Australia
a desert sunset
We couldn’t have asked for better weather while we were in the Red Centre. The skies were blue, the days were warm, there were cool breezes and nights were mild. April is definitely a great time to go where you can escape from apparently large number of tourists and searing unforgiving desert temperatures. One thing you can’t escape from though are the flies. Be prepared by bringing a fly net to put over your wide brimmed hat, or be prepared to spend a lot of the sunlit hours brushing and swotting them away from your face.
Kata Tjuta (known to some as Mount Olga or The Olgas) means “many heads”. Here we were to witness a sunset with drinks and nibblies organised by the tour operators, AAT Kings. With the camera perched, we were ready to capture the many shades of the beautiful rock formation. And how gorgeous they were. The photos don’t do them justice but then again neither can our words.
View more photos of our trips at Photo Gallery.
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a little luxury in the red centre
On countless occasions, we have spoken to people we meet on our travels overseas who have seen more of our country than we have. In conversation, we sheepishly confess that we haven’t seen the Great Ocean Road, Cairns, Broome or Uluru. And then more often than not the very same people have seen less of their home country than we have. Is it possibly because we forget the wonders we have in our own backyard or simply take it for granted that its not that far away and will always be there? For us, it is a little bit of both. We had this notion that we would travel further afield and do the “harder” trips while we are “young” and save the “easier” ones for when we get “older”. But its all relative and subjective so why delay what you really want to do because of such perceptions!
So rewind to the beginning of the year when we were thinking of a place to getaway, close enough to squeeze into 4 days but far enough for us to feel like we had a holiday. Flights directly to Yulara and 3 nights at Sails in the Desert were booked. Our review of the hotel can be found on TripAdvisor – link
Now fast forward to the end of April, we were on that Qantas flight flying towards the centre of Australia, eagerly peaking out the windows to sneak a peak of anything and there it was, or more like, there they were: Uluru and the Kata Tjuta sitting tall on the red desert sand. Earth so red that it was quite a sight.
The Sounds of Silence dinner (priced at $188 per head) is such a spectacular experience. It all starts with watching the sunset over Uluru and Kata Tjuta while enjoying a cultural Aboriginal dance before sitting down to a buffet dinner under the stars. The full moon decided to join us that night along with a sky-full of stars as the sounds of a didgeridoo were played.
In between, main and dessert, an astronomer dazzled us with information about the night sky and one of our biggest highlights was seeing Saturn and its rings in the high powered telescope that was set up. It was extraordinary! Moments like these when you get to meet other like-minded travellers adds to the experience. The food was delicious, with a good variety and the dessert spread deserves a mention.
View more photos of our trips at Photo Gallery.
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saw no kangaroos on this island
Initially we had planned to drive around Adelaide, jump on the ferry to Kangaroo Island and drive around Kangaroo Island. What we learnt though while booking is that the car hire insurance does not cover the ferry trip across. That was not a risk we were willing to take so we booked a 2-day tour instead which was pretty jam packed. The drive to Cape Jervis was painfully long, not “leisurely” at all as advertised. It was probably twice as painful on the way back!
Day 1 –
The tour began at the Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Distillery before moving onto the Seal Conservation Park which was a main reason we wanted to come to Kangaroo Island. It was pretty cool being able to see the seals on the sand, although from a distance of about 30 metres away. The photos in the brochures all show the spectators (would-be us) standing much closer than what you are actually allowed! Oh well, guess its for animal and human safety! There was also a visit to a sheep dairy farm, Pardana Wildlife Park and a Birds of Prey show.
Day 2 –
A busy day starting at Clifford’s Honey Farm where we tried a non-alcoholic honey drink and the homemade ice-cream. Yummmmm! We also visited the limestone formations of Kelly Hill Caves which was amazing! As we were walking through the caves, the tour guide switched off all the lights and showed us how dark the caves were. She was explaining how when they were originally explored by candlelight, so imagine what would have happened as the candle began to shrink in size! We’ve never had that experience before where our eyes don’t adjust to the darkness, well simply because it can’t! When there is absolutely no light, our eyes can’t adjust to the limited lighting so all we see is blackness. Spooky spooky spooky! Last stops for the day were the aptly named Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch. At the latter stop, we were fortunate to view New Zealand fur seals in their natural environment being very very playful!
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first time away for the new year
We have never seen in a New Year anywhere other than Sydney. So our first New Year’s Eve away was in Adelaide. It was nothing like what we were use to at all. It was quieter.
On our way to dinner, the roads were extraordinarily quiet. We assumed it was everyone preparing for the NYE celebrations! So we asked our cab driver where everyone was ringing in the new year and he didn’t seem to think it was unusual that there was hardly any traffic on the roads. Maybe we were just too used to Sydney’s crazy traffic ALL year round at all hours!
Today we spent a day in the Barossa and on the way back we saw Drover’s Run (from McLeod’s Daughters)! And who would’ve guess that South Australia houses the biggest rocking horse in the world! How about that?!
wise monkeys abroad 