Australian Northern Territory: A Journey from Alice Springs to Darwin

It’s time to pack your baggage and be part of me on the journey of a lifetime, following alongside as I journey by way of the Australian Northern Territory from Uluru to Kakadu!

On this article I’ll share ideas from a part of that journey, which is concentrated on getting from Uluru to Kakadu, exploring a few of Australia’s most breathtaking locations.

From the rugged landscapes of Alice Springs and Kings Canyon to the awe-inspiring great thing about Uluru-Kata Tjuta Nationwide Park, my journey was nothing wanting unimaginable. However that’s not all – I additionally acquired to expertise the tranquility of Renner Springs, the pure wonders of Elsey Nationwide Park, the cultural richness of Katherine and the tropical paradise of Darwin.

The entire “Massive Walkabout” journey was 25 days lengthy and began in Sydney. I booked this tour with Contiki.

Let me take you on a digital tour of my unforgettable journey from Uluru to Kakadu!

Right here is an summary:

Alice Springs

It’s been simply over two weeks since I arrived in Australia, and at this time marks the beginning of an thrilling new journey. Our group of 9 has simply landed in Alice Springs after a brief flight from Cairns, able to discover this distant city nestled deep within the Northern Territory.

It looks like we’re proper in the midst of all of it!

Alice Springs provided us a novel expertise with its half hour time distinction, one thing not typically discovered elsewhere. Our new tour group was launched to Cassie and Dave earlier than heading to our lodging for the night time. We shortly bonded and headed to the middle of Alice Springs for lunch, adopted by a go to to the Reptile Heart the place we met Rex, an knowledgeable information who shared fascinating details about numerous reptiles.

Throughout our journey we have been in a position to see a number of species of lizards equivalent to frilled necked lizards; bearded dragons like Bolton; northern blue tongue skinks named Snickers that licked our noses with their aptly coloured tongues; legless lizards that may regenerate their tails a number of instances and resemble snakes at first look. As well as, the fangs of juvenile gaboon vipers and tiger snakes – small however lethal sufficient inside half-hour – caught everybody’s consideration, whereas watching northern red-faced turtles or inexperienced tree frogs introduced pleasure.

We additionally had the pleasure of seeing Australia’s largest lizard, the perentie, together with Mertens’ water displays and saltwater crocodiles! However the spotlight was Barry: An Olive Python, referred to as the Rainbow Snake by the Aboriginal folks for its stunning colours when uncovered to direct daylight!

We made our technique to the Anzac Hill Battle Memorial, a must-see that provides a wide ranging panoramic view of Alice Springs. It was an unimaginable expertise to soak up all of the sights from each angle.

After returning to our resort, we have been handled to a mini pool occasion with stay music and acoustic guitar. The proper technique to loosen up after such an eventful day!

The subsequent morning we launched into an Aboriginal Dreamtime and Bushtucker tour, led by our educated information who shared fascinating insights into their historical past. We discovered that these Aboriginal folks have lived right here for tens of hundreds of years, migrating from Asia many centuries in the past.

Apparently, geneticists found some exceptional similarities between Aboriginal Australians and Sri Lankan/Indian Tamils by way of blood marker evaluation about 20 years in the past! Regardless of being separated for hundreds of years, it’s superb how elements of their languages are nonetheless understood by sure Tamil communities at this time.

Over time – pushed purely by innate human curiosity – these nomadic tribes unfold throughout Australia, searching kangaroos or reptiles in the course of the hotter months, whereas the ladies gathered meals provides alongside the best way. They have been actually succesful people who tailored nicely to this tropical local weather surrounded by acquainted wildlife!

It’s fascinating to be taught that there have been initially over 300 totally different Aboriginal language teams, every with their very own dialects. This made communication between the teams fairly tough and led to languages evolving in distinctive methods over time. Sadly, many of those languages have been misplaced to oral custom.

Regardless of challenges equivalent to discovering meals and water, I like how resourceful the Aboriginal group was when it got here to survival expertise. They knew find out how to make bread from wattle seeds and season their meals with bush peppercorns – which we acquired to strive! We additionally tasted some conventional treats like damper dessert bread and kangaroo tail soup (nothing goes to waste!) One courageous member even tried including witchetty grub for additional fats consumption!

Total, listening to about this shared tradition left me feeling impressed by their ingenuity regardless of the tough circumstances they face each day.

We had a blast attempting to throw conventional boomerangs at Skippy the froth kangaroo. Although I didn’t fairly hit him, we nonetheless had fun! Afterwards, we checked out some actual Aboriginal art work on the market and I ended up shopping for an exquisite little piece depicting bush medication in vibrant colours.

To cap off a tremendous day of journey and exploration, we headed to Simpson’s Hole – a surprising hole alongside the spectacular 600km lengthy West MacDonnell Ranges.

Kings Canyon, Kings Creek Station and Walpa Gorge

Kings Creek Station

After an extended drive we arrived at Kings Creek Station. It’s superb how they use their income from being the most important camel exporters in Australia to run a campsite and help Aboriginal kids with training. We refreshed ourselves with a dip within the pool earlier than settling down for the night time in conventional swags, which resemble sleeping baggage.

Whereas taking part in playing cards, an surprising customer appeared – one of many world’s deadliest snakes! Fortunately a ranger was close by and took care of it shortly, however not with out leaving us a bit shaken as there have been no tents to guard us in the course of the night time.

We additionally had some enjoyable moments like assembly a neighborhood cockatoo and celebrating our buddy’s thirtieth birthday Aussie type with pavlova dessert adopted by video games across the campfire below a transparent starry sky free of sunshine air pollution.

Kings Canyon

We began the following day at 4:30 a.m. with a 3 hour hike alongside the rim of Kings Canyon. The preliminary climb was fairly steep, and I need to admit that it wasn’t my cup of tea for about twenty minutes. After that, nonetheless, it grew to become extra stage, with occasional stairs or uneven rocks to barter. It was an pleasant hike earlier than the scorching solar made its presence felt; we acquired some breathtaking views of the canyon and even caught a surprising dawn!

Walpa Gorge

After filling our bellies with a scrumptious breakfast, we hit the street once more and left the canyon in our rearview mirror. The Australian outback is so huge that it’s dwelling to seventy cattle stations – are you able to consider it? And get this: the most important one alone is 9 instances bigger than New York Metropolis!

We made pit stops alongside the best way for some snaps of Mount Connor and Lake Amadeus however sadly, resulting from cloudy climate they weren’t as jaw-dropping as anticipated. We then took a lunch break at Yulara; an remoted city the place just one,000 folks reside.

Our subsequent cease was Walpa Gorge which had us feeling like we have been exploring an historic temple constructed by Mom Nature herself! We spent half an hour strolling round taking in all its magnificence earlier than hitting again on the open street as soon as extra.

Uluru – Kata Tjuta Nationwide Park

Kata Tjuta

We had a blast exploring Kata Tjua, also called the Olgas (named for his or her highest peak – Mount Olga). These huge dome-shaped rock formations maintain nice significance to the Aboriginal folks and are believed to be round 500 million years outdated. The identify “Kata Tjuṯa” means “many heads” within the Pitjantjatjara language. There’s a wealth of folklore surrounding these rocks; one such story tells of Wanambi, the mighty serpent king, who resides on high and solely descends in the course of the dry season. Apparently, Kata Tjura is taller than Uluru itself! Each websites are situated inside Australia’s well-known nationwide park – Uluru-Kata Tjuta Nationwide Park.

As we approached our vacation spot, Uluru – also called Ayers Rock – got here into view. Its distinctive flat high was unmistakable and crammed us with pleasure for the journey forward.

Tili Wiru Tjuta Nyakutjaku

We arrived at our lodge, which might be our dwelling for the following two nights, desperate to expertise what was to return that night. Though non-compulsory, everybody had opted to attend the Tili Wiru Tjuta Nyakutjaku (which interprets to “see many stunning lights”) as a result of it sounded completely unimaginable! The Discipline of Gentle Uluru is a surprising show of hundreds upon hundreds of colourful spikes glowing like stars within the desert sky. Created by an internationally acclaimed artist, it was initially supposed to be a restricted time occasion, however resulting from its recognition has been prolonged indefinitely.

The colours have been breathtakingly vivid; each hue possible stretched earlier than us throughout greater than seven soccer fields, creating an immersive dream backyard of fifty,000 particular person factors of sunshine!

It’s onerous to not be in awe when experiencing one thing so magical firsthand – though capturing this magnificence completely on digital camera proved tough, even when you may get some nice pictures, then I extremely suggest visiting for your self!

The sphere of sunshine was a improbable technique to carry the day to an in depth.

Uluru

On my seventeenth day of the Massive Walkabout, we have been handled to an awe-inspiring sight – the beautiful subject of lights surrounding Uluru within the night time sky. As if that wasn’t sufficient magic for one night, a singer and guitarist was performing in our lodging! Being referred to as somebody who by no means stops singing alongside to the music on bus rides, I used to be requested by one in every of my tour pals to sing with him. We ended up having a number of drinks and singing duets earlier than calling it an evening.

The subsequent morning began early at 3:50 a.m. as we groggily boarded the bus at nighttime to see the dawn at Ayers Rock. Though there have been too many clouds blocking a lot of the daylight, making it much less spectacular than anticipated, it was nonetheless fairly cool!

Uluru is a towering surprise, standing at a formidable top of 348 meters. However do you know that it’s considered one other two to 6 kilometers underground? Geologists have found that Uluru was as soon as a part of the Petermann Vary – a mountain vary with peaks even larger than the Himalayas! Sadly, resulting from lack of vegetation and erosion over time, solely Uluru stays.

Throughout our go to, we took a 3 hour stroll round this magnificent rock formation. The sheer measurement left us in awe; nonetheless, there have been some areas the place images was not allowed out of respect for his or her cultural significance.

We additionally made certain to not miss a go to to the fascinating Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Heart, the place we discovered about its wealthy historical past. The truth is, a big occasion came about in October 1985 when Ayers Rock (because the settlers referred to as it) regained its unique identify of “Uluru”, that means “Nice Pebble”, after being returned by the native Aboriginal individuals who think about it one in every of their most sacred websites. Right now, the federal government shares possession of this pure treasure with conventional homeowners to protect what makes this landmark so particular!

Listening intently in the course of the storytelling periods held inside these partitions gave us a glimpse of how ancestral spirits created options like Ulura from scratch many moons in the past, in keeping with Aṉangu beliefs. It’s stated that the spirits of the previous nonetheless reside right here at this time, making each step you’re taking right here really feel actually magical!

We had a tremendous morning exploring the fascinating wonders of Uluru after which determined to take a look at Yulara. We took a shuttle bus from our lodge and had a good time exploring the realm. Once we acquired again we thought of absorbing some solar, however it was simply too sizzling! As an alternative, we took benefit of the cool waters of the pool for a refreshing swim.

Later that night, earlier than leaving this beautiful place behind without end, we knew there was yet one more factor to do – watch Uluru at sundown. With champagne in hand and nibbles aplenty, my companions and I loved one another’s firm and the fantastic thing about nature unfolding earlier than us with every passing second till nightfall lastly arrived.

As we made our means again to the lodge, we stored up with the nice vibes and loved some extra leisure from final night time’s musician. The next day began at a leisurely 8:20 am which was a lot appreciated after earlier early begins. To high it off, breakfast was cooked for us! As quickly as we boarded the coach, a film performed and earlier than lengthy, due to these bumpy outback roads sending us into slumber mode – we arrived in Alice Springs once more. We headed over to an eccentric native bar/restaurant the place dinner awaited us.

We have been pleasantly shocked to find that Alice Springs boasts the best murder price in Australia. Nonetheless, we didn’t have a lot time to dwell on it as we had plans to go away virtually instantly and set off for Renner Springs early the following morning!

From Alice Springs to Daly Waters

Wycliffe Properly – UFO capital of Australia

As we drove on, we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn and settled in to observe at this time’s bus film – Gone Lady. Our subsequent cease was Wycliffe Properly, a spot referred to as Australia’s “UFO capital”. The fascination with UFOs right here dates again to World Battle II, when troopers stationed close by started documenting unusual objects they noticed flying overhead at night time. Over time, these information have been found by others and blown out of proportion. We visited the Wycliffe Properly Vacation Park, the place they declare that sightings are so widespread that should you don’t see something, it’s thought-about dangerous luck!

Karlu Karlu

Our journey continued to Karlu Karlu or “spherical boulders” which has an fascinating Aboriginal dreamtime story connected to it. Legend has it that Organize (the Satan Man) handed by way of this space whereas making his hair string belt for males and dropped tufts of hair on the bottom which later grew to become giant pink boulders! Right now folks name this place Satan’s Marbles as a result of one explorer described it as if Devil had emptied his sack of marbles everywhere.

Total, our journey was superb, crammed with fascinating tales about locations like Wycliffe Wells and Karlu Karlu – each distinctive locations price visiting!

Again on the street, we handed a bunch of termite mounds. These little guys appear to be tiny tombstones, however they’re fascinating! Do you know that every mound can solely have one queen? So when a brand new queen is born, she creates her personal model new mound. No surprise there are such a lot of of them!

Daly Waters pub

We lastly arrived at our lodging in Renner Springs, a comfortable roadside lodge that made us really feel like we have been miles away from civilization. After a very good night time’s sleep, Cassie (our journey chief) led us in an thrilling trivia recreation in the course of the bus journey, and my teammate and I got here in second place!

Our subsequent cease was the historic city of Daly Waters, the place we visited the well-known pub inbuilt 1930. This iconic institution has seen all of it – murders, shootings, cattle stampedes by way of city… you identify it!

Right now, nonetheless, guests can witness some superb Australian historical past whereas having fun with outback hospitality. Because the 80s, it’s additionally turn out to be customary for girls to go away their bras behind when visiting this legendary place, so after all we left one thing of ours behind – a Polaroid image of our group! And let me inform you about these barramundi wraps – completely scrumptious! We loved them below the scorching solar earlier than persevering with our journey, feeling glad and energized.

After getting again on the bus, we had loads of enjoyable with some “bus karaoke”. As our journey continued, we noticed an space that had been deliberately set on fireplace. This managed burning is definitely helpful to nature and helps forestall forest fires.

From Elsey Nationwide Park to Katherine and Kakadu Nationwide Park

Elsey Nationwide Park

Within the early 1900s, a stunning couple made their dwelling at Elsey Homestead and shortly struck up a friendship with the native Aboriginal group. The woman of the home later wrote an autobiographical story about their adventures entitled “We of the By no means By no means.”

Throughout our travels, we additionally had the chance to take a dip in Mataranka’s thermal pool, as soon as frequented by troopers searching for aid from the fatigue of World Battle II. Regardless of the sweltering temperatures exterior, it felt completely divine to drift lazily within the soothing heat waters!

Katherine and Nitmiluk Nationwide Park

Once we arrived in Katherine, our group stopped at a grocery store and a few of us have been thrilled to find Love Truly on DVD. It was the right addition to our bus film time and added some festive cheer!

Our day ended with a scrumptious Domino’s supply by the pool. We couldn’t assist however evaluate it to its British counterpart – they have been fairly comparable aside from one factor: Australia is lacking garlic and herb dip! To high off an already superb meal, we indulged in Australian lamingtons, that are actually distinctive truffles that I want we had again dwelling.

The subsequent morning introduced pleasure as we launched into our Katharine Gorge River Cruise by way of Nitmiluk Nationwide Park, led by Jamie who shared fascinating tales concerning the historical past of the gorge together with sightings of crocodiles swimming close by. Throughout a break within the cruise, the Jawoyn folks displayed their historic artwork from 30,000 years in the past, together with work of extinct animals, whereas reclaiming the land as their very own at this time. Apparently, Aboriginal beliefs counsel that the Rainbow Serpent rests within the corners of this deep waterway – what an unimaginable expertise!

We made a pit cease in Katherine’s quaint city heart for some meals earlier than persevering with on to Edith Falls. We acquired fairly a exercise swimming by way of three Olympic-sized swimming pools to get there, however it was all price it after we noticed the beautiful cascading waterfalls.

Kakadu Nationwide Park

We spent the night in Kakadu Nationwide Park and a few of our group determined to take a scenic flight over the park. I opted out and as an alternative visited the uranium mine, which has been in operation since 1969 after being found from above. This sizzling commodity is bought internationally for $25 billion, which is nice for Australia’s financial system, however not so good for the setting.

Kakadu Nationwide Park boasts a formidable array of wildlife together with crocodiles, bugs, birds, mammals and reptiles.

After our pals returned from their flying journey, we headed to Nourlangie Rock for an Aboriginal rock artwork stroll. The work have been created with a goal – to inform tales or mark ceremonies – all whereas courting again 2,000 years! It was fascinating to find out about this tradition, which claims to be one of many longest surviving cultures on this planet. To protect these valuable artworks, they even coated them with silicon to guard them from rain injury!

As day 23 of The Massive Walkabout Tour rolled round, I couldn’t assist however really feel a tinge of unhappiness figuring out that my time with the superb new pals I had made was coming to an finish. Nonetheless, we have been within the midst of exploring Kakadu Nationwide Park and embarking on an Aboriginal Rock Artwork Stroll – which provided some actually unimaginable views.

Our ultimate exercise of the day was a Yellow Water Billabong River Cruise, led by our educated information Travis, who shared fascinating details about his Aboriginal ancestors and identified all types of wildlife inhabiting the river. We noticed red-tailed black cockatoos (which regarded like they got here from one other planet), pygmy geese swimming in buffalo grass, freshwater mangroves, lotus lilies, pandanus timber and bamboo utilized by the native Aboriginal folks to make rafts!

We additionally noticed kingfishers hovering overhead, in addition to black-necked storks and jacana birds wading within the shallow water. A snake-necked darter additionally caught our eye! And let’s not overlook the magpie geese or the file snakes – two of which Travis even introduced onto the boat! Oh yeah… did I point out that over 400 crocodiles stay in these waters? What an journey it has been up to now!

Travis instructed us that the Aboriginals made dugout canoes, and I imagined they have been just like those I rode in Botswana. Our information instructed us about Kakadu’s six seasons, every with an interesting Aboriginal identify:

• Gudjewg – The monsoon season from December to March brings temperatures between 24°C and 34°C.
• Banggerreng – April is the ‘knock ’em down’ storm season with temperatures starting from 23°C – 34°
• Yegge – Might to mid-June is a cooler (however nonetheless humid) interval with temperatures round 21°C – 33°C.
• Wurrgeng – Mid-June to mid-August marks chilly climate reaching 17° C-32° C.
• Gurrung – Sizzling dry climate lasts from mid-August to mid-October with temperatures starting from 23°C to 37°C.
• Gunumeleng – The pre-monsoon storm season runs from mid-October to late December with temperatures starting from 24°F to 37°F.

We additionally discovered one other fascinating Dreamtime story about Mom Nature, Kunapipi, who adorned her hair with seeds. When she shook her head, these seeds remodeled into males, ladies and animals; she is believed by many to be answerable for the creation of all the pieces, whereas strolling rivers adopted her wherever she went!

The day flew by and earlier than we knew it it was time to say goodbye to Kakadu. Our subsequent vacation spot was Darwin, however not with no fast cease at some spectacular cathedrals and magnetic termite mounds. These towering buildings can attain as much as seven meters excessive! The Aboriginal folks have been extremely resourceful of their use of nature – they even used termites for each meals and medication.

Litchfield Nationwide Park

We made our technique to Litchfield Nationwide Park, a surprising protected space that was established as a nationwide park in 1986. Overlaying roughly 1,500 km² of land mass, this place is actually breathtaking! Our first cease was the magnificent Florence Falls, the place all of us took an invigorating swim to chill off from the scorching Northern Australian warmth.

A few of us tried to climb up one of many rocks for some superb picture alternatives, however it turned out to be tougher than anticipated – most couldn’t make it up there! Nonetheless, simply trying on the falls from above supplied a picturesque view that was merely unforgettable!

After swimming and cooling off below the misty spray of the waterfall, we sat down by its aspect and loved scrumptious wraps whereas drying off shortly due to nature’s air con system. We then continued our journey by way of Charles Darwin Nationwide Park.

Total, my journey from Uluru to Kakadu was a memorable journey crammed with breathtaking sights and unforgettable experiences. From the beautiful landscapes to the wealthy cultural heritage, I used to be continuously amazed by the wonder and variety of Australia’s Northern Territory.

Whether or not you’re a seasoned traveler or a first-time customer, I extremely suggest exploring this unimaginable area and discovering all it has to supply.

So pack your baggage, hit the street and prepare for the journey of a lifetime!