Melbourne is calling

We had enough time to join another tour on Thursday morning, after check-out in the Ayres Rock Resort: a gallery tour in GOCA, very revealing! The guide explained about the origins and history, the organisation who brought together the artists, the different artists' groups, important artists, the painting styles and, especially, about the symbolic contents of the paintings. It's a bit like Mantras, a pointillistic style, sometimes with wavy lines, and all of it full of symbolic meaning. Photos of specific artworks were not allowed in the gallery.

Good last tour we had! Got ready for bus pick-up at the hotel at 12:30 pm (only about 10 min drive). Uluru Airport is small, very relaxed, only one plane going out at a time, but, nevertheless, the lines at check-in were pretty long. We flew Virgin Australia this time (Jetstar before), and it seemed to be better planes and service. A roomier B737-800 (2x3), electric outlets, comfier seats and even water and coffee for free other than before.

The flight was smooth and landed in Melbourne about 20 min. early. After luggage pick-up we went to Europcar to get our rental car. Granted, it was easier and friendlier as with East Coast Car Rentals in Sydney before, but, in general, it still is a p.i.t.a. to rent a car abroad. All the questions about extras and insurances (you probably don't need), even though you've booked the whole package, fully-covered,,,

Anyway, we got an upgrade from our booked midsize car to a (rather big) midsize SUV, a Chery Tiggo 4 - a Chinese brand we have never heard about before! Glad, we had a rather small car at the beginning so I could concentrate on traffic! On Thursday evening we just drove the 35 km out from the airport to Melton, in the Melbourne metro area, and checked in to our hotel, adjacent to the trotting race course (Traberrennen) with an entertainment park/casino. Just made it in time before the kitchen in the bistro closed at 8:15 pm (!!!).

This morning, we first had to figure out the car. Fortunately, had a manual in the car this time! Boy, who in the world needs all this beeping and blinking and warning? Cameras from above (!) and behind? We would have needed an introduction to the car, not the traffic anymore, but eventually we were able to switch off the most annoying "assistant features". Theoretically, I could have put a brick on the gas pedal and just let all the assistants drive! Even watching too long to one side of the car causes an alert,,, 

Well, eventually we drove south, through agricultural landscape with strawberry fields and apple orchards, through Geelong, a rather industrial city. 

First stop: Torquay. We visited the Australian National Surfing Museum, celebrating the history of surfing in Australia. I think surfing is one of the most difficult and dangerous sports in the world - you've got to know about currents, weather. winds and geology, plus, you have to be athletic with good balance and without fear to tackle big waves.

 

 

At closeby Bells Beach, location of a famous annual surfing competition, we watched the surfers for a while, but, just low waves today, nothing spectacular,,,

Also in Torquay the famous Great Ocean Road starts, 243 km of coastal highway in Victoria/Australia, running from Torquay to Allansford. Built by WWI veterans between 1919 and 1932, it features dramatic cliffs, surf beaches, and landmarks. An exhibition in Lorne, on the way west, explains more about the construction and history of the famous road (right photo). 

We weren't encountering too much traffic yet. Victoria is celebrating Labour Day on Monday, so, during this upcoming long weekend it'll be packed along the coast. And, in Melbourne, too, because of that and, the big Moomba Festival in the city and a Grand Prix Formula 1 Race.

The Great Ocean Road is a tourist magnet and perfectly equipped. Many Visitors Centres, viewpoints, turn-offs, and, even signs telling you to drive on the left! Seems like many foreign visitors are traveling here, we especially noticed tour busses on day trips from/to Melbourne and several German tourists, too. Curvy road, but not too narrow and bumpy, very close to the waterline, gorgeous views and a turquoise-colored ocean!

We stopped at a couple of lookouts among them Split Point Lighthouse, built in 1891 and under operation until 1991. It's located in Aireys Inlet. Didn't climb up, but views were gorgeous from below as well!

 

Our overnight, after 190 km driven, was in Apollo Bay and guess what? The closer we got, the cloudier it became (left pic)! In the late afternoon we checked in at our motel (which was fine!) at 21 deg. C and grey skies. 

Out again soon, to check out the offerings along main street. Only found not-too-appealing shops and restaurants (some of them closed today because of the upcoming long, busy weekend) and went for a stroll along the beach to the fishing/yacht harbour. 

Finally, we ended up at Great Ocean Road Brewhouse, ideally neighboring our hotel, for dinner - on the photo: "bangers & mash", sausages and mashed potatoes, and a beer. And, we enjoyed good conversation and another language lessen with a group of Australians.

A sacred place for the Anangu - ULURU

Until 1985, when the area was handed back from the "Whites" to the Anangu people, it was called "Ayres Rock". In return, the Anangu leased the land to the Australian Government for 99 years. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is located on Aboriginal land and managed in cooperation with Parks Australia. The Anangu consider this land as a creation of their ancestors and as a very special place. Some parts are especially sacred, ceremonies take place there, and photos can't be taken. It was recognised in 1994 as an UNESCO World Heritage Site for its cultural and natural values.

We took the 8:20 am bus to Uluru (about 20 min drive with several stops) and started hiking around the base of the rock. Trails were beautiful most of the time, running along the foot of the hill, even with some shade thanks to trees - mostly desert oak and mulga (acacia), which are known for their very hard wood.

 

Since it had rained quite a bit recently, the whole landscape was gorgeously lush and green, grasses high - not usual at this time of the year, as a park ranger told us later.

Didn't see any mamals, but little critters and butterflies:

Below the Mutitjulu waterhole (below), another of many sacred places for the indigenous people, beautifully quiet and pieceful (with the exception of the noise, tourists - on bike and segway, too - made).

Spectacular geological formations: notches and caves, gently sloping walls, holes and crevices, "faces" (see further below),  gorges and waterholes, many of them have symbolic value. A fantastic landscape, a bit similar maybe to some parks in the U.S. Southwest or West, but much, much stronger contrasts, much more color and much more unique location.

Uluru is made from a sedimentary rock called arkose sandstone, and, the red color comes from iron minerals in it, being weathered by water and oxygen.

See the face above? Gorge on the right side.

 

Rock paintings above, most places where you can see them close, are not accessible, so I took this photo with a telephoto lens.

We hiked on several of the designated walks, mostly around the base, but also shorter one-way excursions closer to the rock, almost 15 km in total. Heat wasn't too bad (though, it may have reached around 30 deg C at noon), thanks to some shade, but flies became a pest at patches without wind,,, 

And, the last part of the trail to the Cultural Centre was shadeless and a bit boring. But,,, the centre itself compensated fully for the effort (no photos allowed inside!) with an instructive film and exhibitions, and, the shops sold real nice artwork of Aboriginal artists (not your typical souvenir stuff!). At 2:40 pm we took the bus back to the hotel, next one would have been in the evening and wouldn't have been included anymore in our 1-day-pass.

After kind of a "cheese&ham-sandwich-ginger beer diet" for two days, we decided to have dinner in one of the restaurants on the property. And, we wanted to have something "typical" and therefore we chose the  kangaroo kebap (photo), which tasted great, a bit like buffalo with some deer mixed in. Could have been a bit more, though,,, Drink selection (in all restaurants/shops at the resort) was rather disappointing, no real bar neither, but no problem with that. Right now many groups of elderly people (many Germans, too), and Asian kids were visiting, but it was not crowded.

Last sunset from the observation point:

Starting off "small": Kata Tjuṯa

Tuesday morning, more tours and demos at the resort: First, we participated at a garden tour, learning about the plants and trees in the desert and what was/is eaten by the Aboriginal people. Below, a photo of the Australian Desert Fig and the "Honey Gem" or Honey Grevillea, used for jams and other sweets.

 

The "Bush Food Experience" (below) - our next "lesson" - gave even more information about plants, herbs and berries, honey ants and "Maku" (maggots), which were a welcome protein for the indigenous people in the area. They like their kangaroo and emu meat, too, but we've been told, that there are not too many kangaroos in the area anymore (one reason might be the camels, which were introduced by the early explorers and turned wild after they left). We neither saw kangaroos nor camels or emus,,, Just geckos in the room and on the resort's pathways,,,

Didgeridoo workshop (below) next. They call it "didge", by the way, and the guy who showed us how it's played and what is important (breathing/lips/tongue) was a musician himself and did a great job in dismantling clichés and wrong assumptions.

For the afternoon, we had booked the Kata Tjuta Sunset Tour by bus. You can either rent a car or take a bus tour (different options there) - all are pretty expensive (as is food and restaurants). We were wondering, who's profiting from all the money they make at the resort, which is operated as of recently by an American company? Anyway, the tour was worth the money. Actually, one can say, we started the wrong way: with Kata Tjuta instead of Uluru, but this was caused by the 1-day-pass and the bus schedule.

Meaning "Many heads", Kata Tjuta is sacred to the local Aboriginal Anangu people, same way as Uluru. They inhabited the area for more than 22,000 years. Kata Tjuta is a group of 36 large, domed rock formations and one of the two major landmarks within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. They are  composed of conglomerate/sedimentary rock (granite/basalt/sandstone) and the highest dome is called Mount Olga (550 m above the plain).

The closer you get, the more impressive the formation looks! There are only two trails available, the longer Valley of the Winds Trail and the shorter Walpa Gorge Trail (2 km one way). For the sunset tour, you only have the option to hike the latter one, before driving to an observation point to see the sunset. But, even this 1-hour walk into the gorge was very impressive - see photos below. It was unusually green and lush, too, because they've got plenty of rain recently.

Kata Tjuta in different lights below. Though sunset wasn't too spectacular (clouds!) it was fascinating to see the color changes and I took heaps of pictures:

 

The real highlight to follow tomorrow: Uluru,,,