The end of April is upon us and what better way to see it off than having another huge Photogasm™ of knicker elastic straining proportions? ;) Though my stay in the Northern Territory totalled just 7 days where it was mostly at Alice Springs (with the exception of 1 day on a long trip to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park), it was still very action packed!
That week in the beginning of August ‘05 was to prove an unexpected (though welcome) break from having any Internet connectivity whatsoever. Also, the weather in the Red Centre took a little getting used to as it was the winter season and where for the entire week I saw not one bit of cloud, not even a little one. This meant the air was actually very cool and dry, though being so clear meant the sun still packed quite a punch. So the side that faced the sun would get roasted and the side facing away would get rather chilly…
Being someone that doesn’t drive, it was time to hire a bicycle like I did in Hawai‘i so that I could get about Alice Spring and the nearby area. The Penny Farthing Bike Shop was the place I settled for in tracking down a stead and did the trick for the 5 days that I needed it. I think I must have covered over 150 kilometers on it, with 50 kilometers being when I decided to ride the Simpson’s Gaps Bicycle Path to Simpson’s Gap on the West MacDonnell Ranges and back! :D
Further heroics occured on the penultimate day where aside from getting up at a completely unreasonable 5 a.m. so that I didn’t miss the coach for the tour at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, was that when we got our two hours at Uluru for sight-seeing, I managed the 10 kilometer trek to circumnavigate the rock. The coach driver did decide to pretend to drive off, though that didn’t fool me for one second! ;)
Still… enough monologuing from me, so here comes the Photogasm™ from the Red Centre!
… and in time honoured fashion, the albums individually:
- Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia - A week long stay from the 3rd of August till the 10th of August in Alice Springs, Northern Territory right at the heart of the Red Centre
- Alice Springs Desert Park, Alice Springs - Cycling out to the Alice Spring Desert Park on Larapinta Drive located about 5 kilometers west of Alice Springs
- Simpson’s Gap Bicycle Path, West MacDonnell National Park, Northern Territory - A 50 kilometer round trip by bicycle to Simpsons Gap of the West MacDonnell Ranges via the Simpsons Gap Bicycle Path
- Alice Springs Telegraph Station, Alice Springs - A visit to the Alice Springs Telegraph Station Historical Reserve located 4 kilometers north of Alice Springs
- Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Northern Territory, Australia - 18 hour day trip with Emu Run Tours to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park which is now Aboriginal land
- Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia to Republic of Singapore (新加坡共和國/Republik Singapura) - Leaving the Southern Hemisphere as I travel from Alice Springs, NT, Australia to Republic of Singapore (新加坡共和國/Republik Singapura) via Melbourne, VIC, Australia!
Till the next Photogasm™ (finally back in Asia!) in the “Disneyland with the Death Penalty”, otherwise known as Singapore! ;)
i love the picture of the unusual wodden bench, it is awesome. i assume it is a one of a kind or were there more of them?
Comment by jack steel — 03:12:49 UTC on the 3rd of May, 2006
That was the only bench of its sort that I spotted on my rather hurried walk around Uluru. :)
Comment by Jonathan Stanley — 03:24:00 UTC on the 3rd of May, 2006
Must have been a great time. The pictures are very invitindg to follow your steps. The wooden bench from your photo series is very impressive.
Comment by Maria loves pictures — 15:40:28 UTC on the 25th of May, 2006