Vast spaces, amazing differences
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Australia is approximately 90% the size of the USA (minus Alaska) so it is amazing to see the geographic differences between the two countries and between the various regions of Australia.
We recently posted on our way to Uluru (formerly Ayers Rock). Going there was something Mel wanted to do but it proved to be fascinating. We took the train to Alice Springs (made famous by the book, "A Town Like Alice" and the Masterpiece Theatre production of the book). It is a modern little town in the middle of Australia, nothing, anymore, like what I had imagined from the book, if it ever was. The train trip included hours and hours of crossing the desert. Actually, most of the interior of Australia doesn't qualify as desert since, despite the fact it hasn't rained a drop for over three years, it does periodically receive rain - interestingly, as the aftermath of cyclones on the west coast of Australia.
So, then, one of the differences between Australia and the US is that the cities in Australia are primarily l0cated on the four coasts and the entire middle is a red-earth near desert.
We took a tour bus to Uluru... west of Alice Springs by four and a half hours. Again, across the red-earth desert. There is life on the Australian outback - amazing plants and animals that have adapted to the dry conditions. Interestingly, central Australia is home to the only wild camels in the world. They came to AU 150 years ago, driven by Afghani camel drivers, and were used to deliver goods to the outback. They were replaced in the early 1930s by the train and released into the wild where they have survived ever since. We saw some of them from the bus. We also saw many lovely birds.
Although not geographic, that's another difference. Animals and birds exist here that exist nowhere else... birds such as galahs, animals such as kangaroos, walabees and wild camels!
Anyway, we planned to see Uluru at sunset and sunrise, which everyone agrees are the best times to see it since those times of day bring out the contours of the rock and you can see the red color of the rock glow. Well, just our luck. They had clouds for two days in a row (no rain, just clouds) for the first time all year. Nevertheless, it was still a moving experience. Uluru is this massive rock, taller than the Eifel Tower. In photos, it appears one dimensional. In person, with the light changing, it has many curves, valleys, caves, etc. In addition, it is sacred to the indiginous people and our guide was able to relate many stories from them and talk about how they used various areas of the rock for sacred ceremonies.
We flew back to Alice Springs and on to Darwin. From the air, the land was red and barren until close to Darwin. Suddenly, it was very green as we approached this city that is along the Coral Sea and whose climate is that of a rain forest. It rains 1,600 mm per year in Darwin. The average rainfall in the middle of AU is less than 300 mm. Needless to say, it is HUMID in Darwin.
We miss you all.
Love,
Janet
Australia is approximately 90% the size of the USA (minus Alaska) so it is amazing to see the geographic differences between the two countries and between the various regions of Australia.
We recently posted on our way to Uluru (formerly Ayers Rock). Going there was something Mel wanted to do but it proved to be fascinating. We took the train to Alice Springs (made famous by the book, "A Town Like Alice" and the Masterpiece Theatre production of the book). It is a modern little town in the middle of Australia, nothing, anymore, like what I had imagined from the book, if it ever was. The train trip included hours and hours of crossing the desert. Actually, most of the interior of Australia doesn't qualify as desert since, despite the fact it hasn't rained a drop for over three years, it does periodically receive rain - interestingly, as the aftermath of cyclones on the west coast of Australia.
So, then, one of the differences between Australia and the US is that the cities in Australia are primarily l0cated on the four coasts and the entire middle is a red-earth near desert.
We took a tour bus to Uluru... west of Alice Springs by four and a half hours. Again, across the red-earth desert. There is life on the Australian outback - amazing plants and animals that have adapted to the dry conditions. Interestingly, central Australia is home to the only wild camels in the world. They came to AU 150 years ago, driven by Afghani camel drivers, and were used to deliver goods to the outback. They were replaced in the early 1930s by the train and released into the wild where they have survived ever since. We saw some of them from the bus. We also saw many lovely birds.
Although not geographic, that's another difference. Animals and birds exist here that exist nowhere else... birds such as galahs, animals such as kangaroos, walabees and wild camels!
Anyway, we planned to see Uluru at sunset and sunrise, which everyone agrees are the best times to see it since those times of day bring out the contours of the rock and you can see the red color of the rock glow. Well, just our luck. They had clouds for two days in a row (no rain, just clouds) for the first time all year. Nevertheless, it was still a moving experience. Uluru is this massive rock, taller than the Eifel Tower. In photos, it appears one dimensional. In person, with the light changing, it has many curves, valleys, caves, etc. In addition, it is sacred to the indiginous people and our guide was able to relate many stories from them and talk about how they used various areas of the rock for sacred ceremonies.
We flew back to Alice Springs and on to Darwin. From the air, the land was red and barren until close to Darwin. Suddenly, it was very green as we approached this city that is along the Coral Sea and whose climate is that of a rain forest. It rains 1,600 mm per year in Darwin. The average rainfall in the middle of AU is less than 300 mm. Needless to say, it is HUMID in Darwin.
We miss you all.
Love,
Janet
posted by Mel and Janet Muchnik | 12:57 AM
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