Ayers Rock

Ayers Rock (aka Uluru in PC) is famous. Very famous. The reason why escapes me, as it's just a bloody big stone in the middle of nowhere. Admittedly it is an arresting sight, rising up out of the plains, but nothing worth traveling thousands of kilometers for (yes, I realize this makes ME a sucker).

It was raining when I got there, and it was raining when I left. For all I know it is still raining; it seems the Northern Territory and the western parts of Queensland were getting some much needed water, all at once. It had been raining in this supposedly "driest continent in the world" for over 72 hours straight when I finally started approaching the east coast. But that is for another post. The local aboriginees don't want people to climb on their holy mountain, so I would definitely have gone up if not for the weather (the walks were closed due to safety reasons).

I drove for 2.5 hours from Erldunda, made a drive around the big ole block, and then drove the 2.5 hours back. It was pissing down the whole time. It was that kind of day. All Ayers Rock pics here.













The sand along the road is bright red and the tarmac is pink in places. This really is "the red center", as the Aussies call it.

The Stuart Highway to Erldunda

After the nice little visit in Coober Pedy, I drove up to Erldunda, which is situated in the corner where the Lasseter Highway takes off to the west from the Stuart Highway. The Lasseter goes on to Ayers Rock, and shortly thereafter it becomes an unpaved track, which then continues into Western Australia.

This day may have been my best photographic loot day in Oz yet. I got pics of a dingo eating a dead cow, pics of cockatoos, more dead cows, etc.

As I've mentioned before, kangaroos are generally only seen as roadkill. But along the highway you can also find dead cows, plowed down by huge road trains of up to more than 50 meters of rapidly moving metal. They'll brush a cow aside like a fly. On this occasion, a dingo was munching on a fresh kill.


This second dingo was off to the side, possibly puking up something.


"Mom, is the man safe?"
"No, son. He's got hamburger eyes. Better stay back."


Northern Territory speed limits.


Lies, all lies.


I'm assuming these belong to spiders of some type. Along stretches of the road there were literally thousands of them. I shudder at the thought.


These cockatoos were a part of a much larger group I spotted along the side of the road. They were eating some kind of fruit, and they were being so messy about it, it sounded like rain when bits and pieces of the fruit hit the ground.


At another place, further north, a road train had mowed down three cows. It was hamburger carnage.

Quote of the Day

C’est plus qu’un crime, c’est une faute
[It’s worse than a crime, it’s a mistake]
- Boulay de la Meurthe

Quote of the Day

May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits!
- Arab curse

Quote of the Day

The march of the human mind is slow.
- Edmund Burke

Quote of the Day

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one that is most adaptable to change.
- Charles Darwin

I have pics from the Stuart Highway of dingos and cattle (live AND dead) and from Ayer's Rock too... but the internet connection at Erldunda won't let me upload a single image file, even though the connection is actually quite fast. So you'll have to settle for this little complaint instead.

Quote of the Day

There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way.
- Christopher Morley

Going underground

No I haven't finally tilted and gone into hiding, though I wish I could at times. I'm staying in Coober Pedy, several hundred kilometers (and miles) north of Adelaide. This little mining community has several buildings underground, to provide shelter from the heat. My hotel is one of these. Feast your eyes upon it:

All Coober Pedy pics here.

The Stuart Highway

The Stuart Highway runs from the town of Port Augusta, on the coast of South Australia all the way up to Darwin, in the Northern Territory. It's appx. 540 km (340 miles) up to Coober Pedy, where these words are written, and a further 688 km (430 miles) up to Alice Springs and then an excruciating 1,500 km (935 miles) on to Darwin. And here's the thing: Besides Alice Springs, and a handfull of tiny settlements along the way, there's absolutely nothing to do or see. The landscape stretches out for thousands of kilometers on each side, and it is all mindnumbingly, horribly boring.

If you're very lucky (or, as the case may be, unlucky), you may catch a glimpse of some wildlife; emus in my case. Otherwise, it's just shrublands all the way, interspersed with dried up salt lakes.

All pics here.

Emus.


This low mountain was just a few minutes out of Port Augusta. I can see no reason why this isn't just as famous as Ayer's Rock, except for Australians' spite for stupid tourists. Such as me.


Still some signs of civilization, shortly after Port Augusta. It gets a lot worse.


As I rolled down the window to get this pic of the salt lake, about two million flies decided to fill the car. They're everywhere. I even went and bought me a stupid looking hat with a net in front yesterday.


This is how 90% of "the outback" looks like.

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital of the state of Southern Australia, and it's quite a nice city. I especially appreciated the very broad streets, which made it possible to maneuver, and maneuver you need to do because they don't really believe in street signs, so plan on driving around for a while till you find your address, more or less by chance. *Grumble*

All pics here.

The South Australia museum.


The state Parliament building.


A monument to the fallen of the Boer War.


A momument to the fallen of the 1st World War.


Edward VII, one of the worst male whores in a long line of depraved, British royals.


Adelaide has a thing for statues, they're everywhere.


This is the classy blanket in my hotel bedroom. There was also a brochure for the Asian massage parlour next door...


Brekkie on Wednesday. Burrito, mmmmm.


I can haz cheeseburger?

Quote of the Day

I had a linguistics professor who said that it's man's ability to use language that makes him the dominant species on the planet. That may be. But I think there's one other thing that separates us from animals. We aren't afraid of vacuum cleaners.
- Jeff Stilson

Stwange

A quick word about time zones here in Australia... the territory of Northern Australia and the state of South Australia both are... 30 minutes behind the east coast. Yep, a half hour time difference. I don't get it either.

Quote of the Day

It is the best of all trades, to make songs, and the second best to sing them.
- Hilaire Belloc

South Australia

These are some assorted bits and pieces I photographed on my way from Mt Gambier to Adelaide on Wednesday.

Now I know where the FBI puts their mafia informants. Sorry for blowing your witness protection program, guys.


The jetty in Beachport.


Beachport is also where I had lunch. This one was cardiac arrest on a plate.


Looked pretty damn dry to me.


This is a freshwater lake separated from the ocean by a relatively thin sandbank. There are several of these along the SA coastline.


I saw this huge cloud on my way to Adelaide. I have no idea what it was - brushfire, dustcloud, mine collapse, nuclear detonation...?


This is what's considered a signworthy tourist attraction in South Australia. I'm not joking, they're called "The Granites" and they lie 3 km from the main road. I could weep.

Millicent

After Mt Gambier I stopped at the local museum in the town of Millicent, for no other reason than that I was bored. I found out to my delight that it was a National Trust museum, meaning I got in for free, since I'm a member of the English National Trust. Eight bucks saved! Woo hoo!

All pics here.

I have no idea why these irons were sad. Possibly they were being bullied by the pressure irons next to them.


Fireman carved outta wood in front of the museum. Apparently there was a big fire in 1983 where people and livestock perished, and this was some sort of memorial.


There was a note saying this was a whalebone. You'll have to take their word for it.


More knots than a sane man can look at in a lifetime.


They also had a collection of horsedrawn vehicles. This is a hearse.


The woman the town was named after. She was the daughter of some bishop in Adelaide I think.


Same woman as old. Still got the ol' spark in her eye.

Umpherston Sinkhole

Umpherston Sinkhole is a local tourist attraction in Mt Gambier. The sinkholes occur when acidic water burrows into the limestone and makes caves underground. When the roofs collapse, you get these holes. Mr. Umpherston himself dug out primitive steps and built a small cabin on the lake on the cave floor back in the 1880s, when much of it was still filled with water. That water has since disappeared, as has his cabin and pretty much everything else he built. But the hole has been turned into a nice little garden, and it's quite pleasant down there on a quiet Wednesday morning. All pics here.

Nice.


Notice the hanging plants that give shade and cover to the ground area.


Handicap accessibility is for fuckin poms, mate.


There was a little pool to the side.


Ah do lubs me some pine trees.


Sweet flowers.