**** WARNING! LONG POST(S) AHEAD****
Shuts down laptop... walks away...
Oh, fine. I'll read along anyway.
were up to a 3:00 AM alarm.
Too early! Inhuman!
Betting Anara was
not a fan.
The driver was not the best. He was speeding super fast down the highway and sadly, at some point about halfway, he hit some animal.
Assuming since you didn't have an accident that it was something fairly small.
We arrived at the airport a little before 4:00 but had to wait for a bit until 4:30 when security opened for screening.
Really? When the flight is at 5:10? That seems very late.
This is where they thought I was going to commit some sort of exceptionally naughty deed with my 1/2” long scissors
I'm with security on this one. For all I know, you might've trimmed a cuticle on an unsuspecting victim.
I shall say no more except, how stupid. I’m still salty.
I can tell that you've gotten over this. Completely.
we had boarded our 2nd flight (#8) that would take us to Alice Springs- a 3 hour and 15-minute trek.
I did a double take at that... And then Googled the flight time...
I forget just how
big Australia is.
(The Sydney Tower is pretty cool!)
That is cool! I have no idea what those canister looking things could be. And the emergency escape is quite the thing!
This time we got… meat pies. I mean what else would they possibly serve us?
(I’m now an official meat pie expert and connoisseur.)
I believe you. For future meat pie tests, I will come to you.
While on the flight I met a nice guy heading to work near Alice Springs
Get his number?
He shared that two other bank companies left town permanently because drunk Aboriginals in town kept smashing in the windows and doing other kinds of vandalism.
I had been warned about the rough nature of Alice Springs by other visitors and I will talk more about this in another chapter.
Oh boy...
the land was a brilliant red as far as the eye could see.
I'd heard about that. But seeing it for yourself must've been something else.
It’s definitely out of the way, and the folks who go there really want to go there.
So... I had to do some research. I was
sure you were wrong and had actually posted Sydney, not Alice Springs. I saw that A380 and thought "There's no
way that can land there."
And I was almost right. You
can land an A380 (and a B747) at Alice Springs. You just can't take off from there... if you're fully loaded. Must be quite the sight to see, especially on a hot day. Actually... I'm betting they simply don't take off in the heat of a summer day. (Morning or evening)
We deplaned with a mobile stairway
Interesting that they accommodate wide-bodies, but only have mobile stairs.
They call it “naked traveling” now; we were doing it last year before it was cool.
You're trend setters!
(Amazing detail!)
I don't know much about quilting, but that looks pretty impressive.
I sauntered up to the rental car counter and before our contract was signed, we were assaulted.
I first read this and thought you meant by people. I thought "Wow! She wasn't kidding about Alice Springs being rough!"
We’d been warned by the staff to ONLY park the car in their guarded lot or in front of the police station. This made me incredibly nervous about having a rental.
Holy crap...
I wondered how the girl under me was going to feel when I had to climb down once or twice in the night because I’m old.
Better than being piddled on from above.
Alice Springs can dish up a hearty helping of inferno-hot weather.
So what did the temp get up to? Did you find out?
You probably thought you would be spared from another bird-heavy chapter. If so, you clearly do not know me at all.
So, if weird (to most N. Americans) birds intrigue you even a little here is a montage of Aussie birds:
I won't quote every picture, but I looked at them all. I think my fave was the Dusky Grasswren followed by the bustard.
We really needed a drink of water but turns out this is a private perch for his majesty. I tried to shoo it off, but it got very aggressive and hissed and lunged at me. Holy crap, Dude. Chill.
Whoa! Looks like he'd poke your eye out without a second thought.
after thinking on it anyway, I don’t think I’d want a drink out of a fountain that had a bird butt on it.
Good point.
Heck you probably just skipped the entire last batch of them anyway.
Nope!
She talked about how and when they are gathered, how they are used in cooking, and even how some are used in ceremonial ways.
Interesting. At least sounds it, to me.
What the
heck is going on here?!?!?!?
The entire facility is purposely left very au natural with dirt paths, lots of native plant life, and mostly outdoor venues for education.
I like that.
This just screams aussie to me. "Whacked into a pressure cooker"???
Without scale it's hard to tell but it was easily 3’ long from nose to end of tail.
Big boy!
Maybe they weren’t the ferocious monsters I’d pictured them to be…
He is. But he'd just eaten the
last tourist who came by and was full.
(Thorny Devil)
So cool!
It was wicked hot outside and we were quickly running out of steam.
Or your perspiration was turning
into steam.
My snickering turned instantly to terror-filled shrieking when they suddenly changed course and literally headed STRAIGHT FOR ME!!! Like right. at. me.
I froze while they, unaware of my very existence probably, raced right between my legs. I $h!t you not; they zoomed right through and past me leaving Anara practically wetting herself laughing.
So, we did what any common tourists would do; we headed straight for McDonalds. We grabbed a couple of burgers, some fries, and some desperately needed Cokes
Cokes... yessss.....
Like this shot.
At 7:30 we left for dinner and enjoyed some very tasty Indian food.
Ah! So Mickie Dee's was just a stopgap until you could get some real food.
There was not one soul in sight for as far as the eye could see at 9:00.
That's... eerie.