Australia: Tales from a Canadian Nomad: Australian Adventures with Amber

Happiest greeting for the new year. I've been traveling with little internet access as my daughter and I explored the Northern Territory, South Australia, and Victoria. We packed a great deal of activities in, along with some adventurous take away and dining in experiences, and of course, heading to the beach to swim. I thought I would post a summary of the entire holiday to share with your our experiences. We had a terrific time, despite the scorching heat of the desert or the crowds of people that swarmed some of the activities, landmarks, and restaurants. We traveled 6268 kms in 11 days. One territory and two states, dipping our toes into a variety of gulfs, bays, and straits, not to mention several salt lakes, barely a drop in them. We camped at 6 campgrounds, slept in two hotels, and spent two nights at a friend's house who gracefully offered us her home while she was away for a music festival.

Day 1 - Traveled to Uluru, stopping at Rainbow Valley to hike near some magnificent rock, and then at the meteorite craters along the Stuart Highway. My daughter enjoyed Rainbow Valley and the vibe it gave off. It was rather hot so we didn't hike far near the craters. We then camped out at Uluru after watching the spectacular sunset unfold around it, creating colors before you. It was so beautiful up close as well, and we drove around the base before taking a starlit hike at the base of the rock in the dark, though a bit jumpy in the dark in the desert with hardly anyone around. We bumped into a couple on the side of the road, and offered them help with their breakdown. They had bent the rim on a tire and flattened it while going over a large pothole. They had it under control but were worried they might get locked in if there is a gate to the park as it was nearly closing time. We agreed to do so, but found there were no staff and no gates to be closed, so headed back to the campground for the night. We saw them some time later just near our tent looking for a place to sleep with a blanket. I recognized them in the dark and we found out they didn't have accommodation for the night as they had hoped to find a hotel room, but being peak holiday season, there was not a room in sight and the choices are limited. So we offered them one of our tents at the campground. They had only two towels they were going to sleep on. They were very grateful and Amber and I bunked in together. I snored my head off and drove A. nuts.

Day 2 - Left Uluru and headed south, making it to Coober Pedy after driving hundreds of miles in nearly empty landscape. It was stinking hot at 44C. The underground campground was closed until January so we checked out an above ground one - decided it was going to be miserable to be out on a dirt lot with no grass next to campers running generators for their air con - it will be so friggin hot. We opted for an underground hotel and were pleased with the option. It was budget rooming, but cool - located in a formerly working opal mine, they converted the rooms and tunnels to an underground hotel. It was pleasantly cool underground and the rooms worked out just fine. Basic bunks and a stone closet. We went out for supper and came back and looked at our photos from the day before turning in. Long driving day tomorrow too.

Day 3 - Left Coober Pedy after checking out an opal mine and stocking up some food and ice. It was still stinking hot. Gross, let's get out of the desert today for sure. We headed for Port Pirie thinking the campground would be lovely. Not so much. Was not beachside as described, and there were that many flies we were insane with bites. I received over 70 which was quite miserable as I scratched to no end. It's easy to scratch your arm or leg and not feel silly at all but I had to scratch my belly the most, having sustained 24 bites on there alone...yeah, one big welt really. Standing there scratching my belly the next day was surely entertainment for someone. We managed to find a restaurant that was open and went out for a nice Christmas Eve Dinner. We tried to go to beach before supper but it started to rain. We had some beers and played some cards instead.

Day 4 - Christmas Day - we got up from the rotten night of sleep the night before, with temperatures in the 30s all night as well as all day, and packed up the gear heading to Adelaide for our nice hotel stay. We couldn't find any restaurants open for miles so opted for a picnic at a rest area, once we found a gas station that sold sandwiches on thick Turkish bread. We found the hotel in good time and went off to explore the beach at Glenelg. It was pretty windy when we stepped off the tram at Glenelg. The skies were turbulent and you could tell rain was a-comin. My daughter really wanted to swim, and had her suit on underneath her shorts and top so jumped right in. I didn't and we didn't see a change area so I became the beach photographer. I got some nice shots of her frolicking in the waves. You forget how old they are when they play like young children. Nice to see she remembers how to have fun. We then made our back past the many closed stores and waited for the tram to take us back to the hotel where we dined in the hotel restaurant that night. We planned to go to a winery the next day and maybe squeeze in some more beach time.

Day 5 - We packed up once again, and headed south to the beach after realizing we would not make an early morning tour at a winery because it was over an hour's drive away. We trucked on down to the beach went right in the water, loving the warmth and trying to ignore the continuing wind. We had fun enough in the waves, despite the seaweed that was present due to turbulent seas. We then tried to sit in the sun and dry our bodies, but the wind blew the sand into our eyes so we packed up again and headed to shop up the street and scope out a place for lunch. We then headed northeast to Jacob's Creek Winery and took a tour and a tasting that was just lovely. A beautiful day in the hills surrounded by vineyards and trees, it was such a nice day. Then we headed south to the ferry at Cape Jervais to Kangaroo Island. Google maps was testing our patience and sent us on a shortcut that took twice as long as it wound itself through the Adelaide Hills. We did get to see an echidna crossing the road which was cool. We managed to get onto the last ferry, book into a campground on the other side and then headed to the island for a few nights. It was cold on the ferry and I had not brought anything with sleeves, so once we landed I was on the hunt for a jacket or sweater. We crossed the strait and headed for the campground where we set up in the dark and cooked a delicious supper.

Day 6 - We packed up at Penneshaw and headed out to explore the island. It was packed with activities and we had to narrow it down to some favorites as we really only had one full day there. We first went to Emu Ridge which manufactures emu oil, eucalyptus oil, and a variety of other products. It is the eucalyptus oil that you smell as you drive onto the property and it greets the nostrils once you open the door to the visitor centre. We explored the gift shop while we waited for the tour to start. We were then ushered into an old fashioned carriage to watch a short film clip about the history of the company. They grow narrow leaf eucalyptus only on Kangaroo Island so that was cool, and the guide showed us around the property and explained the process of extracting the eucalyptus oil from the plant. From Emu Ridge we made our way to Seal Cove to see the sea lion colony there. They were so much fun to watch on such a gorgeous blue sky day. After the sea lions we headed for Kelly Caves for a tour of the rock formations in the limestone caves. From the caves we went for a bit of a drive around the island before heading to the Koala Sanctuary to see if we could spot some koalas in the trees, which we did! We must have seen a dozen or more, most of them snoozing in the afternoon sun. So very cute and fuzzy...Then we were off to the Remarkable Rocks. Yes, they are remarkable! Day ran out and so we headed for the campground in Kingscote where we settled in for a bit then headed out for a night-time penguin walk - they were so cool to watch in the dark. They only come out of the water at night-time because it isn't safe for them to do so in daylight for fear of predators. It was a great day, and we were exhausted by the time we made it back to camp.

Day 7 - we packed up camp again and did some shopping in town before catching the noon ferry to the mainland again. We headed across the countryside, getting turned around a few times but savoring the lost routes as we got close enough to an echidna this time for my daughter to touch it on the back...and then run away...South Australia is very hilly so we were on windy bendy roads for some time. We found our stopping place in Naracoorte and settled into another campsite before heading out that night for another cave tour, this one of bats. We also toured an older less used cave by the bats where people can rent out the space for special events - the cave has also been designated as a World Heritage Site, which is great.

Day 8 - It was a noisy restless night at the campground due to crying children - wish they would leave them at home sometimes...tent walls are just too thin! From Naracoorte we headed south to the Great Ocean Road, stopping in Port Fairy for a walk on the beach and some lunch in town. From there we followed the Great Ocean Road and marveled at the amazing rock formations along the coast. There were many tourists so parking lots were full and photo ops a challenge at times. My favorite was the Grotto. We stopped at several rock formations and had a fabulous drive along the coast, soaking in the ocean's grandeur. I miss it here in Alice Springs. We found another campsite, more noisy kids, lots of wind but the most amazing kangaroo sighting on the whole trip - we were camped next to a huge field and we spotted some kangaroos here and there and then at one point the whole mob jumped off from one end of the field to the other - it was quite a show. The stars shone brightly that night, but the wind remained cold so Amber and I crawled into my tent and played cards for a bit before cooking supper.

Day 9 - We were Melbourne bound today, leaving the tents packed up for the weekend. My friend and former co-worker lives in Melbourne, was heading out for a music festival for the weekend so loaned us her flat. We arrived in the city at about 2pm, did some shopping, caught up with my friend, went out for dinner, and then to the movies for Tower Heist - great laughs. We had enough of crowds by then though and were looking forward to getting out on the ocean tomorrow.

Day 10 - Amber and I packed up for the day and drove south to Sorrento to meet our tour guides for a dolphin swim. I didn't swim, but Amber did. I stayed on the boat with other viewers and watched the whole scene go down. Amber did well with the snorkel and wetsuit, seeing some dolphins and seals up close and personal from her point of view in the water. I saw dozens from the side of the boat, swimming to and fro, under the boat, off the bow, a d back around the swimmers. Copped a nasty sunburn on me though despite wearing sunscreen. The sun's glare on the ocean played a huge part I'm sure. That night we decided we were too tired to bother going out, so ordered in pizza, and watched some movies and a Rolling Stones show on tv. It was a quiet new year's eve, but we were happy enough. It had been such a busy couple of weeks, so needed some down time.

Day 11 - We packed up from Melbourne and I dropped my daughter off at the airport for her long journey home and picked up a friend who was driving back with me to Alice Springs. It was a long haul and we camped roadside at a rest area in central South Australia, having run out of steam about 11pm. My friend slept in the car to avoid being raped and murdered (her fears) while I sweat it out in my tent. Didn't sleep = too darned hot. Couldn't wait to get home. The stars were spectacular though in the darkness of the desert.

Day 12 - We were up at dawn and jumped on the highway home for Alice, couldn't wait. We were both quite exhausted as my friend had a busy Christmas as well. All we wanted was to be OUT OF THE CAR! So just after 5pm we finally landed in Alice Springs. Yahfrigginhoo! It was a busy holiday but I had a great time with my girl and I think she truly enjoyed her Australian experience.

We saw many animals - kangaroos, camels, horses, goanna and other lizards, parrots, echidnas, foxes, koalas, wallabies, sea lions, bats, spiders, snakes, and so much more. We took hundreds of photos, and had huge belly laughs and talked until we were too tired to go on. It was great to catch up with my daughter and explore a part of Australia together. I'd do it all over again in a moment.