The Outback

We flew in to Ayers Rock airport on Sunday morning, and met up with our tour operator, Connections Safari. We were part of a group of 8 campers, on a tour of the highlights of Australia's "Red Centre". We started the day with a tour around the Olgas. These are basically a group of rocks formed by some complicated geological process involving being rolled around under water, with lots of pieces of different rocks being stuck together (or something like that). They're of very important spiritual significance to the Aboriginal people of the area, for whom they play a big role in ceremonies involving initiated men and women. After a tour of the Olgas if was off to Ayers Rock (formed by a similar process) for a sunset viewing with champagne (we had some newlyweds on the tour).












Day 2 began at 5:30am, with a quick breakfast in the dark, and then off to Ayers Rock to the see the sunrise. One of the magical things about the rock is how different the colour appears at different times, from dark orange, to glowing red, to pink and purple (and that's just what we saw in 24 hours). The sunrise was cold, but really beautiful. After that we did the 10km walk around the base of the rock, reading about the Aboriginal stories associated with different formations on and around the rock.

Stewart (our guide) explained how the Aboriginals found food sources in some very creative and unexpected places. One example is the witchetty grub, which is essentially a moth larva, found cocooned in the roots of a witchetty tree. As we were driving along to our campsite, he pulled over, found some witchetty trees and proceeded to dig. The search yielded 3 grubs, which were eaten by Stewart, Pierre (a French chef on our tour) and Brian. You have to bite the head off and eat the body. He said it tasted a bit sweet, and really wasn't too bad at all, but I was definitely not eating one!

On our second night, we had a traditional Australian bush dinner cooked in pots placed in the fire. Stewart turned out to be an excellent Didgeridoo player, he brought out his "didg" while we waited for dinner to cook. Brian took a turn, and he shows real promise (Chris he's thinking the two of you will form a band). On both nights we pulled our camp beds out of the tent and slept under the stars. I've never seen so many stars, it was just amazing. After dinner we couldn't wait to get into our sleeping bags and stare up at the sky, watching for shooting stars.











On our final day we went to Kings Canyon, which is part of a mountain range made of sandstone. It's thought that, as with the rest of central Australia, it used to be under an inland sea, and you can see ripples and some fossilized jelly fish in the sandstone. The 6km canyon rim walk took about 4 hours as we stopped to take pictures, and to hear about local culture and myth from Stewart. After that it was a long bus ride over BUMPY dirt roads back to Alice Springs. Along the way we saw lots of brumbies (wild horses), wild camels (introduced in the 1800's for transport in the desert) and donkeys.

Rossini at the Opera House

On Saturday night we bought some last minute tickets to see a concert with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra accompanied by 4 Italian opera singers, performing some of the works of Rossini. Thanks to our student cards, we were able to get box seats for a fraction of the price. The music was amazing, and the inside of the Opera House was very unique and really beautiful to see.

Melbourne

We flew into Melbourne on Friday, picked our rental car and headed for the coast. The first part of our trip was a drive along the Great Ocean Road, which runs along the southern coast. The views are unbelievable, driving right beside crystal blue water and beautiful white sandy beaches. Along the way we saw our first koala bears. We stayed overnight in a B&B perched on a cliff, with a balcony facing right over the water - they recommend you leave your door open overnight to hear the waves crashing on the beach.

As soon as we arrived in Melbourne we ran over to the MCG (famous stadium seating 100,000) to watch our first AFL game aka. Australian-rules football aka. "footy". It was a game between 2 big rivals - the Carlton Blues and the Collingwood Magpies - a battle of the uppercrust versus the working class man (or so we were told). Aussie football is very similar to Gaelic football, except although they say you're not allowed to tackle, it looked to us as though you can do just about anything to anyone and not get in trouble. At one point there was a big brawl, and one of guys got his head split open. The medic for the team ran onto the field, stapled the guy's head shut and the play continued! Despite it being a rough game with very committed fans (there were 80,000 in attendance!), there's generally no fighting in the stands.

Melbourne is supposed to like Montreal, compared to Sydney which is said to be similar to Toronto. Overall I think we would definitely agree. Melbourne has a much more European, artsy, bohemian kind of feel. It's supposed to be known for great shopping (lots of designer outlets), hidden bars and cafes in alleys, great food and a more laid back atmosphere. We spent the rest of the weekend exploring the city - shopping, eating a ton at great restaurants, and just walking the streets.

Wedding Celebration

Weekend in Sydney

On Saturday morning we walked along Oxford St - a great shopping area - to Paddington Market. It's supposed to be known for having lots of great up and coming designers selling their wares. Although we didn't buy anything at the market this weekend, I think we'll probably be back soon.

On Saturday night we went to the Sydney Opera House for the Aboriginal Film Festival and saw some great movies - Aboriginal and Native American documentaries and fictional stories. To end the night we went to the Argyle, a bar with a beautiful outdoor courtyard right near the Opera House.

We started Sunday by walking through Darling Harbour, each sipping our flat white (Australian version of a latte). We saw a big crowd gathered, and it turned out it was for Buddha's birthday. It was a huge celebration, with lots of people dressed up in traditional costumes, monks chanting, and lots of excellent food for sale. While walking through the harbour Brian took the picture of the colourful bird in the tree (Kate, he's eagerly awaiting your feedback).































We walked over to the Sydney Fish Market, to sample some of the local seafood. It was amazing to see, huge displays of every kind of fish you can imagine, oysters, shellfish, freshly prepared sushi... We sat outside and tried some of the oysters, king prawns and sashimi. After that it was back to the Opera House, to watch the final shows in the Aboriginal Film Festival.