for Reef Magic since everyone has to buy the picture because it’s so cool.

Me and Wally

After the dive Hendrik and I went on the semi-sub which was nice because of the live commentary but I would suggest them to wash their windows more often since lots of green stuff grew on it covering the view. We were still able to see sharks, a green turtle, and a unicorn fish. The buffet lunch was good and then we had one more dive. This time we were taken with the semi-sub to another part of the reef and dived there. All the comforts of getting into the water were reversed and it was very uncomfortable wearing the large and heavy oxygen tank on a little dingy.

Snorkling on the reef

This dive went well, and we saw two reef sharks, barracudas, and a feather star which I was able to touch. After the dive it was time to go back to Cairns which was a shame because we had no time to go snorkelling. I wouldn’t have minded spending another hour on Marine World. The ride home was smooth so it was much more pleasant and bearable. I really enjoyed Reef Magic and think they do a wonderful job.

We woke up at 4:15 so we would be at the park at 5:00AM which was opening time. It was a beautiful ride through the desert as dawn was breaking coloring the desert and Uluru/Ayers Rock. Unfortunately by this point Hendrik’s camera had totally broken and was unsalvageable and mine was also slowly deteriorating and refused to turn on. It seemed to only turn on when I didn’t actually need it to but when I did it wouldn’t. So unfortunately we don’t have pictures of this morning.

The sun had not yet risen when we started the Valley of the Winds hike around the Olgas/kata Tjuta and the earth was still cool. We had loads of water with us this time but it was pretty unnecessary since it was cool and there are 3 water stops along the hike. It was a beautiful hike and often strenuous. There were signs everywhere that depicted a stick figure falling on rocks which we thought was funny. The walk only took us about 2 hours and progressively it became hotter and hotter. We passed by many people just beginning the walk when we had ended and thought to ourselves that we definitely wouldn’t want to start in this heat. It wasn’t even 9:00AM and it was already hot. It was a gorgeous hike and I definitely recommend getting up early for it because the switch of colors and temperature from night to day are amazing.

We were glad we had made good time because we needed a shower and we would still make breakfast and yes buffet breakfasts excite me. I have to admit as food goes the Ayers Rock Resort was one of the nicest (far better than at Kings Canyon Resort) and I enjoyed the dinner as well as brekky. After breakfast we had a few hours to kill before we had to catch the plane so I just surfed the internet and hung out by the pool.

The Uluru Airport is tiny and is there solely for a rock. I thought that was pretty funny that a rock can have its own airport. We arrived in Cairns in the evening, booked a Great Barrier Reef tour on Reef Magic for the day after next, and just relaxed.

I was very excited about today since we had a helicopter ride booked to take us over Uluru/Ayers Rock, the Olgas, and Amadeus salt lake. We were transferred from the resort by a van to the tiny Uluru airport where a shiny yellow helicopter was waiting for us. I had never flown in a helicopter before and it was one thing that I had on my to do list before I die. We all got to wear a headset with a microphone because the helicopter is so loud that we wouldn’t be able to hear each other without it.

Helicopters fly much smoother than airplanes because they don’t need the speed to stay in flight, a helicopter can just hover in one place. I also loved the bowled out windows which were great for viewing the scenery. We started by viewing Ayers Rock which sadly looked less spectacular from the air than it did on the ground. I was excited about viewing the rock from the air but it just blended into the red sand around it. I also felt that we didn’t go close enough to it.

Then we looped around the Olgas/Kata Tjuta which was much more impressive from the air than on land because we could see the whole picture of them unlike from the ground when we only get one angle. From behind the rock sculpture we could see the Olgas /Kata Tjuta, Uluru/Ayers rock, and Mount Connor all line up which was pretty spectacular because this cannot be seen this from the ground.

Then we soared over the vast red desert and looked for camels underneath, but we didn’t find any. Apparently there are thousands of camels in the area and they are also hunted for their meat, and I can vouch for that since they are served to curious tourists at the Ayers Rock Resort. As we flew over the vast Amadeus we saw camel prints in the salt and also 4wd tire marks which is illegal but worth the risk to joy riders. I thought the lake was particularly interesting and beautiful. I’d never seen a dry salt lake before and the white was so out of the ordinary to the red landscape. Before the flight I thought that the lake would be the least impressive followed by the Olgas/Kata Tjuta and Uluru/Ayer’s rock would be most impressive but it was just the opposite.

The second half of the day in the late afternoon we planned to do the base walk around Uluru/Ayer’s Rock which is a flat 9km walk around the rock. We started in the Mala car park (where the climb begins) and walked clockwise half way through the Base Walk North/East, when Hendrik’s mom began to feel ill again. I can’t say the hoards of flies which surrounded us were helping anyone’s mood, but just made us wish we had bought hats with netting.  She had purchased a hat now but she had probably not fully recovered from before. Hendrik was really bored with the walk saying that it is just flat and the same. He was also pissed that the road led around the rock too, to which I said, “You knew that we drove around it yesterday.” I thought it was obvious what we were getting ourselves into so the walk hadn’t deflated my expectations and I wanted to finish it since I wanted to finish what I started, get some exercise, and I had nothing better to do. Hendrik’s mother couldn’t have finished it, and his parents went back to get the car and Hendrik and I finished half the circuit. In hindsight we should have done the walk the other way since I think the rock is more interesting on the other side, if we were only going to do half but usually it doesn’t matter because you can’t get to your car without going back.

Even though we recommended the sunset viewing for Hendrik’s parents his mother was not feeling up to it, and she had to be taken back to the resort and didn’t come out for the rest of the night. The red sand had totally turned my Tevas maroon and after many washings I still have some of the red on them which will probably be permanent.

During the day Hendrik and I also discussed tomorrow’s plans. I wanted to climb the rock but Hendrik wouldn’t let me since the Aboriginals don’t want people climbing it. For them it is a sacred thing to do and therefore an insult to climb. Though I can understand that point of view I disagree with it. The path is already closed most of the time and only opens from 5AM-8AM if it’s not too windy so why not just close it off? While doing the base walk there were plenty of signs for other places at the base of the rock that said people aren’t allowed to take pictures of let alone allowed to enter because it is sacred. So I didn’t really know what to think. I would have felt better about the trip knowing I wasn’t allowed to climb it in the first place then being pretty much guilted and scared out of it. In the info center we found information how bad luck will come to those who climb the rock and the stories of those who died were very available. I didn’t think that was in good taste. I know things can have a meaning to other people but for me it’s just a giant rock which I’d have loved to climb and I don’t see the wrong in that. People compare it to churches and temples, but I see a divide in man-made structures and nature. I don’t feel its right to say that it’s only holy for the Aboriginals because who’s to say that someone else can’t have a religious experience on or by Uluru?

Anyway, in conclusion, I wasn’t allowed to do the climb, which I regret, but hey, at least I won’t have bad luck. So we decided to hike around the Olgas/Kata Tjuta instead and do the Valley of the Winds hike. We also had to get up really early since the hike closed and because we didn’t want to do it in the dead heat, because that’s no fun.

We drove through the desert towards Uluru/Ayers Rock. On the way we hardly passed any cars but we did see plenty of huge birds eating road kill by the side of the road and even saw a dead camel. When we got closer to the rock suddenly we were surrounded by coaches. At a lookout we could see the dry Amadeus Salt Lake and a rock which looked like Uluru/Ayers Rock but we later learned that it wasn’t Uluru/Ayers Rock but Mount Conner or Connor or Attila or Artilla, or the mountain with lots of names. Apparently Uluru/Ayers Rock, the Olgas, and Mount Conner all line up in a straight line. The sand at the lookout was even redder than at King’s Canyon and very soft.

Hendrik and Mt. Conner behind him

When we arrived at Uluru/Ayers Rock it was funny to see the village which existed here solely for tourism. It was made up of only hotels, resorts and campsites. We stayed at the Ayers Rock Resort which had mediocre rooms, the worst we’d stayed in thus far, but I found out that the hotel was the most expensive one we stayed at during the whole vacation so someone was really getting rich off the rock.

Hendrik and I went to see the rock without his parents since his mother wasn’t feeling well from yesterday’s sun. As we drove up to the thing it was amazing as it rose up from the earth in front of us. I had pretty low expectations because at the end it is just a rock but it’s definitely worth a visit. Out of nowhere there’s this gigantic red monolith which some claim to be the largest monolith in the world. Others say it is the second largest next to Mount Augustus. It stands 1105meters tall while Uluru/Ayers only 348 meters so my vote would have to go to Augustus but at least most everyone agrees that Uluru/Ayers Rock looks way more spectacular. We were definitely in awe of the rock. We visited the info/ Aboriginal cultural center and drove around the rock stopping at the highlights.  I particularly liked the Mutitjulu Water Hole, a crevice where a waterfall appears when it rains and forms a pool at the bottom. I would have loved to see the rock in the rain becasue not only would lots of waterfalls appear on the rock but also it would cool the earth down, but no such luck since it hardly ever rains in the desert.

On our way back to the resort we stopped by the sunset lookout point which had at least 100 campervans and cars all parked in a line already staring at the rock. Minus the crap-load of people if was beautiful and we were able to take many nice pictures as the rock changed colors because of the setting sun.

The typical postcard pic

We set out to do the King’s Canyon Rim walk a 6 km trek around the top of the canyon. Hendrik and his parents decided to buy hats at the gas station/ souvenir shop (the only store in the area). I already had a hat, but for some reason they only bought 2 hats to share among 3 people. We didn’t read the recommended amount of water we were supposed to bring and Hendrik and I each brought a 1.5 liter bottle. We didn’t know until later that his parents had only brought one to share amongst themselves. The recommended amount of water was 1 liter every hour and we were going to be hiking for 3-4 hours in midday. We could have finished all our water after the first steep climb, straight up the canyon. It is definitely the hardest part of the trail.

The steep climb

Hendrik and I did both detours and went to the Garden of Eden which is a cool pool. We wanted to take a dip but since there were so many bugs on the water and the bottom was really slippery we decided not to and just made our shirts and hats wet. Later we met another hiker who said swimming in it was great so we regretted not going swimming.

The Garden of Eden

The scenery was gorgeous and the hike is definitely worthwhile. Even with low water we enjoyed ourselves though the last bit was a killer since we were all dehydrated. We had to really ration our water and Hendrik and I even shared our water with his parents, but we all survived even tough Hendrik’s mom got quite sunburned since she was without a hat most of the time.

Kings Canyon

Back at the resort we relaxed and went to the pool which is freezing. I don’t know how they keep a pool that cold in the middle of the desert and even in the desert heat the pool was just too cold to spend more than a few minutes in.

At the buffet dinner the wait staff was surprised to see us again since they said most people only stayed one night. I was glad we stayed two days because I really liked the resort and because it was nice to relax after a day of hiking than go driving.

We flew from Adelaide in the morning to Alice Springs. It was remarkable landing into the tiny airport with bright red sand all around as far as I could see. I couldn’t even find Alice Springs because it’s so tiny it would qualify as a village in most other places. Extreme heat hit us as soon as we stepped out of the airplane. Miraculously we were able to fit all our belongings into the rental since it was smaller than we had thought it was going to be and drove into Alice Springs. It was much smaller than I thought it would be , and there were many Aboriginals, more than we’d seen anywhere else. Apparently the Alice Springs region is the only place in Australia where nomadic Aboriginals still live.

Alice Springs' trash can with Aboriginal Art

We had lunch and walked the main street which only took about five minutes and then we were off to Kings Canyon. Originally Hendrik’s parents wanted to stay a night in Alice Springs but the Master Games were being held there at exactly the same time and no hotels were available. After we’d seen the town I think we were all glad that we weren’t staying in Alice Springs longer than 2 hours because there would be nothing to do at all.  On the way there we saw a road train which is a truck which has 2 or more trailers.

road train

Kings Canyon is located in the Watarrka National Park and there is only one place to stay, the Kings Canyon Resort. All the rooms were booked there as well except for the deluxe rooms which had a Jacuzzi in each facing a gigantic window with views on the desert and therefore this was the best hotel we stayed in.

The Hot Tub and the View

The desert is an amazing place, since it’s both so beautiful and ugly- beautiful because of its colours and vastness and ugly because of its dry barrenness. Maybe I’m just amazed by deserts since I hardly ever go to deserts. I’ve been to one in New Mexico and California years before but this one was especially unique because of its red sand. I do know, though, that I’d never want to live in the desert.

We had one more day to spend in Adelaide. Because of Hendrik we visited Parliament. It was in secession so there weren’t any tours but we were able to sit in. There were hardly any people attending the meeting and those who were there were either talking amongst themselves or on their cell phones and no one was paying any attention to the man speaking on the mic. We got bored very fast too and left.

Sculpture in Adelaide

Then we went to visit Ayer’s house since we had come after hours the day before. We had a nice guided tour of the house which was interesting especially how fondly the old woman giving the tour talked of Sir Henry Ayers and was very proud that Australia’s icon the Ayers Rock was named after him. It was a complete 360 from what we recalled Captain Kirk saying at Fraser Island that he was happy that Ayers Rock is finally once again being called by its aboriginal name Uluru. I guess the differing in opinion is the reason for the rock’s double name. In 1993, it was renamed “Ayers Rock/Uluru” and became the first officially dual-named feature in the Northern Territory. The order of the dual names was officially reversed to “Uluru/Ayers Rock” in 2002. Since we were flying there the next day we were interested in learning about the rock.

Today was an early rise to get to Kangaroo Island. I was excited about this trip because a part of December Boys was filmed there and it looked absolutely amazing in the film. Hendrik’s parents had booked SeaLink’s one day tour of Kangaroo Island Highlights. The day began well with a coach transfer to the ferry.  On the way I took a nap but also saw lots of kangaroos in the fields. The ferry ride was long and boring but I knew the best was yet to come.

When we got on our coach on Kangaroo Island I was a bit disappointed to see that 95% of the people on it were over the age of 55 and the only seats available were way in the back so we took the last row so we could all sit together.

Then the tour began. Our guide, Les, was born and raised on Kangaroo Island and he used to be a farmer so he talked a lot about canola, the crop that grows on Kangaroo Island. He pointed out every single yellow field and said that’s canola. He also talked about Kangaroos and said the best way we could get close and personal to one was if the driver ran over one and hopefully we would be able to do this. Luckily we saw no Kangaroos on Kangaroo Island, and therefore, the bus didn’t have to hit one. Hendrik, his parents, and I were completely stunned. We were tourists and were hoping to see plenty of the jumping critters on Kangaroo Island, that’s the name of the island, but apparently Les had already run them all down. Then he continued to talk about the feral cats and the problem they cause to farmers and described how the farmers kill the cats in detail. He said he would love to give us each a gun and set us off to kill the cats around the island. I was completely in shock at this point.

The group slowly making its way down to the beach

Our first stop was Seal Bay where we could go down to the beach with a guide; at least it wasn’t Les, to see Australian Sea Lions so it was interesting. The only problem was that with such a huge group of old people it took about 10 minutes for everyone to get off the bus, and we were last. Then they walked at a snail’s pace down to the beach. I’d never seen sea lions in the wild before so it was a cool experience.

Sea lion

Then it was back on the bus so Les could point out some more canola fields and also bee hives. There were many bee hives on the island and because of their purity in genes they are famous for their honey. It was great once, but I didn’t think “expert commentary” included three or four times telling us to look at an old tattered wooden box. Then we had lunch and after lunch we attended the birds of prey live show. I’d seen many bird shows before but I enjoyed this one because people from the audience were allowed to grab a glove and let the bird rest on their hand. I’d never held a wild bird so I thought that was neat and this made it the best bird of prey show I’ve ever seen.

Next we stopped at the remarkable rocks, the set for the scene in December Boys. I was disappointed when Les said we had to be back on the bus in 21 minutes. That meant by the time I got off the bus I’d have 11 minutes for a mad dash to the rocks take some pictures and then a mad dash back, and that’s exactly what it was. Yes, I thought the rocks really were remarkable and wish I’d had more time to explore them.

Me pretending to be a December Boy

Then we headed to Admiral’s Arch where we only had 15 minutes to check out the famous rock formation. I was glad that I knew that if the passengers went down to Admiral’s Arch then no way would they make it in 15 minutes so this allowed for at least 25 minutes. Some of the slower passengers took Les so seriously that they didn’t even go down the ramp and stairs to see Admiral’s Arch and fur seals.

Admiral's Arch

Then we were taken to Flinders Chase National Park souvenir shop where we were given a good half hour to make purchases which I wouldn’t dare to make and give Les commission. Our last stop was to see a koala. Koalas live on the island and we went to a spot where we were guaranteed a sighting. We drove slowly by, and I spotted a koala in a tree and shouted out that there was a koala. Other people saw it too and started yelling to stop. Les was confused and asked, “did someone see a koala?” to which the whole bus yelled, “yes!” The bus stopped and after Les finally saw it he said, “Well I found you a koala.” I wanted to punch him right then and there. At least I can say that I’ve seen a koala in the wild.

Koala

Then we had the bus ride to the airport since Hendrik’s parents booked the option to fly back to Adelaide. Les had already pointed out every canola field and bee box on the island so there was nothing left for the funny man except to tell jokes. These jokes were cringe worthy and involved old women and condoms. They were dirty embarrassing jokes that made me feel surreal. I couldn’t believe that this was actually happening. That money was paid to sit on a bus and listen to this dribble. Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse Les decided to entertain us with the Aussie folk song Waltzing Matilda, and not by playing a tape on the stereo but by singing it himself. He went through the first verse and refrain where I thought he’d stop but no he continued with his painfully raspy tone-deaf voice. Now this song had 4 verses not to mention the refrain between each verse, and I was already completely mortified. So when he continued Hendrik yelled, “Shut up.” I was so proud I started to applaud and others chuckled.  Les did stop singing which was definitely good, but then proceeded to analyze and explain every word of the song all four verses of it. I understood why the tour guide next to us who was with a small group who was on our tour played his mp3 player for this last leg of the journey.

The airport couldn’t have come soon enough and once we arrived we just bolted in only to be told that the company had confused our dates and there was no airplane for us. We were blown away yet again and just went off to the lady how horrible this whole tour had been. It wasn’t her fault but we needed to vent at someone and she was very understanding and lovely. She couldn’t move us to the other company’s plane because it was full so they had to call a plane from Adelaide. While we waited for 1.5 hours in the tiniest airport imaginable, the lady gave us cookies, tea and coffee. Finally, just as the sun was setting the tiniest airplane arrived and we could finally leave Kangaroo Island.

The plane

The airplane home was by far the highlight. It was the smallest airplane I’d ever been in and only seated 4 and the pilot gave us the safety briefing outside which we all found humorous and took pictures. At least the airplane ride redeemed some of the day because it was spectacular.

Safety Breifing

If anyone reading this is planning a day tour to Kangaroo Island do yourself a favor and do not go with SeaLink. It was absolutely the worst tour I’ve ever been on and I’ve been on many. If you do go with SeaLink and your guide is Les, run.

Sunset over Kangaroo Island