As I mentioned in my previous post, Kellie and her family invited me to go on their school break holiday (that’s vacation for us in the US!). The holiday started out in Uluru where we spent 5 days, followed by 5 days at Kakadu — both National Parks, for those of you not familiar with Australia. I debated giving you a blow-by-blow accounting of what we did, but one can only endure someone else’s travel pictures for so long. So, I’ll just hit the highlights here, and, like I did with my Iceland trip, I’ll eventually post more details in the travel section of my blog.
If you’re like me, I didn’t really know what Uluru was and I certainly didn’t know that Australia is mostly desert. My Australian friends don’t live in a desert, so I didn’t really have any reason to suspect that such is the case. Anyway, Uluru is a big red rock smack dab in the middle of Australia and it’s a sacred area to the Australian Aboriginal people. We were in the area for five days and it was Oh. So. Hot! We mostly did things in the mornings, hung out at the pool in the afternoons and then did things again at night.
We saw and hiked around Uluru:
Went on a camel ride: (Did you know Australia has the world’s largest feral camel population? I thought it was all koalas and kangaroos!)
Had a dinner in the desert, watched the sunset and enjoyed a spectacular evening under the stars:
Hiked around the Olgas:
And saw a hat tree out in the middle of nowhere.
What we didn’t see were kangaroos, in spite of the traffic sign!
After Uluru, we flew to Darwin and spent 5 days in Kakadu. Kakadu is at the northern end of Australia and if Uluru was Oh. So. Hot., Kakadu was Hotter. Than. Hades. It was around 100 degrees everyday and because it’s pretty tropical, it was humid. Our schedule here was much the same as in Uluru — afternoons near the pool! A wetter climate in Kakadu means that there was a lot more wildlife to see, which I loved.
The first day we were there, we took a river cruise. There were two boats on our cruise — the other boat was full of cute little aboriginal children who were being taught about their heritage:
We saw LOTS of crocs in the water and on the river banks:
The rest of our outings at Kakadu were hikes in different beautiful areas.
We saw a TON of bats hanging from trees:
Amazing birds:
Enormous termite mounds: (Look! Native Australian Children!)
Stunning scenery:
Warning signs everywhere:
Aboriginal art:
And, on our last day in Kakadu, I asked a park ranger where oh where could we go to see a kangaroo in the wild. He said they only had wallaroos in Kakadu and they generally didn’t come out until dusk. So, we headed to a billabong at dusk. It. Was. Divine. It was so fun to see all the wildlife that seemed to hide during the heat of the day — it was like a scene at an african water hole that you see on National Geographic (minus the big animals!). We even saw a few wallaroos!
Whew! Tired yet? Thanks for sticking it out through all the pictures. My pictures don’t even come close to doing justice to the beauty that is Australia!
Just one more Australia post left — Fabric — and Friends!
XOXO,
Anna
Oh now I want to go even more
Wow – it looks amazing! what an exciting trip…
Your pictures are amazing, I am so glad you got to see so much wildlife. I love the desert, I lived a few hundred kms west of Uluru for a few years and I spent a few weekends there, I do miss that country.
It looks beautiful, Anna. I don’t think I could stand the heat for too long – I’m too used to Scotland’s cold, damp climate! LOL
Wow! It’s all so different to anything we would experience at home. The wildlife, the scenery and the heat! And I never knew there were even camels in Australia. You’ll have some amazing memories Anna.
I think you have seen more of Australia than I have. It looks beautiful up there but I dont think I could survive the humidity or the heat. Unfortunately the heat does come to Melbourne and the suburbs around December. We used to take our kids to see kangaroos about a 10 minute drive from us just before the sun started setting.
amazing!! wow what a different country and culture.
I loved the hat tree – ?
Oh that looks like a fabulous trip – what a great opportunity to see such a cool part of the world :)
Another great post Anna! I could have looked at lots more pictures of this amazing country. And my gosh, haven’t Kellie’s kids grown! I really miss her blog posts and her patterns of course.
Breathtaking! An enviable trip ~ aside from the heat. What wonderful memories!!
Wow! Beautiful pictures Anna. Looks like you have a wonderful time, :) xo
Bats?!!!! Eeeek!!!!!!
Wish I’d been there. What an amazing journey you took! I can’t wait to see more photos. Boring???? NOT AT ALL!
Killing me…..gorgeous photos…..
You got to see some really amazing parts of Australia! You’ve captured the sight beautifully with your photos!! I’m really enjoying your Aussie posts!
Amazing pics Anna! I especially like the camel as I may be seeing some of those myself in the not-too-distant future. The white bird pic is gorgeous, and there’ll be no more complaining about fire ants from me after seeing that termite mound!
No, I’m not tired of your pictures! Let us know when you post the rest in your travel section please!! Your picture of Uluru is amazing isn’t it. xx
I’d be envying you, but for that horrible heat! But I’d so love to see all these gorgeous sights you’ve photographed for real. It looks like you had the best trip.
This is awesome! I don’t mind seeing other people’s vacation pictures at all. Please explain the hat tree as I was completely unaware that hats grow on trees! Good to know should I need a new hat! ????????????????????????
Fabulous pics!! So glad you had such a great time. Did you know, if you put Uluru in the middle of the Olgas, it would get lost!! Amazing how BIG everything is in the Outback.
Oh Anna… Have enjoyed reading about your adventures in Australia….and wow…what a fantastic trip you have had…amazing country! No wonder you are tired!, ;0))
Wow! So many amazing pictures, thank you for sharing them :) That camel shot made me laugh!
Beautiful, Anna! And I would be sorely tempted to destroy that termite mound – scary!
wowzer!! loving your photos… they are spectacular!
Oh my goodness, I learned so much just from this post. On one level I knew thee was lots of desert but didn’t realize so much and your photos are stunning. The termite mound…scary! Thanks for taking us all along Anna.
Hi Anna! My latest blog-reading method is running on the treadmill at the gym and reading your posts at the same time LOL!! I love it!! The time flies and I forget that I’m running without going anywhere! :) So please, don’t stop yourself if you think your posts are too long or you think you have to many pictures, the more you have, the more I can run! LOL!!
I love reading about your trip to Australia and I LOVE your pictures!! The humidity and the desert doesn’t sound too good to me but the wildlife and the amazing landscape is breathtaking!!
Have fun with your sew-along, I don’t think I have the time to join you, I’ll just wait for our little knit-along ;)
Oh what an amazing adventure. That hat tree reminds me of the book children’s book Caps for Sale. When I grow up, I want to travel the world. I think I will start with New Zealand.
What an awesome trip! Thanks for the posts! Showing us so much of the city & the country?, the outback (is that what you call it? lol). I bet it was fascinating & such a good time with friends. So glad you got to go.