Tag: kangaroo

Ayers Rock and Uluru

We flew to the small town Ayers Rock and joined a group of 22 guests on a three-day trip through the Red Centre. From the plane we could already watch the landscape incl. Uluru (formerly Ayers Rock).

Red Centre of Australia is… red.

On a cultural walk, Cecilia, a lovely aboriginal woman, explained many things about their culture, paintings and certain locations around Uluru in her native language – fortunately we also had a translator.

Aboriginal paintings at Uluru – explained by a native expert

It was close to 40° C, fortunately it cooled down a little bit at sunset, supported by a glass of Champaign.

Jingle bells at Ayers Rock

Almost as good as the sunset was the moon rise (we had full moon that night). The group helped to prepare the dinner (kangaroo) – delicious – and then went to sleep, as we had to get up VERY early next morning (03:50). Steffi and me decided to use the swags and to sleep under the stars. Check.

Farm Camping in OZ

An Eco tour boat brought us to several snorkeling sites with the main goal to catch sea turtles, which we did successfully, besides amazing views on the Ningaloo reef, fishes known from “Finding Nemo” and even a reef shark.

In the afternoon we left Exmouth in order to decrease the distance until Tom Price / Karijini National Park. We camped on a farm at Garilia Station and had a warm welcome by its hosts.

A real OZ experience!

We were just about to finish dinner when suddenly a big kangaroo passed by with long jumps to feed wet grass next to our camper van.

What’s up, mates?

Then we did some very kitschy sunset photos, followed by a few shots of the amazingly dark sky. Shooting stars? Check.
A real Oz experience – highly recommended!

Orion – at almost zero light pollution

Kalbarri – Gorges and Kangaroos

On the way to Kalbarri National Park we spotted a few emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae) and frightened a kangaroo. Kalbarri NP is known for its gorges and stone structure forming a hole: Natures Window. We arrived just a few minutes before a coach with Chinese tourists. Our chance to do our mandatory “through the window” shots before it got crowded.

Other attractions in the park required a little bit of hiking – and guess what? Much less tourists and more time to actually enjoy the nature. Doing a “class 5” (out of 5) hike can be so rewarding. Close encounter with a kangaroo couple? Check.

In the afternoon we headed back to the coast and visited some points which we missed the day before. And we had a nice snorkeling time at a pristine sandy beach, almost for us alone. We returned to the same campground and enjoyed our private shower.