Fire Ants welcomed us back to our car in the charlotte airport parking lot. That was fun. Sprayed them down with De-Icer, and then with some bug spray, and drove back from Charlotte with the windows down to disperse the fumes. Then Bug Bombed the car overnight. Finally got back to banner elk and to sleep around 2:00am.

 A quick pie for dinner (meat pie…mmmmm), and then relax for bed. Tomorrow will literally be our first day with no plans made. My initial plans are to get up and go for a run, maybe a run/walk, then relax all day.

 Oh yeah…as you may have seen, tonight was also internet connection night, as i uploaded all the blog entries, and will soon upload the images to the flickR gallery too.

So we headed out and took a lot of pictures of the wildlife, patted some koalas, wallabies, and kangaroos. We saw a large snake handling exhibit that my dad took part in, and patted a small crocodile too.

That took us from about 9:30am until 1:30pm to get through, and after that we simply headed home for some relaxation. Melody wasnt feeling too well, so she went to sleep for a couple of hours while i downloaded the 442 images from my camera onto my laptop.

Tonight we got moving after a while of procrastination, and picked up some pizza to bring back to the apartment for dinner. Some more aussie TV followed and then everyone went off to bed.

Tomorrow we fly from Cairns to Brisbane, then drive to Toowoomba. That ends our in-australia flights, so that will be a load off. I’m looking forward to relaxing, but also getting a little running in before the reunion game in 9 days.

A quick walk through the 10 metre-long underwater observatory was followed by our second and last snorkelling trip that lasted about an hour this time. We swam around for a while and saw some great fish and coral right near the pontoon.

This was definitely a better outing than any of my previous reef trips. Many more fish and much brighter colors in the coral. There were some foot-long fish, some 2-foot long fish, and one that was easily 3.5 or 4 feet long. It stayed mostly away from the swimmers, but was easy to see and swim down to.

Melody had some trouble with her mask and snorkel fitting correctly, and had to change them a couple of times. Eventually she got her hands on a kids size mask, which worked out much better for her.

At 2:45, the crew did a passenger check with us all back on board, and then we made the 90 minute trip back to Port Douglas.

All in all, it was worth the cost and time, the only thing i would changed would be to have more time in the water. But there’s always next time.

Not much else happened today, so were just now deciding to go and get some dinner. Probably pizza?

Tomorrow…Reef Trip.

Tomorrow…Daintree Rainforest.

A quick 15 minute drive to Kings Canyon parking lot, and we started our trek directly up to the ridge-line of the canyon. The whole walk ended up taking 3.5 hours, and considering i had never heard of this place before today, i was extremely impressed. It actually turned out to be the highlight of my trip.

Melody’s screw in her ankle caused some problems later in the hike, and my allergies didnt let up at all, but all in all, it was a great hike. The pictures will tell the whole story though, as my vocabulary arent good enough to sufficiently describe this place.

At one point i had to cross a small bridge and climb to the top of a rock face to join the group photo. Melody gave me a hard time about this for a while, as my knees were shaking a little bit during that section.

The hike was followed by our final 4.5 hour drive back to Alice Springs. The bus dropped us off at Alice Springs Resort, we ordered pizza (what an original idea i know…), and then we ended our shower strike.

Tomorrow…Fly to Cairns (Great Barrier Reef).

We drove out to the rock and parked for a quick photo opportunity with rock illuminated from behind by the rising sun. That lasted only seconds, as we needed to get to the beginning of the base walk, so we could start and therefore finish, before the sun got too high in the sky. We were expecting a 30 degree maximum for the day, so the earlier we could start, the better.

The base walk took us just over 2 hours and 15 minutes. Two girls from our group took a little longer (3 hours), but all in all it was a flat, easy walk that we were able to do at our own pace. Melody and I marked our own piece of the rock, with no public toilets available, it was our only choice. Some parts of the rock were not allowed to be photographed, according to aboriginal law. About 75% of the rock is allowed to be photographed, so that was fine with me, as i took advantage of it, and filled my camera with around 350 photos.

After the base walk, which was self-paced, our group got back together for the ‘Mala Walk’ which was a short section of the ‘front’ of the rock. Our tour guide ‘Doc’ walked us through the track, showing and explaining all the different traditions and tribal meanings of the rock walls. It was very interesting, and took around about 45 minutes.

With the walking completed for the day, we stopped quickly at the Ayers Rock Cultural Center for a drink and to buy some gifts.

After picking up everything from camp and having lunch, we set out for a drive to Kings Canyon, which was going to be a 4.5 hour drive (500km).

We stopped along the way for a look at Mt Conner (big flat top rock), which the tour guides named ‘Fuluru’ (Fool-A-Roo), as its commonly mistaken for Uluru. At the same place, we saw a large salt lake called ‘Lake Atilla’ while melody used a “Long Drop.” The flies at this stop were the worst, and there is a photo (when i post them all), of Kylie covered in them, and seemlingly not caring at all.

We saw a couple of wedge-tailed eagles having their road-kill dinner, and also some more wild-camels roaming near the highway. At one of the gas stations, i could have bought a camel burger, but wasnt hungry. I wish i had have tried it, because we didnt see that again.

We arrived at King’s Creek Campground, and had much the same facilities as at Ayers Rock. Melody’s and my shower strike continued, and melody is also considering growing in her dreadlocks permanently.

Tomorrow…4 Hour walk through Kings Canyon.

Today we rose at 5:00 or so, to get ready for our pickup at 6:10am from the Alice Springs Resort. We were picked up by Australian Adventure Tours on time, but the truck/jeep/hybrid had to be changed to another passenger bus, as the original was having problems. After picking up all the tourists (15 in all), we set out from Alice Springs to Ayers Rock. The drive, unbeknownst to me, was to take 5.5 hours. We stopped about every 1.5 hours at various small places along the way. A Camel farm ($5 per 5 minutes for a ride around a fenced area)….then the gas stations to fill up. I dont know the exact distance, but we were going 130km per hour for 5.5 hours, so i guess that makes it around 600-700km (500 miles ?). Eventually we arrived at camp in Ayers Rock, with a view of both Uluru and Kata-Tjuta. After dropping off the food, and Kylie (the tour cook), we headed off for a quick drive around katja-tjuta and Uluru. We stopped at Katja-Tjuta (The Olgas) for a 1 hour walk into one of the valleys between the rocks. It was a beautiful area, and amazing to see the large boulders that were forced out of the side of the rocks by melting water over the course of the ice age.

Once this walk was over, we drove to a spot to watch the uluru sunset, which was awesome. The rock changed color with the descending sun, and was spectacular to see. The whole process from start to sunset lasted about 45 minutes. The tour provided apetizers and wine for us while we watched, and everyone was definitely awe-struck by the range of colors. The photos probably wont do it justice, but i still took enough to get a good enough idea.

After the sunset, we drove back to the campsite for dinner, which Kylie had prepared for us. I think i recall it was steak and salad for us meat-eaters, and spring rolls/salad for the vegetarians. It was a good meal, and more than i expected.

Dinner ended quickly, and we headed to our permanent tents for a good night’s sleep. We were given two twin beds, with sheets,a blanket and a comforter. Melody and i actually slept in the same bed with all the available covers on us, just to be as warm as possible. Melody will tell you that she was pretty cold. I was not as warm as i would have liked, but i was not overly uncomfortable. We were given the option of using swags, but they could only be used outside. If you dont know what a swag is, you can either google it, or my quick explanation is: a canvas and leather sleeping bag that is about 2.5 feet wide, and 7 feet long. It is designed to be a heavy sleeping bag that can be rolled up, with everything you need kept inside it.

Melody and my shower strike has begun though, as the shower block was less than acceptable to Melody, and i wasnt too keen on getting my head wet and then walking around in 10 degree weather (celsius).

Tomorrow….Ulutu Base Walk, Drive to Kings Canyon.

This afternoon we took a brief walk into town (15 minutes away from our resort), and picked up some food for breakfast in the morning. We arent sure if they’ll feed us for this first day, so we figured its better to be safe than sorry.

Now we’re waiting for the pizza hut pizza to arrive, and then we’re off to bed. I think our body clocks have adjusted enough now, although i am still waking up at 3 and 5am each night. That’s okay with me for now though, as long as i can keep falling back to sleep quickly.

Tomorrow…Safari in Style….Ayers Rock, Red Dirt and all that good stuff. Maybe even some camel riding…. who knows.