On the Bottom Half

Rednecked Red Centre

The tour was as amazing as it was extensive. Check two posts ago for the itinerary from the Wayward website.

Wilpena Pound and Uluru/Kata Tjuta were as awesome as I was hoping! A highlight was a flight in a Cessna 210 over what's called the Painted Desert. It was truly an awesome sight and I got to help on the walkaround and with flying duties during cruise! I think we need to put that much horsepower in the 150 - then we'd have a performer! About 140-150 kts in cruise, cantelivered wing, six seats, full duplicate instrument panel - sweet ride... For you cattle folk out there, we drove through the largest cattle station in the world (Anna's Creek): it clocks in at 5.5 million acres and they manage about 17000 head of cattle. They have staff of about 19 people and slaughter a cow every 4 days to feed the gang - can we say 'cholesterol'! The owner was offered $20 million for it a while back, but refused saying that it wasn't enough. The same family owns other cattle stations around Australia, with a total area of 3% of Australia's land mass. How's that for farming? Holy Cow(s)!!

The family rock (Uluru) is quite the monolith, words aren't really that good at describing it, though. I'll post some pictures next chance I get. What is describeable is the climb, if you choose to do it. The Anangu people request that you don't climb it, however. You could liken it to someone going for a walk on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel or chatting on a cell phone during mass. Going for a walk on the ceiling, though, would be kind of cool... Anyway, none on our tour climbed it because it was too hot. They close the walk if the forecast temperature is > 36 degrees, for high winds, or for other cultural reasons. After looking at the initial 1/3rd of the climb; however, you'd be nuts to walk it. It's so steep that there's a chain to hold on to to pull yourself up the slope. Again, pictures say it best... We got to see dingos, wallabies, roos, lizards of many descriptions, and wedge-tailed eagles. The coolest lizard ever would have to be the thorny devil. Their defence mechanism is to stand perfectly still with their tail in the air and look threatening. They are so sure of their fearfullness that you can pick them up and put them in your hand and they won't move. Totally the coolest lizard ever. We also found a witchetty grub, which, funnily enough, lives in the roots of the witchetty tree. They are white, bulbous, and taste like runny egg. Fortunately, or unfortunately for some, I know that first hand. Yes, gang, I ate a witchetty grub. High in protein, but with an unfortunate aftertaste. Didn't yack though, and I was hungry at the time!

Now I'm in Alice Springs and this is actually a little puddle of Kyle that's writing the post. It's been > 40 degrees everyday since I got here... Did you know that Canadian's melt in Alice Springs? I've flowed over to see the Royal Flying Doctor Service Base - the requirements to fly for them are suprisingly doable: hmmmm... After that was the Alice Springs Reptile Centre where I got to see and hold a python, bearded dragon, scale back, and blue-tongued skink! I wanted to grab the western inland taipan, but they wouldn't let me open the cage. Almost every other slithering toxic Australian fauna is represented at this place and there is a comforting layer of glass between you and all of them. They also have a saltwater croc hangin' in an enclosure: one look at his floating eyes and you can hear the croc thinking: 'ohhh... one of these days'. Fortunately there's 44 mm of glass between you and his teeth so all is well!

The next day, I saw off some new friends, then went for a long walk to the Alice Springs School of the Air! This is a service where lessons are conducted via satellite video and HF radio to 82 kids living on cattle stations, in roadhouses, on airbases, etc. and who are up to 1000 km away from Alice Springs. Cool! The kids consistently perform in the top 10% of public schools across the nation, so the format seems to work. The secret is that they have full time tutors (read mothers, or even employed tutors) to help them through the fortnightly correspondence packages. The satellite/radio lessons are to reinforce the material in the packages. The packages are delivered via air mail to each location! So, your school work arrives to your cattle station on the private strip each one is required to have. Teachers come out once a year to each student's home to make sure things are going well, but other than that, they are left to their tutors, parents and cattle stations. T-Dawg will be happy to know that there is another T-dawg who takes her school from the School of the Air! Next stop was the Central Australian Aviation Museum - it was wonderful to touch some airplanes again. There were a few displays of distinctly Australian airplanes and some distinctly Australian flying stories. One fellow went for a flying holiday in 1962 from Melbourne to Perth. He got as far as Ceduna, then had an undiagnosed compass SNAFU, which led him 40 degrees off course. He ran out of fuel, forced-landed, wrote his diary on some bulkhead panels in the tail of the airplane, but was never found. The airplane was found sitting upright 12 years later. He was flying over the Great Victoria Desert and with no references to anything, he went too far and that was it... There were also a bunch of engines on display, including a turbine with some melted blades in the first stage rotors... Great display, but decidely a bit small. The major bird they have is a Beech D18S, originally flown by Connellen Airlines in and around central Australia. Needs some more resto work - certainly something ODFA could handle! Twin radial Beech anyone? What would the rent on that be...

Right now I'm watching a little bit of Olympics and it's kind of funny listening to Australian commentary of winter events. I just today booked a tour up to Darwin to finish seeing all the stuff I got to drive by during the races, then I'm touring around Kakadu for a 4WD camping, hiking, roughing it tour. After that is Cairns to dive The Reef, then a few other places to deplete the bank account. Of course, then will be the obligatory visit to Innisfail to complete a goal I've had since elementary school.

Sorry for the disjointed commentary this time around. I'll blame it on the heat.

Oh yeah, burned my neck so badly that the pharmacist says no more sun/don't burn it again for 12 months. I practically define redneck for the time being. Oh the Australian sun... Pictures to follow...

Miss you all!

posted by Kyle @ 21:40