A Beach, A City, and a Desert

Not only did the weather not improve the next day at Airlie Beach, but it actually got even worse. My originally scheduled tour was cancelled, most likely due to the fact that they had few bookings given the weather conditions. I ended up rebooking with another group that did go out around the islands; even though rain was predicted all day, I wanted to at least see the Whitsundays after all of my effort.

The day turned out to be pretty fun, despite the weather. We did some snorkeling, and I saw more colorful fish here than anywhere in the world. We then climbed up to a scenic look-out on one of the islands that would have been stunning on a gorgeous day. I had seen pictures of what it should have looked like and tried to picture that in my mind – crystal blue turquoise waters leading to the deep azure blue beyond. If you’d like to see what it should have looked like (as compared with my photo below), check out http://www.ccy.com.au/area/whitehavenbeach/. We then finished the day at Whitehaven Beach, which has the finest, whitest sand of any beach I’ve ever visited. Apparently there is a significant fine for removing sand, and only certain governmental agencies are permitted to do so for scientific purposes (making lenses for telescopes, etc.). I enjoyed a peaceful final evening in Airlie Beach and met a fun Irish couple over dinner. The wife of the couple had never traveled before and was having a hard time adjusting to the backpacker lifestyle – even had gone so far as to contemplate cancelling a leg of her trip – but was starting to enjoy the experience on the road.

View from lookout of Whitehaven Beach

Rather than spend two days traveling to Melbourne via a series of overnight buses and a string of flights (to Brisbane, then Sydney, then Melbourne), I found a $100 ticket from Hamilton Island, one of the Whitsunday Islands, directly to Melbourne. I booked it instantly and was happy that I had saved myself the time and the effort of riding on a coach for 18+ hours back south. In order to catch my flight, I woke up at 6:00 a.m. to catch a 7:27 bus from my hostel to the Shute Harbor. I then took an 8:05 ferry one hour to Hamilton Island, during which time I was notified by the airline that my flight was significantly delayed. I actually didn’t mind the delay, as the Irish couple from the night before had stayed on Hamilton Island and had suggested that I spend some time walking around. After the ferry docked at the airport (very convenient!), I walked about 10 minutes into town and enjoyed a morning cup of coffee and a danish looking out over the bay. The sun was even attempting to peek through the clouds when I finished my cup and hopped onto the free shuttle around the island.

Hamilton Island is one of the very few Whitsunday islands that’s developed, and everything on the island is owned by the same company. There are quite a few hotels and resorts, along with sailing charter companies, cute (but expensive) shops, and restaurants. The island isn’t terribly big, and the shuttle probably took a total of 20 minutes to drive around the perimeter. Oh – no cars (aside from commercial/construction vehicles and the shuttles) are allowed on the island, so everyone scoots around by golf cart. It was definitely a lot more “up market” than Airlie Beach, and I’ve heard that this is a popular vacation spot for Australians. I could certainly see why – if I owned a multi-million dollar home on the island with views of the Great Barrier Reef, I’d visit there quite often, too.

Shuttle ride around Hamilton Island


My flight turned out to be extremely delayed, during which time I met a young couple from Melbourne. Jemma, a 20-something British girl, was backpacking through Australia four years ago when she met her now-boyfriend (whose name I couldn’t quite catch) in a restaurant in Melbourne. She’s been in Australia ever since. I didn’t get to know them well, but I mention this couple because they were just so very kind to me. They kept me updated on the flight, told me about the free food vouchers available because of the flight delay (sidebar – why does United not do this???), let me borrow Jemma’s gossip magazines, and offered to drop me off at my hostel, which was close to their house. When we parted ways, Jemma even ran after me to give me her number and offered to meet me for coffee over the weekend. The generosity and helpfulness was just another example of how wonderful the Australians that I have met on this trip have been. I just hope to return the favor to some wayward travelers when I return to the U.S.

Because I had already arranged for airport transport, I didn’t take Jemma up on her offer for a lift to the hostel. I took another shuttle from the airport and met Zoe, a Brit who had been living in Queensland for the past four months. Not only were we headed for the same place, but we both had happened to book on the same tour for the following day down the Great Ocean Road. I ended up spending the last couple of days with Zoe and was happy to have some company, although admittedly it was a little difficult to adjust to having a travel companion after so long on my own.

I stayed at Base Backpackers in St. Kilda, Melbourne. The hostel was pretty nice – even a separate area called “The Sanctuary” for women only, complete with hairdryers and free towel use, lots of computers with internet and webcams, and a very lively bar. St. Kilda would be like the Bucktown area of Chicago – great restaurants, bars, and shops, with a little bohemian flair. Zoe and I had a tasty dinner at The Vineyard on Tuesday evening and afterwards made a stop in the pastry shop next door. The window displays of cakes and sweets were just too tempting to pass up.

The next day was a long one, but one of the best in Australia thus far. I had heard about the Great Ocean Road from my parents, who did the trip a couple of years ago, and from my friend Susan F. who visited on her honeymoon last January. The day included the following: a stop at Bell’s Beach, a famous surfing beach in Melbourne that was pictured at the end of Point Break (although rumors of the 50 year swell or storm are false); scenic views from a lighthouse point; a curvy drive along the ocean throughout the day, a short hike in a rainforest, and stops at the Twelve Apostles, London Bridge, and Loch Ard Gorge. By far, the views of the Twelve Apostles were my favorite. After having seen so many pictures of the natural rock formations, it was nice to finally see them for myself! Apparently, the Twelve Apostles used to be huge rock arches in the water, until the arches collapsed years ago – so long ago, that no one (including the explorers) had ever seen the arches. When first seen by ships passing through the area, they were called “the Sow and its piglets,” as the first rock looked like a large pig with little piglets following behind. At the time when the Great Ocean Road was further developed in the 1970s for tourism, the rocks were renamed “The Twelve Apostles” because someone thought that more fitting. Interestingly, there aren’t even 12 – only 8 now after 3 collapsed prior to discovery, and 1 crumbled and fell into the sea in the early 1990s. It still doesn’t make sense why they call it the Twelve Apostles, especially given that no one has ever actually seen all 12, but I’ll just accept the name and appreciate the scenery.


Stop at Bell's Beach, famous from its cameo in Point Break

View down the coast of South Australia on the Great Ocean Road (a bit windy!)

Some of my favorite furry friends, as spotted in the wild off of the Great Ocean Road

The newest member of the Koala Cove Surf Team

The Twelve Apostles

London Bridge

The best part of Wednesday was getting to do a webcam chat with Ben!! Since I’ve been traveling, we’ve been exchanging a lot of emails and talking on the phone 1-2 times a week. We had tried a webchat in Stellenbosch but couldn’t get the cameras to work and had to resort to IM’ing. But on Wednesday night, I was actually able to see him for the first time in 2008! As I mentioned in a previous posting, Ben has been working quite a bit – 16-20 hour days, with the occasional all-nighter thrown in. I don’t think he’s had a day off since November 2, and I can only imagine how much it’s wearing on him. He can’t tell me anything about what he’s actually doing or the work that he’s seeing, but I know he’s doing a great job and learning quite a bit. Our webchat was long overdue, and I can’t adequately explain how happy I was to see his handsome, smiling face on my computer screen. I had to fight back some tears of joy and treasured every minute of our 20 minute conversation. I hope to do one again soon – I don’t think I can wait another month and a half for the next opportunity. We wished each other a Happy Valentine’s Day and vowed that next year would be much better when we could celebrate in person.

Ironically, I was really looking forward to the 14th, mostly because a friend from work and his girlfriend were going to be passing through Melbourne on their vacation. I hadn’t seen any one from Chicago since I left home and was really excited about seeing some friendly and familiar faces. I spent the morning wandering about downtown Melbourne, visiting the tallest city building and its observation deck, walking the streets, and strolling through the Queen Victoria Market. En route to meet Zoe at Federation Square, I received a call from Dan – who was waiting with Wendy and Dan’s friend Yanti, at the same spot. I was thrilled to meet them and to catch up a bit on the happenings back at home. Yanti, an Aussie from Melbourne, had met Dan in New Orleans and has been dating a good friend of his for the past couple of years. Ironically, Dan’s friend Otto is from Memphis, and we attempted to play the name game of any mutual friends we knew from his high school that would have attended UT – what a small world! Yanti took us to a rooftop bar in downtown Melbourne for an afternoon drink, and then Zoe and I headed back to St. Kilda’s to get ready for the evening.

View of Melbourne on my city stroll

Skyline view from the city's observation deck

Happy Valentine's Day from me and the Melbourne Lion's Club

Produce stalls at the Queen Victoria Market

That night, we met Otto, Yanti, Dan, and Wendy at an art show, and then we headed for a delicious dinner at a local Greek restaurant. The evening encompassed two cultural sides of Melbourne that I had been unaware of prior to visiting – the vibrant art scene and the large Greek contingent. Not only is Melbourne known for its outstanding galleries, vibrant music, and supportive art culture, it’s also home to the largest population of Greeks living outside of Greece (a fact told to me by Zoe, whose parents were both Greek). The Greek restaurant was BYO, so we stopped to pick up some wine along the way to enjoy with our meal. The best part of the restaurant was that there were absolutely no menus – so we just had to tell the waiter what we wanted, and it would appear – greek salad, fried cheese, lamb kebabs, octopus, calamari, etc. We ended the laughter-filled evening night at a bar called “Bar Open” and with hugs on the street before parting ways. Dan and Wendy, it was so great to see you both – I hope the rest of your trip went well, and thanks for letting me join you on Valentine’s Day. To Otto and Yanti – thanks for your hospitality and for taking around so many of us in your town! It was certainly one of the most fun nights I’ve had on my trip.

With Dan and Wendy at an art show in Melbourne

The end of a fun evening - leaving Bar Open. From left - Otto, Yanti, random Helen that I met in the hostel (she had the bunk above me), Angel (Yanti's friend), Zoe, me, Wendy, and Dan

The late evening out almost caused me to miss my flight the next morning, but fortunately, the flight was significantly delayed. I was on my way to the Red Center, or Yulara, as it’s known to the Aboriginals. I flew northwest from Melbourne about three hours to the Northern Territory and arrived at the Ayers Rock airport. I was staying at the Ayers Rock Resort, which sounds quite fancy, but was frankly the only option. Everything around Ayers Rock is owned by the same company, including the airport, the four hotels, restaurants, shops, and transportation. I had booked at the only budget option I could find – the dorm rooms at the Outback Pioneer Hotel, for around $28/night, considerably cheaper than the other $400+ options available at places called “Sails in the Desert,” “The Lost Camel,” and “Emu Walk Apartments.”

I noticed two things about the area immediately upon arrival – 1) the weather – it was blazing hot (100+ degrees and sunny) – and was a welcome change from the cooler and rainier weather I had experienced over the past couple of weeks, and 2) the outback – it really looked exactly as I had pictured it, with red sand everywhere, short bushes and vegetation, and desert critters. I had a couple of hours to rest before joining my afternoon tour to the Olgas.

The National Park that is home to both Ayers Rock and the Olgas was established in the mid-1900s, and the land was deemed to be owned by the government. In the mid-1980s, the land was returned to the Aboriginals and then subsequently leased back to the government as a National Park. Shortly after the ruling to return ownership of the land, the names of the two largest attractions within the park reverted to their Aboriginal names – Uluru (for Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (for the Olgas). I still use the old names for easier reference.

The Aboriginal name for the Olgas means “many heads,” basically because it looks like a huge rock formation with many, many domes – I don’t even know if they have all been counted. After stopping at a viewing station, I led the pack on a hike up through the Valley of the Winds, which was followed by champagne and snacks at sunset. I had actually forgotten about the sunset viewing aspect of the tour, given that I booked this over two months ago, but it was a nice way to end my first day in the Northern Territory.

The Olgas

Sunset Viewing and champagne. I loved the hats that these guys wore to fend off the flies!! Not sure they were actually effective.

On Saturday, I woke up at 3:30 a.m. to catch a three hour bus ride down to Kings Canyon. Most visitors to the area don’t necessarily take the drive down to the Canyon, but I had decided to make the trip on a suggestion of Faith P. Faith traveled around Australia extensively a few years ago and shared some great pictures and stories with me before she left. Based on her recommendation, I had booked this trip back in December and was so happy that I had done so. The day trip was phenomenal. On the bus ride down, we saw wild kangaroos, camels, and horses crossing the road before stopping for breakfast at King’s Station, two small buildings that served up a mean breakfast and offered more wildlife sightings. We then started on our three hour rim walk around the canyon, which including climbing up 500 steps in the extreme heat and sun. During the hike, I was remembering that it was only a month ago that I was making my way up Kilimanjaro in the exact opposite of extreme weather – wind and snow – and took a minute to say thanks for the opportunity to do both climbs in such a short span of time.

The rim walk provided panoramic views of a rocky canyon, in which you could see the layers and layers of sediment that had built up over thousands of years. Every once in awhile, trees would appear to be growing out of nowhere – it’s unclear where the water came from that fed the vegetation. We made a stop at the Garden of Eden, a pool of water resembling an oasis in the middle of the canyon, which was edged by shady trees and verdant shrubs. I jumped in the pool for a quick swim and a cool-down before we completed our climb out of the canyon and back to the bus. En route to Ayers Rock Resort, we stopped at Curtain Springs Cattle Station, an old cattle farm that has grown into a tourist stop. It felt like a ranch in the middle of nowhere Outback and housed a dive bar and an outhouse with signs that read “Sheilas” and “Blokes” to denote the appropriate restrooms. Even cowboys were lounging in the shade. I loved it and thought of my husband, who enjoys the call of the West. It was funny to find a bit of the western feel in the Outback of Australia and also hear some familiar country music playing on the bus radio station for the last few miles. Some things really must translate across cultures!

Rim walk around King's Canyon

Garden of Eden (I swam in the pool at the end of the walkway)

On the tour, I enjoyed chatting with Deb, an attorney for JP Morgan in London who was traveling around Australia for a few weeks. Deb and I exchanged stories about our experiences in South Africa, and she told me about wanting to become more involved with the game reserves after her stay at a park for five weeks a few years ago. Coincidentally, I also finished the book “The Alchemist” on the way back from Kings Canyon and though it would be a good read for her as well. I’ve always enjoyed passing along my books and hope that she’ll find it as personally challenging of a read as I did.

I ran into an Italian woman from my tour while “in town” (which was literally comprised of three stores and a supermarket on the resort), who asked if I was traveling alone, and upon hearing my answer, immediately invited me to join her, her Australian cousin, and two other Italians from our trip to dinner. I’m always up for dinner companions, so I agreed to meet them at my hotel around 7:30 that night. Not only did I enjoy hearing about their lives in Italy (most of which was translated through the Australian bilingual cousin), but I was extended an offer to visit Calubria, Italy if I ever pass that way. Truly kind, hospitable people out here in the world, which makes me hope that we all extend that same generosity to visitors in the U.S.

Yesterday morning, I awoke at 4:30 a.m. for the sunrise viewing of Ayers Rock. After spending the past two days here, I was more than ready for a viewing of the biggest attraction of Yulara. We arrived at the eastern part of the Rock around 6:10 a.m. and commenced a three and a half hour walk around the base, during which time we observed a sunset boasting all colors of the rainbow (purple to blue to red to orange to yellow). The walk around the perimeter included a discussion of the Aboriginal myths and explanations of the rock formation, the history of the rock, and detours into some of the water holes and caves. Interestingly, the Rock as we know it is only the tip of a huge formation, of which an additional 3-6 km lies below the surface. As the earth erodes, more and more of the rock will be visible, although I anticipate this is not for thousands or millions of years to come.

Sunrise at Uluru (Ayers Rock is on the right)

Uluru

While I enjoyed my time in the Outback, I was also ready to move on after the walk yesterday. Aside from viewing Ayers Rock, the Olgas, and King’s Canyon, there really isn’t much to do in the area. It’s extremely hot outside, and the ridiculous amount of damn flies swarming makes it too annoying to venture. Plus, there really aren’t any places to venture to, given that I covered the “town square” in about 4 minutes. Fortunately, my airline ticket allows changes for no charge, so I moved up my flight to yesterday afternoon and headed to Sydney for some more time with my friends. I enjoyed a great meal last night with Tami and Paul Casey while we watched “So You Think You Can Dance – Australia.” I’m hooked on the show now, although I never even watched the American version last summer.

I am enjoying a relaxing day here in Sydney, where I had the chance to catch up on some sleep and laundry. Tomorrow Christopher, Ben’s younger brother, will join me for the next three weeks. I am anxious to see him and looking forward to our travels together...and hopefully I can even convince him to make a guest blogging appearance during our time together.

To everyone at home – please stay warm! I’ve heard that Chicago has received the most snow in years and that negative degree temperatures are forcing everyone inside. I’m thinking of all of you and am reminded how fortunate I am to have escaped this winter. Anyone up for some traveling??