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Camel surfing at Uluru
April 30, 2015

Uluru

We couldn't quite make it to Uluru in one days drive from Coober Pedy so a quick overnighter was had in Marla, near the border of the Northern Territory. Up early and excited to get out to the iconic red rock - formerly known as Ayers Rock - we sped along. Stopping at Mt. Ebenezer's Roadhouse for fuel and a flat white, I noticed a donation jar for some rescue joey's - baby kangaroos. The super friendly girl behind the counter looked at me as I slipped my coins in the jar and said, "Do you want to hold one?" Ha! Do I want to hold one!! So yes, we spent the next hour cuddling our baby Kangaroo, Oppie, seven months old and just as sweet as can be! She was so soft, and was just so happy to nibble lettuce from our hands and take a short snooze. It truly was the best time ever for me :)
As we've noticed stopping at the various roadhouse stops, there are young - twenty something kids - working behind the counters, some from other parts of Australia, and some from other parts of the world ie: Germany, Estonia, etc...who just want to gain experience, earn some money, and see the world.
To visit Uluru, one either rides in for the day on a bus from Alice Springs - a long day at that - or stays at the resort in Yulara, as we did in the caravan park. It has a bit of a Disneyland feel - several hotels to choose from, the caravan park, a few restaurants, grocery store, tourist shops etc...and has a really good feel about it. With only a few hours before the infamous sunset we quickly decided to book a champagne camel ride. What fun we had, albeit a touristy thing to do, but a great overall experience with terrific views of the gigantic red rock as the sun went down.
You can walk around the base of the rock, or rent bikes, giving you a closer look at all the nooks and crannies and textures of this amazing marvel. The local aboriginal that control this territory, strongly suggest that you do not climb their rock, as it is sacred to them and can also be quite dangerous with people slipping and getting hurt or killed yearly - which deeply hurts them. But as we all know...there are always a few...
After thoroughly enjoying the cultural center in the national park for our next sunset we chose to drive out to the Olga's, another formation of red rocks, even taller than Uluru. Even though the sky was cloudy they did not disappoint when suddenly they literally turned bright orange for about thirty seconds as the sun slipped below the horizon.

Now one thing we haven't talked about yet are the flies. The tenacious, buzzing beasts - that like to swarm around you, land on you, hitch a ride on you, crawl in your eyes and nose and mouth! It really just becomes a mind over matter thing, learning to just go to your happy place and not keep swatting at them, because it does absolutely no good. There are apparently different times of the year when they are worse, and it really isn't too bad for us so we guess we've hit it lucky. You can be one of those nerdy looking tourists, who have bought the hat with the netting that goes all the way around - giving them a bee keepers appearance...but we are too vain and have just tried to find our inner peace :)
Uluru is probably Australia’s best-known natural landmark. The ancient monolith is pretty impressive close up and boasts intriguing statistics. Here are some facts on Uluru:
Uluru is better known as Ayers Rock; it named by William Gosse in 1873 after Sir Henry Ayers. Uluru is the Aboriginal and official name.
The rock was created over some 600 million years, and the Aborigines have been in the area for the last 10,000 years. It originally sat at the bottom of a sea, but today stands 348m above ground. One of the most startling Uluru facts however, is that some 2.5kms of its bulk is underground.
Uluru lies west of the Simpson Desert, not far from the ‘Red Centre’ of Australia, about 335kms southwest of Alice Springs (as the crow flies) and 463kms by road. Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t the biggest monolith in the world; Mount Augustus in Western Australia holds that title.

As always we love to read your comments!!!

Be sure to check out the photo gallery "Uluru"

Looking North along the fence
April 29, 2015

The Dingo Fence

Covering about 3,500 miles, or the distance between London and New York, it is the longest fence in the world. It carves out the fertile Southeast Australia cattle and sheep grazing area from the rest of the country in an attempt to keep the Dingo's away. The dingo is the largest terrestrial predator in Australia and is considered a pest by sheep farmers due to its frequent attacks on livestock. The fence, which is one of the largest structures in the world, is built from timber posts and wire mesh.
Who knew????
Included in the "Dingo Fence" photo gallery are some shots of the "Breakaways" interesting formations!

Entering Coober Pedy
April 28, 2015

Coober Pedy

After a quick stopover in Port Augusta, we started heading north - up the Stuart Highway - which virtually runs up the center of Australia all the way to Darwin - our final destination in our Britzy Beast, on the 9th of May. Now is when this road trip will get exciting, or boring - however you look at it! The road is straight, the terrain boring - in a beautiful sort of way- and you are pretty much alone with the exception of the rare car or road train you might pass. The road trains here are enormous semi-trucks pulling anywhere from two to five trailers and can be up to 150 feet long. They are serious stuff and we do watch out for them! That, and kangaroos, and cattle. You do not want to be on the road when dusk comes and the kangaroos become more active or you don't have good visibility for cows. Larry keeps reminding me when I'm driving; whatever you do don't swerve, just hit them! And whenever you have the chance to fill up with fuel you do, as you won't see another stop for a long time.

The great thing about being in the motor home, is there are plenty of places to pull over, use the bathroom, make lunch, and touch your feet on terra firma - unlike traveling in a boat. It's starting to really grow on Ben, realizing how lucky he is to have this once in a lifetime opportunity to see this great, big, vast country! He passes the hours of driving by daydreaming about all the things he is so excited about to go home to, and listening to his music. I think it's great for our kids to just have to sit sometimes, with nothing else to do but let their mind wander. It doesn't seem like there is much of an opportunity for that anymore in our normal, busy lives.

So, after one of our potty breaks, as we are just starting to pull out, this cute little bright green Jucy van pulls up in front of us waving and smiling. Huh?! Ding! The light bulb goes off...well, it's none other than our friends from the sailing vessel Spruce - whom we haven't seen since last August in Fulaga, Fiji! Once again - what a small world! Sue and Andy are from the UK, and are just so vibrant and fun - with a real zest for life and a love of traveling. And, it just so happens they are heading the same way we are - Coober Pedy - the mining mecca of Opals!

Suddenly, as you're driving through the dry barren desert, the terrain becomes riddled with holes and huge piles of dirt. Road signs suggest you be careful walking - never at night and never backwards as there are more than a million little mineshafts created by the wishful frenzy of hitting it big! Coober Pedy is very unusual in that most of the town is built underground or into the sides of hills as the temperature in the summer season can reach 50 degrees celsius or 122 degrees fahrenheit. Yikes! But what an interesting place. We have never seen anything like it, and really enjoyed the Old Timers Mine Museum and their self guided tour. It just so happens the underground church is next door which is also attached to the underground Comfort Inn in which Sue, Andy, and the three of us were treated to a personal tour by Cecil, the caretaker. I have to say, it is a bit eerie, walking the hallways - looking into the empty hotel rooms, very nice - but very underground...quiet...dark...cool...empty...oh, I said that already....What a place, and what a life these people have who live here, and all because they are lured by a rare gemstone.

So, the story goes; in the early 1900's three men and a young boy were prospecting for gold on their camels, and ended up in this God forsaken area and had run out of water. Three of the men decided to take a day searching for water while leaving the fourteen year old at camp. Upon their return the boy was nowhere in sight and the fire camp coals were cool. The father of the boy decided to build a new fire, in hopes of luring his son back in case he was lost. Shortly thereafter the boy showed up holding a bag of stones - tossing them to his father he said, "Thought this might be something you would be interested in," and the rest is history!

Check out the photo gallery "Coober Pedy" for pictures of an underground hotel, church and our mine tour!

View of the Twelve Apostle's
April 26, 2015

So glad that we had detoured a bit and had taken the time to see the stunning coastline of Southern Australia; including the oldest lighthouse, the Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, and all the cute, quaint seaside towns. The first day was an easy drive, stopping to see all the things we wanted to see, including a tour of the lighthouse, then we spent the night a caravan park nearby. Larry keeps saying how he feels like he is in a scary movie, in that when the sun starts to set - you know you have to get off the road - not for the zombies, but in this country it's for them kangaroos! The next day was a photography binge - just when you jump back in your vehicle and pull up a few hundred more feet you want to jump out and snap some more! It really was fun! Exhausted, we spent the night in Mount Gambier. We pushed on rather quickly through what is called the Limestone Coast, famous for their caves and fossils. I had visions of grapevines calling to me and wanted to be able to check out a winery or two in the famous Barossa Valley. Another words, you really probably could spend a few days in this area exploring, picking and choosing a few of the activities listed in the Lonely Planet guide.

As the sun set and the gauge on our fuel dropped, we started to feel a bit anxious as we drove on farm roads not sure of our final destination for the night. In true Lisa Kay fashion, we don't always know where we are going until we get there, and many of those times turn out to be the best! In this case we were not disappointed, and came across a tiny gas station that happened to still be open after 6:00 on a Sunday night, and shortly thereafter a small caravan park located near the Community Center of Mount Pleasant - population 1000. And here is where we were embraced in true Aussie fashion! Turns out, the locals were having a fundraising dinner, saving up to put a new kitchen in the community center - well how could we resist? The Ladies Of The Night (yes, they really call their group that!) had done all the cooking and it was delicious! We had a great time chatting and laughing with the locals, learning about the different community groups and all that they were doing - what neat people - making the world a better place! I had that sense of "church" - not in the religious sense, but in the sense of people coming together and working for the greater good, only they served really good wine :)

The next morning we drove through the beautiful vineyards, dreaming of the day when we can have a small piece of property and that sense of community again in our lives...next stop - Port Augusta - the start of the Stuart Highway and the great outback!

The "Buena Vista's" & the "Lisa Kay's"
April 21, 2015

With big hugs and many thank you's we bid farewell to our lovely hosts, Anne-Marie and Les, and pointed our faithful motor home south towards Melbourne. Melbourne is where our cruising buddies, Debbie and Don Robertson from S/V Buena Vista have settled for awhile as they have decided to sell their boat as well, which they have left in New Zealand. Debbie and Don were our first cruising friends we made in Ventura, California, where we purchased the Lisa Kay in 2009. We never cease to be amazed at what a small world it is, and are excited to catch up with our old friends. With stops for food and fuel, the ride from Canberra to Melbourne was about nine hours, and once again we had a lovely home to stay in with gracious hosts.
Melbourne is a vibrant city with incredible architecture and a more layed back feel than Sydney. We had a great time exploring the various alley ways that are now bustling with cozy bars and cafes, and rode around on the free city tram - making a pit stop to hug Karen (from Marsden Cove Marina in New Zealand) who is now working at the D'Albora Marina in Melbourne! Don't miss Hosier Lane, where spray paint and tagging has become a work of art. We enjoyed a beer or two at the famous Young & Jacksons Pub, across from Flinders station - circa 1861, after peeking at the famous nude painting of Chloe upstairs - a historical piece of art due to the stiff culture of that time. (I have since found out that Chloe sadly committed suicide within two years of being painted - due to unrequited love.) Mike, from S/V Allegresse, whom we met with his wife Tracey in Vanuatu and became fast friends, just happened to be in Melbourne for work, so another reunion was had over a delicious meal at the oldest building in Melbourne, the Mitre Tavern built in 1835. Once again I must say, it is a small world we live in!

The next day we caught up on laundry and grocery shopping, reminding us how important it is to build in a few extra days on a road trip like this for the necessary tasks in life, and with a newer plan in place and a good night's sleep, we set our course for the Great Ocean Road - not to be missed or so we've been told!