... seeing red ...

Where to begin to explain the impact that my Red Centre trip had on me. It was emotional in ways I would never had thought. It was physical in ways that I had dreaded. There were two especially emotional moments: arriving at the very centre of my country; and, seeing Uluru for the first time. My chest was constricted and I had to keep reminding myself that this was real - it was not on television; it was there in front of me. There were two difficult physical times: when I realised that I would be sleeping in a swag on the ground every night; and, the pain in my chest as I trudged around Kata Juta.

As I predicted, I was by far the oldest person on the trip. It was a full house; 10 paying passengers plus the driver. There were 6 females and 4 males. There were 3 French nationals, one Swiss, one Nederlander, 2 German nationals, one Canadian and one American living in London, England. The only Australians were me and the driver. Not many Australians make this trip. Which is very sad.  I am nearly 60, then followed 37, 32, 3X28, 25, 2x24, 23 and 21. Every person on the trip was a university graduate including the driver. Two people had Masters and two had doctorates. One of the German girls had a doctorate in Geology which was immensely useful.

I have over 700 images to sift through. There are 10 days of experiences that I wish to record - mainly for my own benefit.The trip itself cost about $1700 including entry fees. Getting to and from cost another $600. And I guess I spent another $1200 on "stuff". So, all up about $3,500 for just over 10 days. Not cheap. But worth every penny.

Comments

[Julie]

The flies - don't mention the flies. They were simply everywhere! Not certain that there were hordes of Germans but there certainly were significantly more Europeans than other groupings.

[Autolycus]

Brings back some memories - 10 years ago I visited a friend who emigrated to Sydney and he took me not quite all over, but certainly out to Uluru. I remember how extraordinary the colour changes can be as the light varies through the day: not just the red of the sandstone, but at evening, almost brown with deep purple shadows and somehow it seemed suddenly two-dimensional. And the other thing was how the van rental firms in Alice were geared up to German visitors, for whom it's obviously a major adventure.

Oh, and the flies at Kata Tjuta! I must see how the old photos digitise...

[Julie]

Thank you for your comments, dear ladies. I suspect that Alice is no longer the town that Neville wrote about. However, he was mainly interested in the people and in the landscape - and that remains.

I am hoping to cover my journey a day at a time and as I go to put up an album for readers to go through the images as they see fit.

[Claude]

Claudia, I had forgotten all about Nevil Shute, I had forgotten all about A Town Like Alice, but I will have to find a copy and read it again.
Julie, I too am looking forward to seeing your photograph.
I've always wanted to visit Australia, but now feel that it's too far away. I really fear long plane trips.
But I'll be travelling through your eyes.
Hope you soon find time to get back to ElderExercise ;)

[Claudia]

Congratulations! I can hardly wait to see photos and to read travel log. Very interested about any part of Australia. I learned to read English with Dickens and Nevil Shute. Nevil was a bit easier than Charlie! I must have read A TOWN LIKE ALICE 30 times. I still have all the books. When Nevil died, I cried and cried because I had never thanked him for helping me with the language. Maybe I should write to his family.