Friday, May 28, 2010

Real time update - 3

We're just back in Kota Kinabalu after spending 3 days in the Kingdom of Brunei. I survived (and really enjoyed!) a very very high canopy walk above the rainforest. Tomorrow we're headed to the east coast of Sabah to an island off Semporna called Mabul. We will be off line till June 2 - snorkling and reading in our little beach hut.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Big noses and hairy backs

The trip to Bako National Park started with a 45 minute bus ride out of town at 7 AM, followed by a 20 minute boat ride on the Sarawak River. It was already really hot (34 C) and humid by the time we arrived for day of hiking. Bako contains seven different habitat types with each trail traversing several of them. Barney was keen to do the longest of these hikes but I was a little doubtful about my ability to do it in the heat. We decided to start off by trying a short hike (only 800 m) through the jungle and were joined by Petra and another Australian woman named Amina. It was steep, steamy, slippery, and slow and took an hour to complete. We saw no wildlife because we were too busy clinging to vines and climbing over roots to look around. We were soaked with sweat by the time we were done but thankfully emerged on a beach. Barney talked to a local boatman and arranged for a ride along the coast for a bit where we could get onto another trail. This trail was quite a bit easier but still a challenge in the heat. We saw several species of the carnivorous pitcher plants but no wildlife.

After 5 hours of hiking we conceded that we’d had enough and headed back to the little restaurant at the park headquarters. We’d been warned about the long-tailed macaques but it wasn’t long before one of them pounced onto our table and stole our lunch. We at least got some reward by being able to watch him trying to work his way into the plastic bag and extract the buns. And just as we were getting ready to leave we caught a glimpse of a Bornean bearded pig.

We spent our last hour searching for the proboscis monkeys that the park is known for. We were very lucky to find several within viewing range and got a clear look at their very unusual large noses. Quite delightful but decidedly odd. We were also incredibly fortunate to have one of the local men point out a gliding lemur that was extremely well camouflaged as it clung to the side of a tree. They are nocturnal so the chances of seeing one are very low. It was about 30 cm in length and had lovely big black eyes. Overall it was a great day and well worth all the sweating.

Pictures from Bako...

Bako


Sounds of the jungle....




***

The next morning Henry drove Barney, Petra and I out of town to visit the Semenggoh Wildlife Park which is an orangutan “rehabilitation” centre. See the link below for more information. The park is set up so that visitors can spend an hour there while the orangutans are being fed. Apparently they eat and then make beds in the trees (a new one every time) where they spend the rest of the day. Feeding time is the best opportunity to see them at close range. They are wonderful animals to watch – especially the young ones with their moms. Their hair is a rich red-brown and surprisingly long. The sunlight added a warm glow to their backs as their large muscular hands and big agile feet worked together to rip apart the coconuts.

Link: http://www.sarawakforestry.com/htm/snp-nr-semenggoh.html

Pictures of the orangutans...

orangutans

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Kuching

(May 14 – 18)

The flight from KL to Kuching in Sarawak (the southern state of Borneo) took about 2 hours. We flew Air Asia – the budget airline that is based in Malaysia. It’s cheap and flies everywhere in the region. For some reason you have to go through immigration when you arrive in Sarawak adding another stamp to our passports.

We first met Henry at the airport. He was waiting outside the arrivals door, holding up a piece of paper with someone else’s name on it. But the paper also said “Lodge 121” so I told him that’s where we were booked to stay and he offered us a ride into town. Henry is Chinese Malaysian and turned out to be a part owner of the place. He was incredibly helpful, spending more than an hour with us when we arrived explaining how to get places, where to eat and what to see. The hotel itself was great- super clean, good location, well furnished and free Wi-Fi – all for $33 an night for our double room.

We did a fair bit of orientation walking about town the first day. Kuching sounds like the word for cat in Malay, so the city has taken on a sort of cat theme. Part of our walk-about took in the 3 ‘major’ cat sculptures which were a bit ridiculous but a noted tourist attraction. We also visited the Sarawak Museum with its outstanding ethnology collection and found a restaurant that served the BEST thick mango yogurt drink. We were eventually done in by the heat and humidity and had to return to the hotel for a shower.

Later that evening Henry offered to drop us off at a seafood restaurant he told us we had to try called Top Spot. A woman from Holland named Petra joined us. Henry dropped us off in front of a five story above ground parking garage and told us to take the stairs to the roof. Naturally we were a bit puzzled. But when we reached the top we were completely blown away by what we found - a huge area full of tables and chairs ringed by at least 10 different places selling fresh seafood. As we wandered around we were overwhelmed by the huge selection of fresh fish, shellfish and veggies. Rows and rows of succulent greenery, sad-eyed fish with brilliant spots, scratching claws, and twitching feelers. We finally stopped in front of one of the stalls and found a really helpful young woman to explain the process. First you choose what you want and then you choose how you want it cooked, with what the type of sauce. The price is based on weight.

Trying to decide was a real test. We finally settled on a variety of veggies that included local wild fiddleheads and mushrooms with an assortment of mysterious green leaves. We picked out a fresh sea bass to be barbequed and 6 jumbo prawns that were stir fried in an unbelievably delicious sauce. We topped it all off with a few chilled local beers. It all cost us about $15 each. We returned to Top Spot a couple of nights later to try out a few more dishes. That night we had fresh black crab stir fried (whole) in a black pepper sauce, a heap of smaller prawns and mixed veggies. Including the beer, our meal the second night cost $25 for the lot.

Kuching became one continuous adventure in eating. Everything we tried was fresh and delicious.

On Saturday evening we checked out the weekend market where we ate fresh roasted corn-on-the-cob as we wandered through the fabulous assortment of stalls. We also spent part of one day at the Sarawak Cultural Village where you can learn about the variety of cultures that make up the state, including the Chinese, Malays and (former) head-hunting indigenous tribes. The ‘village’ contains examples of the different buildings that of the nine different representative groups live in, from elaborated longhouses to bush dwellings of the nomadic tribes.

Other adventures in the Kuching area included a day trip to Bako National Park and morning visit to Semenggoh Wildlife Centre – an orangutan rehabilitation centre operated by Sarawak Forestry. More about that to follow.

Some pictures from Kuching....

Kuching

Change of plan

For all those who have been wondering...we are now NOT going to Bangkok. We were able to change our tickets and will be flying from Kuala Lumpur direct to Tashkent. It's a day time flight that will take us over the Himalayas!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Real time update 2

We've just spent the last 4 days in Kuching. Tomorrow we fly into the central highlands of Borneo to a place called Bario. From there we hike for a day into a hill village where we will spend two nights. We will return to Bario on May 22 and fly to Kota Kinabalu on the 23rd. Looking forward to being in a cooler climate for a few days.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

(May 10, 11, 12 and 13)

The flight from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur was an easy 9 hours. The KL airport looks like something out of a science fiction movie and was our introduction to how ‘modern’ this part of the world is.

Our decision to spend time in Kuala Lumpur was based on our need to get visas for Uzbekistan. I don’t know that we would have included it as part of our trip otherwise as the idea of a big Asian city was not particularly appealing. On a recommendation from a friend in Whitehorse, we stayed at a great hotel that turned out to be perfectly located. The first thing we noticed when we got into our room was an arrow on the ceiling showing the direction of Mecca. Of the 22 million people who live in Malaysia, 15 million are Muslims. We also found out the KL is a very popular place for vacationing Saudis.

Our first task was to locate the Uzbek Embassy – not an easy task as a Google search listed 6 different addresses. But with the help of the hotel concierge who had to make several phone calls we got an address way over on the other side of the city. We also found out that the Embassy wouldn’t be open for visa applications until the next day and that the visas would take 4 business days to process. Not much we could do but set our minds to enjoying our longer than expected stay. We spent the afternoon at the Islamic Arts Museum and the KL Bird Park. Both were great. There was a tremendous thunder storm while we were at the bird park and we found ourselves sharing a rain shelter with a very nervous peacock.

The next morning we opted to hire a driver to take us to the Uzbek Embassy and bring us back into the hotel. It seemed pretty expensive at $50 but we decided we needed some help negotiating the journey. Our driver’s name was Tan and he turned out to be a lovely guy. When we arrived at the Embassy we were told that we could have our visas issued on the same day! But first we had to go back into town to deposit the fee into their account and return with the receipt. At this point we were very happy that we had Tan to drive us all the way back into town, then back to the Embassy and back to town again. By noon we had our visas!

Later that afternoon we checked out the Petronas Towers – KL’s main landmark. We also went to see the Old Railway Station. Barney’s Dad was there in 1946 with the Royal Air Force and he asked us to stop by and have a look. It’s no longer used as the main station but there was still plenty of colonial atmosphere about the place.

Once we had our visa we were free to KL but decided to see a bit more. Tan suggested we booked a trip the following day to the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary, about a two hour drive out of KL. It was nice to get out of the city and see a bit of the country side. En route we stopped at the Batu Caves and climbed the 272 steps up to a Hindu Shrine. Next stop was a place that Tan called a ‘deer park’. He said they have ‘bears’ but we were stunned to find a number of sun bears. One of the bears had been hand raised and was quite happy to be petted and fed by the tourists. Quite shamefully I took part. It was actually delightful to be able to touch him and feel his gentle tongue investigate by hand and leg.

The highlight of the excursion was the elephant sanctuary. There are 12 elephants there that have all been ‘rescued’ for one reason or another. There were about 50 visitors that day and we all got a chance to feed, ride and swim with the elephants. The swimming was quite the event. We sat on the back of one big elephant who then lay down in the river, pitching us all overboard. Later they brought some of the younger elephants down to the river for a bath. It may sound like a bit of a gong show but it was really a great experience. The entire place had a really nice atmosphere. The elephant keepers were obviously very fond of their charges and all the visitors were thrilled to be able to interact with the elephants. One other note- it was incredibly hot all day- about 35 degrees C. But it was the humidity that made it really nuts. I had sweat pouring down my face for hours, running into my eyes and dripping off my nose. It gave’ hot and steamy’ an entirely new meaning for me.

Back in KL (our last night) we decided to try out a fish spa. It was hilarious. We put our bare feet into tanks where many munching minnows set about enthusiastically picking off all the dead skin. Three different tanks with different types of fish – 10 minutes per tank. We followed this up with a 30 minute foot massage. All in all, a very full day.

The food in Malaysia is fabulous. Lots of fresh seafood and veggies served with rice or noodles. Every night in KL we found somewhere fun to eat and tried out all sorts of unusual but extremely tasty dishes. More about Malaysian food later.

The morning of May 14 we flew to Kuching in Borneo.

Some pictures of our 3 days in KL....

KL

Friday, May 14, 2010

Back to Sydney

(May 6 to 9)

We flew back to Sydney via Perth on May 6. Our last three days in Australia were pretty low key. We had to get some things organized for the next stage of our trip and try to wash the red sand out of all our clothes. We had a great meal one night when Barney and Bryan prepared one of the baramundi they caught on their fishing trip.

The last day in Sydney was Mother's Day. Jacquie and I attempted to spend an hour in bed reading but wind up talking non-stop as usual before we were treated to a great breakfast on the deck. In the afternoon we met up with Bryan's folks and his sister and family at a beautiful picnic spot overlooking the ocean. We were also jointed by Mary Armstrong and Dan Cornett from Whitehorse who were visiting Sydney.

Later that evening Jacquie brought out a bottle of champagne to celebrate the 9th anniversary of the founding of Bryan and Jacquie's business.

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A few notes about Australia...

* On our trip into the Kimberleys we drove a total of 2615 km and spent $500 on diesel. Litres per 100 km = 11.6 (about 20 cents /km)

* Price of gas per litre -
Sydney $1.20
Cairns $1.34
Broome $1.45

* Hostel – Cairns $65; Broome $125

* Population
Whole country – 22,000,000
Sydney- 4,500,000
Cairns- 123,000
Broome- 15,000
Aboriginal = about 2.4 %

* Underground parking for 3 hours in downtown Sydney = $47

* Food is expensive – even by Yukon standards. Avocados are over $2 each and bananas are $3.39/kg. We have a greater variety of fruit available in our Whitehorse grocery stores. There’s lots if lamb in the stores but it’s expensive too.

* Minimum wage seems to vary by state but in Queensland it is $12.70/ hour.

* Cappuccino costs the same as tea – about $4 in Sydney and Broome.

* Ice cream is cheaper the further you go away from Sydney!

* Australians drive on the left.

* Koala bears have individual finger prints like humans – the only other species to have them.

* The Great Barrier Reef is 2000 miles long.

* Australia has the greatest number of reptiles of any country.

* The dingo was introduced to Australia 5000 years ago.

* Overall, the insects weren’t too bad. One night in Purnululu I was bitten by multiple midges. I never felt a thing till the next morning when I woke up scratching like a mad woman and covered in little red welts. The run-of-the-mill type flies are tiny, tenacious, tedious and persistent. They have sticky little feet that tickle as they rapidly roam over your face in search of moisture.

****

A few more pictures from Sydney (taken before and after we went to the Kimberleys)

Sydney 2


NEXT STOP MALAYSIA

Last days in the Kimberleys

(May 4 and 5)

The last night before we returned to Broome we camped at Windjana Gorge. We set up camp mid-afternoon and then drove another 20 km to a place called Tunnel Creek. The ‘attraction’ there is a kilometre long naturally formed cave tunnel through the rock to the other side of the mountain. I don’t do caves. Not at all. But I decided to poke my nose in and work my way along until it got too uncomfortable. We had to wade through a series of pools (sometimes waist deep) with only our head lamps to light the way. It was pretty creepy but I managed to make it through. The small dark space wasn’t as unnerving as the red eyes reflecting back at us from the edge of some of the pools that probably belonged to freshwater crocs. We found two aboriginal art sites in the area, the only ones we saw on the whole trip.

That night we watched a stunning sunset from our camp.

Next morning we walked into Windjana Gorge. The rock formations are a Devonian reef that was formed by coral over two kilometres in depth. Besides being a huge attraction to geologists world-wide, the gorge is also the best place in the Kimberleys to see freshwater crocs. And we did – lots of them.

We drove into Broome late in the afternoon having stopped at another aboriginal art coop gallery. The traditional art in this area is very different with the dominant image being a large white faced spirit with huge black eyes. We also went to check out the ‘prison’ boab tree. This tree is estimated to be over 1000 years old and was actually used to hold ‘prisoners’ that were in fact Aborigines that had been kidnapped from the interior to work as pearl divers when the industry first started up.

Our last night in Broome was spent camped at Cable Beach, a 22 kilometre strip of white sand so name because it was where the first telecommunications cable to Australia came on shore from Java in 1889. We grabbed some beers and the wine and headed out onto the beach to watch the sunset into the Indian Ocean.

Pictures from our last days....

Windjana and final to Broome

Mornington

(May 1, 2 and 3)

We spent the next three nights at Mornington Wilderness Camp. The camp is a two hour drive on a dirt track. To make sure that visitors don’t do arrive to find they campsite full, the operators have installed a radio booth about 500m off the Gibb. We called from there and got the OK to venture on.

Mornington is owned and operated by the Australia Wildlife Conservancy, a not-for-profit organization that only started up 18 years ago. We were really impressed with the work they are doing - managing and restoring habitat, reintroducing and conserving species and providing educational programs. (See below for a couple of links that will tell you more.)

The campground was well treed, spacious and quiet. The reception reminded me of an African safari camp, complete with an open air bar and restaurant. The first night we went to a talk by the resident naturalist about the Conservancy and the work they are doing around Australia. A couple of days later we had the chance to sit down with her for an hour ask a million questions. It was really interesting to learn about how the habitats and their associated species respond to regular bush fires, as well as about the affects of introduced species, and the efforts to recover native species. Feral cats are a huge problem as they prey on the small marsupials and birds. There are an estimated six to 20 million feral cats in Australia!

For our first full day we arranged to use the canoe at a place called Sir John Gorge. It’s about 1.5 hour drive from the campsite and we had the place entirely to ourselves. On arrival, we walked for about a half an hour beside the first of the gorge’s pools to reach the second pool where a canoe awaited. It was hot hot again (!!!) so we went for a swim before jumping into the canoe to paddle to the end of the second pool. Then we had to walk again for about 15 minutes to the next pool where another canoe awaited. This third pool was about 1.5 km long. Whenever we got too hot we just slipped into the water. At lunch we watch a freshwater croc swim by just off-shore. It was strange to think it was nothing to about. At the end of the third pool was a series of smaller pools flowing from one into another. We sat there enjoying the coolness of the flowing water, watched by a big lizard as we watched the bright red dragonflies. The bird watching was great all day. The high red walls of the gorge are ancient – over two billion years old. Once when reaching out to steady the canoe, I realised the rocks at my finger tips were probably the oldest thing I’d ever touched. We repeated the walk/ paddle pattern at the end of the day to return to camp. It was a very hot, glaringly bright excursion but we managed to avoid sunburn – expect for my lips, which in spite of being slathered in sun block all day, got badly burned. For the next 3 days I had to drink my wine without my lips touching the glass! We got back to camp, cooked a quick dinner and fell into bed, exhausted but laughing. My clock read 7:28!

The next morning Barney got up at 5:30 for an early morning guided bird, walk so I was able to sleep in till 7. When I got up I felt a bit chilly so I put on my light fleece. Checking the thermometer I was dismayed to see that it was 16 degrees C. I guess that means I’m adjusting to the heat.

We went to a different pool on our second day, swam, read and wandered among the termite hills, continually bird watching and being delighted by what we were able to see. Driving along the red dirt roads through the natural savannah was heaven.

Each night we listened to owls hooting and dingos howling.

Links:
http://www.australianwildlife.org/AWC-Sanctuaries/Mornington-Sanctuaryn/Mornington-Wilderness-Camp.aspx

http://www.australianwildlife.org/Home.aspx

Pictures from Mornington...

Mornington

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Video clips - Great Barrier Reef

We took these with the underwater camera we rented....









Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Real time update

We're currently in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We got here on May 10 after a nine hour flight from Sydney. I've been trying to catch up on posting news and pictures from our last days in Australia. Once I've done that I will start to post about what we've been up to here. Tomorrow we're off to swim with elephants!

Adventures along the Gibb

(April 30)

We finally made it to the Mount Barnett Roadhouse after travelling many more miles of lovely red road. We camped nearby at a place called Manning Gorge. The Gorge is a popular spot to stop for some swimming. It was so lovely. To get to the Gorge itself you have to start out by swimming across a small pool about 50 metres wide – crystal clear luxurious cool water and no saltwater crocs (just a few freshwater ones which we have been assured are not aggressive). The folks that maintain the campground supply cooler-sized styrofoam boxes to transport your stuff across the pool. It works very well. Then we hiked through the hot scrub bush for about an hour to the series of pools that are formed in the gorge – waterfall and all. We had the place almost entirely to ourselves as we enjoyed several long soaks and finally began to feel cooler.

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We love our rented Land Cruiser. It has an eight cylinder diesel motor with tons of power to navigate the 4 wheel-drive roads and stream crossings. The double back doors give us access to a 35 litre “eskie” that runs off a separate battery and keeps our perishables, beer and wine at a suitable temperature. Also at the rear are two large sliding storage drawers that easily hold the rest of our food. There’s lots of space for our camping equipment, too. There’s a 30 litre water tanks under the vehicle which is easily filled with a hose. We rented the camping equipment we needed from a business in Broome that specializes in outfitting travellers like us – two 20 litre water containers, a three man tent with fine mesh sides to let the breeze in and give us a clear view of the night sky, a small propane tank with one burner attached, and a large white plastic box full of cooking pots and utensils. All this for $180 for 12 days.

As Yukoners we are used to the long long days of summer where the midnight sun ensures that we never have to camp in the dark. But here in Western Australia, it is pitch dark at 5:30. The waxing moon has helped us a bit to manoeuvre in the dark but it is still an awkward and oddly challenging experience. We have to pull off the road before dark in order to avoid hitting a kangaroo which can do serious damage to your car.

A few picture from our travels along the Gibb...

Along the Gibb

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Scones with jam and cream

(April 30)

Scones with jam and cream – that’s what the sign said. We’d been on the road since 6 AM so at 9 AM we figured it was time to take a break and check out what was on offer. A 5km dirt track lead us to the Ellenbrae Homestead. There was an 800 year old boab in the yard, double-barred finches at the bird feeder, hedges of bougainvillea and a terrace with large slabs of cooling stone on the floor. It was here, surrounded by lush vegetation, that we were indeed served fresh-out-of-the-oven English scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream. A charming, homey and soothing surprise on a long dusty road.

The Pentecost River

(April 28 and 29)

We are camped by the Pentecost River, in the bush, 70 km west of the start of the Gibb River Road. Barney’s gone fishing for barramundi. He’s wandered down the bank to join the other fisherman, past the sign encouraging people to be wary and keep themselves, their children and pets well back from the water’s edge. Saltwater crocodiles live here. While Barney was bird watching early this morning he spotted a lumpy head through his binoculars, surfacing quietly, eyes 9 inches apart. Yuck!

The Pentecost River flows northwest from here to the Indian Ocean. The tidal reach raises the river nine metres, regularly flooding the land and bringing fish in from the sea. We are camped on the Home Valley Station – one of the many huge, rambling cattle ranches that cover this part of the country. Australia’s wild west. A number of these stations have developed their properties as ‘wilderness’ areas for tourism, offering everything from luxury tented camps with swimming pools to rougher bush-type camping with solar showers and covered picnic tables like the one where we are now. It’s costing us $16 each per night to camp here –well worth it for the showers alone. There’s a lovely wind this morning that sweeps away the flies and keeps the temperature just bearable. It’s 33.5 degrees Celsius in the shade at 10 AM. We have no big plans for the day, except to watch the river rise and fall, listen to the noisy flocks of cockatoos circle above and maybe go for a walk once it cools down a bit. It’s enough to just be here and watch the colours change on the Cockburn Mountains as the sun crosses the sky.

Later....as the sun sets, the mountains in the distance glow red. Then the full moon rises. It’s only 5:30.

****

Pictures from our travels form Purnululu to Home Valley Station

Bungles to Home Valley

The Gibb

(April 27)

Leaving Purnululu we continued to travel east toward Kununurra on the Great Northern Highway. Along the way we stopped in at an Aboriginal Art Co-op in Warmun (Turkey Creek) and were delightfully surprised to find an outstanding collection of paintings – all done using natural materials for the paint. It was painful to have to chose just one to come live with us in Whitehorse but we finally decided on a painting by younger woman that represents living in ‘two worlds’ – white and Aborigine. The colours are rich and strong, especially the deep charcoal black. The gallery was able to ship it home for us.

We spent the night in Kununurra in a very ‘urban’ campground. The showers felt so good and I never bothered to turn on the hot water. The next morning we had to stock up on supplies in preparation for our trip along the Gibb River Road, back to Broome. We made one other stop in town at a stone carver’s workshop. The stone found in that part of the Kimberleys is full of beautiful colours and playful patterns. One of the rocks is called zebra stone; another one is called star-burst stone and that is exactly what they look like.

Then it was time to hit the gravel. The Gibb reminds me in many ways of the Dempster Highway – unpaved, isolated, lonely and beautiful. A day’s drive of 300 km and we are passed by only 8 cars going the other direction.

The road, mountains and termite mounts are the colour of rusty nails, the sky is as blue as it can get and the land is speckled with green spinifix and bulbous gray boabs. We’re instantly in love with it all.

There are only two seasons in the Kimberleys – the wet and the dry. We were told that May 1 is the official start of the dry season. The Gibb isn’t during the wet as all road passage is blocked by creeks and river that can rise many metres. The land is green now, after the wet. It will get browner and browner as the dry season lengthens. The number of travellers will also increase, with July and August bringing the ‘crowds’.

The price of diesel up here is high - so far ranging from $1.52 to $1.92. (At $1.52 it was costing us 18 cents a kilometre, driving a 90 km/hr on the paved highway!)

Friday, May 7, 2010

Purnululu (Bungle Bungle) National Park

April 26, 2010
Purnululu is all about the rocks, their age, their shape and their colour. Chasms, gorges, “beehive” domes, massifs of red rocks rising from the flat green plains, segregated by millennia of erosive wind and rain. These are old old rocks, some formed over a billion years ago. Their limestone core is thinly painted with a fragile layer of oxidized iron and cynobacteria that fashion stripes of red and black.

Our campsite was along a dried river bed with huge white-barked gum trees that offered some shade. We spent two days here, exploring the trails – the Dome Walk, Cathedral Gorge, Echidna Chasm -wondering at the rocks, sweating and drinking litres.

We were struck by the lack of wildlife – no kangaroos or any other animate life forms to be seen. However, the park’s brochure assures us there are many species of animals - but they are all nocturnal. It’s the heat, combined with the seasonal dry that keeps them hidden away. Plants have their adaptations too. The eucalyptus leaves hang vertically to reduce their exposure to the sun; the boab trees shed their leaves in the dry to conserve moisture. When we were there it was 37 during the day in the shade and 30 at night. Apparently it’s cooled off a lot in the last month.

The second day in the park I took a 30 minute helicopter ride over the ranges. Three passengers, no doors. It was a little freaky at first – gripping the seat in front of me and hoping my seat belt remained secured! Wind whipping around us, red rolling rocks and deep dark chasms below.

Researchers have recorded 120 species of ants in the park, although I’m not sure why or how.

Pictures from Purnululu
Purnululu

Into the outback

(Note to those who are following along...I have just added some photos to the Broome posting)

April 24, 2010
Heading east on the Great Northern Highway we both felt the relief of returning to the outback. Even a town of 20,000 was beginning to feel too urban.

We spent our first night in campsite behind the roadhouse at the Willare River. Kangaroos timidly ventured onto the well irrigated grass at sunset. As we slept the sound of the crickets and the cicadas almost drowned out the growl of the generator.

Packed up and rolling again at 6:20 AM – an absurdly early start but the best way to beat the heat. A long day’s drive ahead. We listen to stories on my iPod and are mesmerized by the red sand and termite hills- multiple monoliths standing two to four feet tall. Clumps of cattle appear randomly looking dull and bored as they range the large ranches that define much of the region’s economy and lifestyle. Boab trees - fat, old and gangly- scattered across the baked landscape.

At the end of the day we left the highway and drove south on a dirt track for two hours in order to reach Purnululu (Bungle Bungle) National Park. The setting sun turned the distant ridge a warm glowing red as we approached.

Photos along the road...
Into the outback