Thursday, June 30, 2005
Kata Tjuta
Soundtrack: “The Magic Treehouse” by Ooberman
Thursday 23rd June. Up at 5am again, so that we could go and watch sunrise at Kata Tjuta and beat the crowds. We reached the rocks just as the Sun was coming up above the land, and we got to see the “opera house” effect, as the Sun lit up the different rocks consecutively the higher that it rose. Majestic. Then, we walked around the rocks and through the Valley of the Winds. It was a fairly difficult walk, and we were all thoroughly exhausted by the end of it, but it was worth it. I was also quite pleased that I wasn’t the last person to come in. Past experience (Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, climbing that mountain in Bergen) has taught me not to expect too much of myself, and I was pleasantly surprised.
After Kata Tjuta, we went back to the campsite to strike out tents and have some lunch. With the bus and trailer safely packed, we drove north to King’s Creek Station, stopping on the way for a bumper firewood collection session. By then, we’d become particularly adept at finding small trees (though I myself couldn’t be arsed and always brought back an armful of crappy branches), and Sam and I dragged back a rather sizeable trunk that Marsha had found. At Kind’s Creek, we set up camp, this time with much greater ease as a) it was daylight and b) we knew how the tents worked now.
We then found that we had some dead hours on our hands, that Vic had wisely given us for relaxation. There’s plenty to do at Kind’s Creek, though. You can go on tours of the area, either by quad bike, Harley, or helicopter. Or, you can use the cheapest transportation method of the lot, and go on a camel ride, which is what Andy, Helen, Judith, Jeff, Sam, Julie and I decided to do. $7 for 5 minutes, but I wasn’t complaining. Before we got on, we had to sign a form saying that it wasn’t the camel company’s fault if we fell off and died, and then we had to strap on hefty safety helmets, which made me slightly worried, but it was unfounded in the end. I’ve never ridden a horse, pony or donkey (Mum was always worried about me, and very rightly so), and so I enjoyed myself immensely. The movement takes some getting used to, and I still hadn’t accustomed myself to it when my 5 minutes on Kenya the Camel were up. Camels are bloody great.
Thursday 23rd June. Up at 5am again, so that we could go and watch sunrise at Kata Tjuta and beat the crowds. We reached the rocks just as the Sun was coming up above the land, and we got to see the “opera house” effect, as the Sun lit up the different rocks consecutively the higher that it rose. Majestic. Then, we walked around the rocks and through the Valley of the Winds. It was a fairly difficult walk, and we were all thoroughly exhausted by the end of it, but it was worth it. I was also quite pleased that I wasn’t the last person to come in. Past experience (Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, climbing that mountain in Bergen) has taught me not to expect too much of myself, and I was pleasantly surprised.
After Kata Tjuta, we went back to the campsite to strike out tents and have some lunch. With the bus and trailer safely packed, we drove north to King’s Creek Station, stopping on the way for a bumper firewood collection session. By then, we’d become particularly adept at finding small trees (though I myself couldn’t be arsed and always brought back an armful of crappy branches), and Sam and I dragged back a rather sizeable trunk that Marsha had found. At Kind’s Creek, we set up camp, this time with much greater ease as a) it was daylight and b) we knew how the tents worked now.
We then found that we had some dead hours on our hands, that Vic had wisely given us for relaxation. There’s plenty to do at Kind’s Creek, though. You can go on tours of the area, either by quad bike, Harley, or helicopter. Or, you can use the cheapest transportation method of the lot, and go on a camel ride, which is what Andy, Helen, Judith, Jeff, Sam, Julie and I decided to do. $7 for 5 minutes, but I wasn’t complaining. Before we got on, we had to sign a form saying that it wasn’t the camel company’s fault if we fell off and died, and then we had to strap on hefty safety helmets, which made me slightly worried, but it was unfounded in the end. I’ve never ridden a horse, pony or donkey (Mum was always worried about me, and very rightly so), and so I enjoyed myself immensely. The movement takes some getting used to, and I still hadn’t accustomed myself to it when my 5 minutes on Kenya the Camel were up. Camels are bloody great.
