ramsays's latest blog entries

Back to Central Australia

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:01:12 EDT

Depart Melbourne for Alice Springs with our first day to enjoy all the sights and sounds
Day 2 Alice Springs to YularaDeparting Alice Springs, we head south, stopping for a short visit at the Outback Camel Farm and then heading straight to our Yulara permanent campsite. The afternoon is spent exploring Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), before travelling to Uluru (Ayers Rock) to take in a spectacular sunset. Later we return to camp for a traditional Aussie meal. After dinner, relax around the camp, under starry desert skies.

Day 3 Yulara to Kings CanyonEarly rise for an exciting morning with breathtaking views of sunrise at Uluru (Ayers Rock), a World Heritage listed area. Join your knowledgeable guide for a base tour of Uluru, exploring ancient caves where Aboriginal paintings can be seen. A fascinating time learning about the oldest culture in the world. For those who really must tackle the 1.6km climb, you will also have the chance*. This afternoon, travel through red sand dune & desert oak country to Kings Creek Cattle Station where optional activities are abundant. Tonight, try a traditional "camp oven" dinner, cooked in the coals of the fire.
Day 4 Kings Creek to Glen Helen This morning we visit breathtaking Kings Canyon. There’s no rush, as we hike around the canyon rim viewing sites like the "Lost City" and the "Garden of Eden", as well as the striking North and South Walls. There are plenty of opportunities for photos. After a picnic lunch, we head off on the Mereenie Loop Road towards the MacDonnell Rages. We camp tonight close to a freshwater swimming hole, at picturesque Glen Helen Gorge.

Day 5 Glen Helen to Wallace Rockhole An exciting day spent exploring many of the gorges & waterholes in this area. See Ormiston Gorge, Glen Helen Gorge, Ellery Creek, Standley Chasm and more! There are great walks to explore and in summer you can take a swim to cool off. Late afternoon, we end up at Wallace Rockhole Aboriginal Community, our overnight camp. Before dinner, visit the rockhole to view Aboriginal rock art and to learn about Aboriginal culture.

Day 6 Wallace Rockhole to Alice Springs Real 4WD touring today as we drive through Finke Gorge National Park into Palm Valley. Dry riverbeds and uneven tracks make the journey an adventure in itself. The effort is worth it when you see the park’s rough red gorges and view ancient stands of palm trees and cycads. We’ll have a picnic and do some hiking here before returning to Alice Springs later in the day.

Day 7 Alice Springs Day Tour

Today you will be picked up from Heavitree Gap Lodge in the morning and our Alice Springs town tour will includes visit to Alice Springs Telegraph Station, Anzac Hill & Royal Flying Doctor Services and School of the Air. The afternoon is free day for lunch and shopping at Todd Mall before arriving at the Resort to enjoy farewell BBQ dinner cooked by your Tour Guide.
This is a fantastic 4WD camping safari is for those who want to experience the colours and nature of Australia's real outback. Over 8 days we went beyond the famous icons and have an experience never to forget.
This is THE trip to do in the Northern Territory - make the time.

Home Sweet Home

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 05:10:34 EDT

Home Sweet Home ... after around 24 hours of travelling from Rio De Janeiro to Santiago via Sao Paolo, then Santiago to Sydney via Auckland and a final quick hop from Sydney to Melbourne, we arrived home safe and sound this morning Thurs 15/1 at 10:30 am.

The welcoming committee (Ellen's friends) were equipped with party hats and those blower things that make rasberry sounds .... thanks guys, a nice welcome back to home turf ....

I (Chris) sit here at 9 pm in the evening, every one else having succombed, desperately trying to hold off the desire to sleep to complete this one last blog entry ....

What can you say - six weeks of just stunning experiences in another continent of this amazingly diverse planet .... the key highlights of our trip would be something like ....

1. Galapogas - stunning natural beauty and wildlife - you can see why Charles Darwin was captivated and amazed

2. Cusco & surrounds - a lovely small city with beautiful architecture and lots of picturesque surrounding countryside

3. Machu Picchu - breathtaking in itself for what a civilisation could achieve hundreds of years ago

4. The Amazon basin - what can you say, the lungs of the planet and alive from dawn to dusk

5. The Bolivian high plains - possibly the highlight of the trip (or a close second to Galapogas) - the salt flats, the canyons, the geysers, the landscape - stunning natural beauty

6. San Pedro at Atatcama - sort of an extension of the high plans, but in Chile and deserving of mention in its own right - the El Tatio geysers and Moon Valley were individual highlights

7. Iguazu Falls - much more touristy but also leave you speechless - especially when you get dunked under the second biggest waterfall at Iguazu

Well, that about winds up the blog ... words cannot really add further to what we have alread talked about.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, we are not even sure how many photos we have .... somewhere in the order of ten thousand we think ... 54 Gb on the storage module !!!

If you are interested, feel free to catch up with us for a look at some more pics .... or in due course the multimedia slide show will be available, although this will probably take many weeks to complete ....

Thanks again to everyone who took interest in our travel blog and posted comments ... the trip is complete, but feel free to keep posting messages for another few days ....

Ciao !

Chris, Julie, Ellen, Tessa
15/1/2009

Iguasu Falls

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:39:03 EDT

Day 34 Thursday 8th January 2009 (Ellen's Birthday) Buenos Aires/Iguasu - Brazilian Side

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Ellen, Happy Birthday to yooouuuu ... Ellen is 17 today ...

In the morning we flew out of BA for a short flight to Iguasu City, still on the Argentinian side of the falls ...

The recommended viewing of the falls is to start on the Brazilian side, so we actually had to cross into Brazil just for a few hours and then come back ... this comprised almost 2 hours of extra time sitting in a bus while the tour guides processed 40 people across the border ... not great use of time.

Of course, the first viewing of the Iguasu falls is stunning ... like any falls, you hear first - and with the amount of water coming of these falls the sound is deafening up close.

On the Brazilian side, you approach along walkways on the bank, so are looking up at the biggest single waterfall at Iguasu, the Devils Throat.

(Not: Unfortunately where are at an Internet cafe that is completely locked down so the machines will not read our photo storage module - we will upload photos when we can).

From the bottom of the main falls, you then catch a small lift up to a platform that is level with the top of the falls, giving another stunning view across the top.

Day 35 Friday 9th January 2009 Iguazu - Argentinian Side

Today was the big Kahuna - a full day tour on the Argentinian side of the falls ... and wow ...

From the Argentinian side, there are trails up high and down low along the river ... the upper trail leads out over the river above the falls and leads to a viewing platform right in the middle of the river at the top of the Devils Throat ... the view is just stunning ... other trails then lead you around to prime viewings spots of the smaller falls, which are all spectcular in their own right.

The lower trails lead around most of the same falls to them them from a different persective ...

We were offered an optional extra to have a boat ride on the river ... not cheap but given we were near the end of our trip and the budget had survived ... we took the plunge, so to speak.

Our guide explained we would get a little wet, so rubber bags were provided to protect cameras etc ... but we were fully clothed.

Stage one of the boat ride was for the driver to hold in the middle of the river for pictures of the various falls from the river view ... the guide said these would be the best pictures ... however, the amount of spray made the view very clouded ... we thought the bank viewing spots offered better photography.

After pics, and with cameras stowed, we expected to be take up very close to the falls .... errr, not so ... the boat is driven all the way into the second biggest fall at Iguasu and you get to experience the biggest soaking you have ever had from the tons of water pouring over the boat. And we were all sitting right at the front, so copped the full drenching !

And this was not just once, but the boat is drive in and out several times ....

No doubt they do not drive into the biggest fall as that would be too dangerous ... but the second biggest was enough ... you have never been so wet in your life ... but its hot so you dry off in a hour or so.

We then rounded off the boat ride with a trip down a few rapids below the falls ... what a buzz ...

All in all, a spectacular place .... lots of people, very touristy, but still well worth the effort to get there.

Lake Titicaca Islands & La Paz

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:16:59 EDT

Day 23 Sunday 28th December 2008 Puno to Copacabana/Island of the Sun

Finally a morning sleep in as we departed our Puno Hotel at the leisurely hour of 9 am for the short drive to the Bolivian border. This was the only part of our trip so far where the arrangement seemed a tad vague – one guide took us to the border with the assurance that someone else would meet us … which did turn out to be the case.

Land border crossings are always interesting … there is always a “DMZ” across which cars cannot travel, so you have to walk and be able to carry all your luggage … and this one was up the hill ! Fortunately we are prepared for these scenarios …

After meeting up with out new guide on the Bolivian side of the border, another short ride to the small town on Copocabana on the edge of Lake Titicaca … and it was a little amusing, they have attempted to make the beach look like the Brazilian version … but it doesn´t quite cut it …

We were not there for the beach and jumped in a small boat to take us out into the lake to the Island of the Moon, to visit the ruins of the Inca moon temple … in the Incas time this was “boarding school” for all the local virgins until they were married. While one may think it gets tiring visiting site after site of Inca ruins, it is fascinating to find each has it´s unique features and all had one distinct purpose.

Another short ride took us across to the much larger Island of the Sun, where we had a wonderful local lunch prepared for us – the hot food wrapped in a cloth to keep warm included potato, sweet potato, broad beans and sweet corn (on steroids) all from the local farms … as well as chicken, local trout and local small sardine like fish. Wonderful !

We then hiked across the island terraces to an “ecolodge” perched on the side of the hill where we would spend the night. Just amazing views over the lake and fantastic hospitality in the lodge run by local people.

We haven´t spoken much about the affects of altitude in this region … we found Cusco at 3,300 m above sea level took a few days to get used to, but we were not doing much physical. On the Island of the Sun, we slept just under 4,000 m and any walking is a task, let alone climbing Inca terraces !

You find you have to stop regularly to try and catch your breath and are always breathing heavily through your mouth to suck in enough oxygen – makes for sore throats at the end of any day that includes an amount of walking. Even at night, you disturb your own sleep occasionally in having to draw an extra breath.

Gives you new respect for people living at these altitudes and the mountaineers who go even higher …

Day 24 Monday 29th December 2008 Island of the Sun/La Paz

Woke up at first light to see the sunrise …. But there wasn´t one, the skies were cloudy.

Back on our boat and around to the very north of the Island of the Sun to visit one more Inca site, the Temple of the Sun. This site was for trainee priests and was quite large in terms of the size of the temple. The local word for the temple means ¨”labyrinth”, which is exactly was it was – small winding passages interconnected all the various meeting and sleeping rooms. Even without a roof it was east to get lost … fortunately the Incas were small so we could see over most of the remaining walls !

Apparently the local myth is that the last Inca being chased by the Spaniards when they invaded ran into this temple and quickly lost his pursuers in the corridors, allowing him to gather up the remaining Inca treasures, escape out the far side and throw them into the lake before the Spaniards to get their hands on them.

We returned to Copocabana for lunch, including a quick visit to the local Cathedral – seems to be a must for most towns you visit.

Then back in our mini bus for the drive to La Paz, the administrative capital of Bolivia, the largest city in the country and also the highest city in the world. We climbed away from the Lake and up onto the Bolivian high plains .. again, more spectacular countryside and we also drove through a fierce hailstorm – the sheep along the roadside looked as though they had been snowed on !

Tomorrow we have a tour of the city, before continuing our journey south by bus and train to Uyini.

Note: Again, apologies we cannot load more photos at present ... we´ll get some more pics uploaded ASAP after 1 Jan ...

Day 25 Tuesday 30th December 2008 La Paz/ Morning city tour & Moon Valley

A great short tour of the city of La Paz today ... first up, a trip up out of the city valley to Moon Valley - a section of mountainside where the wind and rain has eroded the soil away from some more solid cores of rock to create this fascinating landscape that resembles the moon .. hence the name.

Then back down to the top of the city to a lookout that gives panomaric views of the whole city down the valley - beautiful.

We finished up back in the middle of the city to see the main plaza and yet another cathedral ... this one very big but at least more modest with the decorations.

And finally a visit to the "witches market", a section of the large market where the local "medicine men/women" bring their cures to sell ... and a lot of it seems to be very much based on surperstition ... and funny contradiction for a country and professes to be very religous in the traditional sense.

Day 26 Wednesday 31st December 2008 La Paz to Oruro to Uyuni

We departed La Paz today for another travel day to head further south into Bolivia ...

Firstly a bus trip on a local bus to the town of Oruro ... a journey supposed to take 3 hours but took 4 1/2 ... mainly because the driver seemed content to stop frequently to pick up locals and allow them to ride in the lower section of the bus, no doubt for a small "fare".

This was fine to an extent, but the side effect was that with annoying frequency one would appear on the top deck and try and sell something ... grapes, giant popcorn, drinks, ice creams and pastries were all on offer during the journey. And one lad stood up and offered about a 15 minute speech or sermon about something to do with health ... we picked up the words cancer and osteoporosis ... but then is was entirely unclear what he was selling to cure these ills ... a potion or magic powder perhaps ? We did no invest to find out ...

At Oruro, with the help of our guide we transferred from bus to train, for a evening journey across most of the Bolivian Aliplano ... a 7 pm departure made for a spectacular and colourful sunset as the train departed ... but our attempts at sleep were frequently interupted by not very comforable chairs and fellow passengers who insisted on having loud conversations with each other when it was quite obvious many people were trying to sleep.

Oh, and this was our New Years Eve ... but we pretty much just saw in the new year in a state of semi consciousness while trying to grap a little bit of sleep as the train clattered along.

We arrived bleary eyed at 2:30 am in Uyini, population about 20,000 ... the upside of a small town being a 5 minute drive to our hotel for some extra shuteye.

Puno-Lake Titicaca-Uros Islands

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:41:02 EDT

Day 21 Friday 26th December 2008 Cucco to Puno

A 400 km bus trip from Cusco to Puno in the very south of Peru on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the highest lake in the world.

We were on a tourist bus, so there were a number of stops along the way to break up the journey, including at Raqchi to see the remains of the largest known Inca sun temple in Peru ... another amazing piece of engineering and design of the temple plus all the living houses built along a lane aligned exactly to the summer solstice so the people knew when the season had turned and it was time to plant the harvest.

We also visited the Sistine Chapel of Peru, another church full of spectacular art but this one especially because all the inside surfaces were painted with murals by the Jesuits when the church was first built - hence the "Sistine" tag ... unfortunately no photography is permitted inside any of these chuches, even without flash, so we can´t provide any pics.

Also has some spectucular scenery of the Peruvian high plains along the journey, including the views from La Raya - the highest point on the journey at 4313 m above sea level and a wonderful view of Lake Titicaca as we descended into Puno.

Tomorrow we have a day tour out to the amazing floating island called Uros, as well as one of the main permanent islands called Taquile.

Day 22 Saturday 27th December 2008 Puno to Uros Floating Islands to Taquile Island

Another day trip today, first out into the Puno Bay to visit the amazing Uros Floating Islands ... these are islands constructed from the totora reeds that grow around the edges of Lake Titicaca. They are literally floating islands, built on top of the reed roots with layers and layers of reeds that end up several meters thick. And then the buildings on top of the islands are also built from the reeds ... albeit it seems with a little help from the occasional piece of modern plastic between the layers of reeds.

The whole thing is very tourist oriented, but the locals are extremely polite and welcome you to their island should you visit ... and there are 52 separate islands to choose from, each housing around 4 to 5 families.

The only reason given by the tour guide for these islands is that the people just don´t want to live in Puno ... but there must be some more history to it than that ... the people produce income from tourists and from fishing ... they go to the mainland to the local markets to trade for the fruit and vegetables they cannot grow on their islands. We also were offered ( for a price of course) a ride on our hosts´s reed boat ...

The reeds themselves are multipurpose - nothing is wasted ... the base of the stalk is for oral hygiene i.e. a native toothbrush and can also be eaten, the middle section is used to feed the few animals they keep (such as guinea pigs) and the top section is the part that when dried out is used to construct the islands. The flowers of the reed also have medicincal properties ... all in all, another fascinating place to visit.

We then continued to Tacquile Island, an inhabited permanent island further into the middle of the lake .. the population here is known for their weaving and textile skills that end up being sold locally and in Cusco.

The island rises steeply out of the lake, so we endured a long, slow climb ... but were rewarded at lunch at a local co-operative restaurant with absolutely spectacular views across Lake Titicaca ... there is one pic in the blog, will add more in due course.

As noted in the photo album notes, we have just run out of photo quota for December, so could only add a few pics of this day trip ... once we have a new allocation available on 1 Jan we will be sure to add a few more ... they will be worth the wait.

Tomorrow we continue on from Puno around the lake and into Bolivia to visit some sites down the southern end of Titicaca ... so we farewell Peru and look forward to more adventures in Bolivia for the first time ... tomorrow night we are at an Ecolodge on Sun Island at the southern end of the lake so are not expecting Internet access. We´ll be back blogging again in a couple of days time ... until then ...