heinpit.de

An Australian icon: Uluru (aka Ayers Rock)

Let's go on holidays! After Siegfried leaves on May 2, we stay in Sydney for less than a week before departing for the Northern Territories and do nothing but holidays for the remaining month. We recommend to also browse our photo gallery Northern Territories Trip and to read our article Paddling Katherine Gorge in the section Special, that we published in the Kayaker Club magazine.

Yellow Waters (Kakadu National Park) with almost invisible crocodile

The region. The aircraft takes us into the heart of the continent to Alice Springs and from there per campervan to Darwin on the north shore. Direct line along the Stuart Highway: Almost 1500km. In our case, we make it more than 4500km thanks to all the worthwile detours along the route.

We travel two very different landscapes. In the area 500km around "The Alice" one speaks of the "Red Centre". The name is speaking for itself. We will still find some of the red sand in the various cavities of our bodies in many weeks time. The area is dry and harsh, nice and warm during the day – at least at this time of the year in early winter –, cold at night. The green "Top End" contrasts sharply to this. It knows only two seasons: The Dry – that started just in time for us – and The Wet. Both are hot and even The Dry is still humid. Mid-30 deg C are not uncommon. Add to it the thought that you should better not dip your toe into the water, however nice the occasional lake might look: Crocodiles, of the format of more than 5 metres and 700kg!

Mozzies' paradise (Tabletop Swamp, Litchfield NP)

Highlights. Speaking of the landscape, both regions are breathtaking. Uluru (aka Ayers Rock), a monolith of 9km circumference peaks 300m from the surrounding flat dull country. The mountains of the McDonnell ranges with their deep gorges and water holes. Devils Marbles, like stone pebbles of 5 metres and more in diameter arbitrarily poured over the landscape. Then in the north the waterfalls and billabongs of incredible beauty. Swamps that transform into giant lakes during The Wet and become dust plains in The Dry, and where billions of water lillies float in the early Dry. These are only some of the many impressions.

Rush hour on the Stuart Highway

... back home in "civilisation". Compared to all that, Sydney is a real contrast. On the little stretch from the airport to home, we see many more cars than the total number of cars in the three weeks before (on the Stuart Highway, the busiest long distance road in the NT it is common to not see more than 10 cars per hour). The train station in the QVB sees more people per day than NT counts in population. Nevertheless: A nice spot to return home. If only the many emails wouldn't be waiting for an answer... :-(