Central Australia

After my 22 hours on the Greyhound I spent the next 6 days going through Central Australia, or, what the Aussies like to call "the real Australia."  It was AMAZING! 
Our first day we drove for about 6 hours until we arrived at our first spot, King's Canyon.  2 hours before we got there Wookie (our guide) pulls over to the side of the road and says "alright guys this is your last toilet stop until the Canyon" "where is the toilet?"  "anywhere behind those bushes"   I peed!
At the start of Kings Canyon there was a 300 stair climb (and not just stairs but a rocky path that was considered stairs) up to the top.  All I kept thinking was "Devils Staircase" from the Tongeriro Crossing in NZ, the 9 hour hike I thought was going to kill me.   Thank goodness for me and some of the others who had done Tongeriro it did not even come close to the Devils Staircase and took less then half the time.  We were at the top within half an hour! and, lucky for me my vertigo existent. The canyon was amazing, the views were spectacular, we learned about how it was formed as well as the different vegetation that grows throughout the canyon such as Ghost Gum Trees - they are covered in a powder which makes them look like they are glowing at night and also works as a sunscreen on skin in the day time - and rock mint - mint leaves that grow in the rock which works as a rohipnol for kangaroos.
By the time we got back to our bus it was past 4pm and the sun would soon be setting so we made our drive to bush camp (not sure how long it took because I slept most of the way though I was awake to see the iconic rock in the distance which made me even more excited for our trek there the next day.   
Before we went to the camp we had to go get enough fire wood to last us the night.  We were told to break down old trees, they had to be this size, this thick make sure you take the branches off, thats to big, thats to small.  Covered in scratches and dirt I looked at Wookie and said "this wasn't in the brochure" "it's bush life, just experience it" was his reply.
The sun had set by the time we got to bush camp.  Wookie (our guide) pounded the song "Hwy to Hell" on the radio has he sped down a pitch black road out into the bus.  Our dinner (chilli con carne) was cooked over the bonfire - which we all helped cook, and cooking just like the firewood wasn't in the brochure- and we all sat around the fire eating and enjoying a few beers.  We cleaned up and did the dishes (not in the brochure) and then we all got into our swags and slept around the fire.   It was a little creepy at first.  I mean out in the bush in Australia, with Australian bugs and snakes that can kill you.  We were all using "bush toilets" because there was no way we were using the outdoor dunny.  I wasn't even tired and almost everyone was asleep, I was so Dan sick at this point at least I cold snuggle him and feel safe, but I didn't have him so i just put on my iPod and looked up at the sky which was pretty amazing.  I could hear a few voices which made feel better that I wasn't the only one awake and finally drifted off to sleep. 
It was a 5am wake up the next morning.  No one really slept that well and it turns out that mostly everyone thought everyone else was sleeping and they were the only ones awake haha.   We made use of the "bush toilets" which was kind of funny because all us girls went around the back of the same bush and you would turn your head and see someone elses ass stuck out while they made the morning tinkle and there was an akward "morning" with a giggle.
Once again off in the distance The Rock was there and the sign said "Uluru 150km"  Imagine how big it is if we can see it from that far away.  "Alright guys when I count to three I want you to yell it's name so it can hear you.  I want The Rock to hear you.  1 2 3" "ULURU"  "Again" "ULURU" "one more time"  "ULURU'  "Alright guys that is Mt Conner that you are seeing not Uluru.  It is always mistaken for Uluru.  The Aboriginals did not fight to get Mt. Conner back because it is considered to be bad luck and they say that whenever a storm starts it comes from Mt Conner"  It really did have an eerie kind of look to it.  It's like it was just sitting there looking down at us with it's blackness *shivers*
Our first stop that morning was Kata Tjuta which means many heads and Kata Tjuta has 36 "heads".   Kata Tjuta is so sacred that there is only one walk for the public eye, The Valley of the Winds, the rest is so sacred to the Aboriginal men that the Aboriginal women only get to see parts of it.   Our guide was not sure why it is so sacred because there is not much information known.  The wierd thing is when I got there and stood infront of it I said "WOW!  I feel like I am standing infront of something so sacred!"  It was incredible.  I had only seen it on postcards,  I really didn't even know what it was I honestly just thought it was a few massive rocks, but it was so much more then that.  The 36 heads stretch around for miles and every side of it looks completely different.  The walk through the Valley of the Winds was like something out of a fairy tale.  The heads just surrounded us with the bluest sky that made the heads almost look like a water colour painting settled in the perfect green of the grass which apparantly only happens every 50 years.  I loved it!  I could've set up camp and lived there but unfortunately I wasn't aloud and we still had Uluru to see, the real one.
I wasn't as taken with Uluru as I was with Kata Tjuta.  Don't get me wrong its incredible but I think it's one of those things that is just so built up by others, so when you get there you are expecting more; but, with that being said what I learned about the rock took my breath away.  The history of the rock and how important and significant it is to the Aboriginal Culture and Australian history is amazing.  I would love to write about everything I have learned but when telling the Aboriginal Dreamtime you need to tell it word for word or else the stories and the facts get all muddled up and dont come out right.  The guides are actually trained and tested on these stories.  The Aboriginal take so much pride in their stories that you can not tell them wrong, so with that respect I am not going to tell any stories. But, I will say this; there is a walk up the rock.   Some business owners in the 60's decided they wanted to put a walk up it to create business at there road houses - water, food, camping etc.   When the Aboriginals got Uluru back from the white man one of the conditions was that the walk not be taken down.   The walk consists of metal poles and a chain that were put in in the 60's and never been changed therefore it is extremely unsafe.  The Aboriginals are still fighting to take it down and not necessarily for that reason.  If you go to someones house and they ask you to take your shoes off you do out of respect.  If you go to there place of worship you respect it even if it is not your place of worship because you ahve respect.  Well, it's the same for Uluru.  It's like there Cathedral and people walk all over it (baby nappies have been left up top as well as other rubbish),  it is not being respected.  If we can't respect it then why should they share everything about themselves with us?  None of us walked it.  I thought it was just a rock,  it`s so much more then that.  It`s history!
That night we had dinner with wine watching the sunset over Uluru, it was pretty cool, especially when you look at that postcard picture you have seen so many times and now you are looking at the real thing.  I missed Dan so much.  Watching the sunset of the Iconic Uluru without him just didn`t seem as amazing as it should have.  Same with sunrise the next morning, it could`ve used a little bit of Dan.  Plus it was freezing.  I didn`t even want to get out of my swag in the morning I was so cozy all curled up like a little catterpillar in it`s cocoon,  I wasn`t ready to turn into a butterly that morning.
After sunrise we had the base walk around Uluru.  Nothing like a 9km walk first thing in the morning.  Some parts were alright and other parts were amazing.  One spot jst took my breath away.  I just stood there looking at it thinking ``wow, something great took place here``  I so wish I had a time machine so I could go back in time and watch the history of Uluru take place.  We had a few kilometers to go when I realized we missed the waterhole that Wookie told us not to miss. Pete, Pedro and I turned around to walk back passing the others in the group.  We walked fast checked it out and started making our way back.  We were almost at the carpark when I see our bus driving up the street ``oh no not again. ``   ``there is no way thats our bus`` said pete ``well then why is Andreas hanging out the front windo waving at us.  It`s definatly him I recognize his bright yellow shirt``  ``shit.  do you think Wookie is mad,  do you think they will stop``  ``I hope so`` we start running back where we came from.  Wookie stoped at a little path and waited for us with a smile on his face.
It was a long drive back and I was pooped when we got back to Alice Springs.  I was so looking forward to a goodnight sleep in a comfy (bunk) bed, though it was too early when my alarm went off the next morning at 6am as I had to be up for another 3 day tour to make my way to Adelaide.
This trip started off with a lesson in wild life.  Whenever there was an animal on the road Diesel (our guide) would pull over to a yuey and stop, hop out of the car and pick it up and bring it over to us (except for the brown snake, the dingo and the bull) we definatley got some great photos.  Our first stop was the NT and SA  State borderline.  I actually got to be in two places at once, who knew it was possible!  After dorky pictures we hoped back in and made our way down to Coober Pedy.  I was so excited!  I have been wanting to go to Coober Pedy since I got to Australia. Coober Pedy is an opal mining town (I believe it`s 80% of the worlds opals)  where everything, even the houses are built underground.  I was couldnt wait...I had waited a year and finally the day had arrived that I would get to see my little underground town and sleep in an underground bunker.  Diesel said it was awesome...he loves it there.  All the roads and sidewalks are underground, they have an underground nightclub, there is a big elevator that lowers the vehicles down onto the road.  Oh and when it rains it can get a little messy.  I couldn`t wait.  As we got closer we could see piles and piles for miles for the underground mines, it was quite an interesting site, we were getting closer.  Finally the Welcome to Coober Pedy sign, my camera was ready.
As we entered my mouth dropped.  There were streets, cars, houses...all above ground.  ``I couldnt resist you were so excited.  don`t worry 75% of the town is underground``  it so was not what I was expecting, I dont know what I was expecting but when you hear underground town your expectations are a little high.  The town it`self is nothing much to look at, it`s actually quite ugly.  There is no green, it`s all dust and sand,  our underground bunker was cool  but nothing special.  I thought at least the underground nightclub would be awesome but no...it just look like a regular club with stone walls it actually sucked and the dj is putting your own money into a juke box and playing what you want.  How corney is that, pfft.  It was a pretty early night for all of us except the two German guys who decided to stay up drinking with the other tour group and lock themselves out so they banged on the door at 2am and kept me awake.  I called them on it the next morning and they said I was being a child ``so because you got drunk, got locked out, banged on the door and kept me awake i`m being a child`` ``yes```  as if
It was a 430 wakeup and we were off to the Southern Flinders Ranges.  On our way down we got to stop off at Lake Heart.   The lake itself is completely dried up and in it`s place...salt.  It`s really wierd, I felt like i was walking on ice but yet it was so crystal like at the same time, I kept forgetting it was salt.  It did have water on it that was about ankle deep, apparantly the water only happens once in awhile but it does happen and when you take your feet out they aer just covered in salt, they almost feel like they didnt get wet,  it is such a high concentration of salt.
We got to the Southern Flinders Rangers and did a hike down to Alligator Gorge or Smelligator Gorge as there was a dead wallibee and it stunk up the place.  We spent the night at a camp ground in doors and I got my own room which was awesome, no fireworks between me and the Germans.  The next morning was a chilled out wakeup, we got to take our time and sleep in till 8am which was so nice.  We drove through the little town Melrose which is the first town in the Flinders and it is absolutely stunning.  Everything in SA is stunning, it reminds me a lot of NZ.
Now I am in Adelaide staying in Glenelg Beach.  I honestly don`t know why I didnt come here sooner.  It`s amazing!  Glenelg is like the St Kilda of Adelaide except less grungy.  I`m staying right on the beach and it`s gorgeous.  The place has such a vibe, its got shops, cafes, restaurant, beach volleyball courts, a jetty that the kids jump off of into the water a beautiful park area on the beach and the palm trees give it that Santa Monica feel.  The Adelaide CBD is beautiful,  it`s got a vibe as well (though the Fringe festival was going on) it`s not busy and confined like most cities it`s a little more spread out and so relaxed no one seems to be in a hurry.  The mall reminds me of The Grove in Hollywood...its so awesome.  I keep telling Dan we have to move here lol.
I am so glad I have done Central Australia...the past week has been awesome and I feel so different towaqrds Australia.  There is so much to it and so much of the worlds history takes place here and as for the Aborignals, it`is such ashame that we see the drunk ones living on the streets and begging because their culture is not only fantastic but it is the oldest one in the world.  This trip down has given me a completely different respect for the culture and I am so glad I got to see and learn what I did.

1 year, Riding the Dog and a New Future!

I have been gone a year now and WOW!!! What a fucking year it’s been!   It feels like just yesterday I said my goodbyes at Pearson Airport yet, at the same time it feels like it’s been a lifetime since I left.  I can’t believe the year I have had, I look back and think WOW this has been my life the past year…have I really done all that, is that really me in those pictures?!?

There is no point in me writing a blog and rehashing the year and going over events that you guys have already read about…and to be honest, it would be too long to write so I am just going to let you know what has been going on.

Though I have been gone a year,  I still have not reached my year mark in Australia though, that part of my travels is quickly coming to an end next month.  There is still some of Australia I have not seen which I want to check out before I continue on my travels with Dan next month.  I have been planning 5 weeks trip (on my own) for my last few weeks. With a sad goodbye to Dan yesterday (as we have never really been apart the 5 months we have been together)  I hopped on the Greyhound for a long ass 22 hour bus ride to Alice Springs.

Allright we all know how I love Greyhound (sarcasm – remember my venture out to Vegas with Pauly for my 30^th).  Well to start off the bus was a half hour late, but the bus wasn’t full so I got to stretch out which is always a bonus.   About two hours in we drove past Emerald Springs so I gave it the middle finger with a smile lol and about an hour after that we had our first stop in Katherine.   There isn’t much to say about Katherine except never go there unless you absolutely have to it’s not the greatest town and it smells bad and so does the Greyhound Station where the toilets are infested with spiders and you can’t even eat a bag of crisps while you are waiting in the waiting area.   We were only supposed to have an hour stop but because the bus coming from Perth was running an hour and a half late and there was one person on it transferring to our bus we ended up waiting around 2 hours instead of 1 hour and we were bothered by drunken aboriginals , I was never so happy to get back on a bus.

I was in and out of sleep all day as there is not much else to do on a lone bus trip and driving down the Stuart Hwy hour upon hour becomes menotenous.   About midnight we stop off at Daly Waters which is this awesome pub in this out back town called Daly Waters.  There is a pool table and peoples ID’s up on the wall as a collage, a decent sized bar where one side is a Takeaway.  Out the back is this massive patio with a stage where live music plays  few nights a weeks,  I honestly wanted to spend the night.  Anyways me and this older gentleman on the bus had to go to the toilet (the one on the bus was clogged with poo and we all know how I feel about poo these days).   As I’m tinkling I hear something “no it’s a truck its alright”   We get back out the front…THE BUS HAS LEFT US THERE!!! My heart sank. My phone, my money, my backpack everything was on that bus.  I was panicking.   “it’s ok they stop 7 km’s from here we will call the next place and tell them to let you know to wait for you.  One of our bartenders will drive you.”  Thank god!  The older gentleman ( I never did get his name) was panicking too, I was so worried the bus wasn’t going to wait.  This wasn’t the first time they had left someone behind apparently.

We pull up and the bus is there, my heart started to come out of my stomach and relax to it’s normal spot in my chest.  We thank our driver and head to the bus.  “Hey we are back” I said to the driver as we were climbing back on the bus “why would you get off the bus?”  was his reply “I had to pee”  “well that wasn’t a stop it was just a drop off.   I am not Psychic how was I supposed to know.”  “How are we supposed to know which ones are stops you are not announcing anything and the one before that you stopped for 10 minutes and the toilet on the bus is clogged and I had to pee. “  “Well it wasn’t a stop and you shouldn’t of gotten off”  and he was being rude, he was almost yelling at me and the older guy.  We both said to him “we were just telling you we were back there is no need to be rude we were just letting you know we were back”  “I’m not being rude I am just telling you how it is” and being in Australia too long I replied “your being a cunt!”  and got on the bus only to find out that someone on the bus had told him I wasn’t on the bus when he left and he said “It’s not a stop and it’s not my problem if she is not on the bus!”  Fucking Greyhound.  

We switched drivers at the next stop and then the stop after that was Tennant Creek where we had to switch busses and then wait around while the transferred all the mail around (the Greyhound is also the postal service here).   As the mail we got moved around we all waited on the bus but there were a few people transferring to our bus and the driver wouldn’t let them on till he was done everything.  He made them wait an hour with their bags so he could finish while we were all on the bus sleeping.  Then we had to go through the mail drive through and pick up mail.  After that as we were leaving Tennant Creek the driver realizes he has forgotten his log book so we have to go back to the bus station to look for it, where (lucky for them) to people had missed the bus because they fell asleep and were waiting.

It took another 7 hours after that to get to Alice Springs.  At one point when I woke up we had pulled into the UFO Museum, through sleepy eyes I see green martian men.   Apparantly this little place has the most UFO sightings, but it was closed.  The rest of the trip I slept, or I tried to anyways.  The driver (who was heaps nicer then the last) was listening to music with his headphones on and he sang all through the night.  Though I don’t really know if you could really classify what he was doing as singing because he really wasn’t even singing words it was more gibberish then anything…and it was sooo annoying sleeping on a bus is hard enough.

I really wish Dan was with me.  I miss him so much already.   I mean, it feels really good to be travelling on my own again but it is so weird not having him with me…I feel like half of me is missing.  Five weeks of us being apart is good for us though…we need the separation, and I need to know I am ok without him…which I am but I miss him like crazy.  Though seeing him after five weeks is gonna be awesome and then we are off to Bali to get married!!! Yes that’s right…married!!!   We got engaged two weeks ago and we are so happy and can’t wait.  Some of you probably wondering what happened with Ryan.  We are still amazing friends and are planning on seeing each other in two weeks…and we will always have a spot in our hearts for eachother…but our time is over (as a couple) and we both know that, though he knew that before I did ;)

So now here I am in Alice Springs in an 8 bed mixed dorm that consists of me and 7 other guys lol ya it’s really mixed.  I have to be up at 5 am as I am doing a 3 day trip that I am so excited for.    You will have to wait for my next blog for that one x