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Billy Goat Hill

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    • Adventuring Down Under
      Day 115

      Ghan: A Town Called Alice

      April 4 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 75 °F

      A good night’s rest on The Ghan. A good breakfast. And we were ready for our tour of Alice Springs, the second stop of this train journey.

      Disembarking at the platform, we had a long walk to the buses … one that took us by the memorial to The Ghan. The plaque explained that work on the planned 1,800-mile rail line began in 1878. At first, the line that started in Port Augusta in the south didn’t make it further than Oodnatta … less than 500 miles to the north. From here, camel trains ferried passengers and freight some 450 miles to and from Alice Springs until the “mechanical train” finally reached Alice in 1929. Thus the train was given the moniker of The Ghan to honor the camel train and the Afghans who ran it. It wasn’t until 2004 that the entire length of the railway was completed.

      The first stop of the tour was at the “School of the Air,” which was established in 1951. It is the largest of its kind, providing educational services to remote areas covering over half a million square miles. It was the first school to use two-way radio broadcasts with pedal transmitters and receivers. Today those services continue with more modern methods — internet via satellite being the most common — but student materials are still shipped via mail.

      Our next stop was at Yubu Napa, an art gallery of Aboriginal and Australian made works, a gift shop, and a studio. One of the Aboriginal artists was painting in the studio and a representative of the gallery stood by to answer questions about the artists, how they create their works, and the inherent symbolism. Photos were allowed of the works, but not of the artist who was in the studio today.

      From the gallery, we went a little ways out of town to the Alice Springs Desert Park, which was to be our lunch stop. A buffet lunch was set up … catered by the chefs of The Ghan. Mui and I hurried through our meal so that we could go for a quick wander to see some of the animals. The timing was wrong unfortunately. The mid-day heat had the animals hiding. The only one we saw was an Emu that was patrolling the fence … perhaps waiting for its mid-day feeding.

      The Alice Springs Reptile Center was next on the agenda. Our visit started with an informative presentation about the venomous snakes of Australia. The presenter was of a humorous bent, making the presentation more interesting. He actually made us more comfortable about snakes around here by showing us how tiny the fangs are. So, as long as we wear long pants and solid footwear, and we remain on trails, we should have no adverse encounters.

      Following the presentation, we went into a room with glass cases housing many of the snake species. I admit, I skipped these and went to the outdoor exhibits to see the other reptiles — skinks, frilled-neck lizards, goannas, perenties, bearded dragons, and thorny devils — and the one resident crocodile.

      A short ride through Alice Springs gave us a look at the town. Then we went up to ANZAC Hill for an aerial view of the town before we were returned to the train station for a little bit of downtime before our evening event.      Read more

    • TravelerAustralien 2023/24
      Day 172

      Sonntag in Alice

      April 7 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

      nach den vielen gefahrenen Kilometern mussten wir uns dringend wieder bewegen. So marschierten wir die paar km dem Fluss entlang in die Stadt und wieder zurück. Sonntags waren alle Geschäfte, ausser den grossen Supermärkte geschlossen. Wir konnten nicht einmal eine Kaffeepause einlegen 😒.
      Das Reptilien Zentrum war jedoch geöffnet, so konnten wir endlich die vielen, teils bizarren Tiere, in Ruhe anschauen. Sogar ein Saltie lümmelte im Becken rum. Er ist bereits 22 Jahte alt und somit ein Oldie.
      Es war überall recht sauber und sicher. Viele Bilder wurden von wahren Künstlern an die Wände gemalt.      Read more

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    • TravelerDown Under
      2
      12
      Day 20

      Erholung

      October 20, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

      Heute erstmal ergiebig ausgeschlafen. Den ganzen Tag über spüren wir noch den gestrigen erlebnisreichen aber auch strapazioesen Tag. Wir sind 🚴mit dem Rad in die Stadt gefahren, es hat hier ja immerhin auch noch ca. 30 Grad 🤭 ☀️und haben das Reptilienzentrum 🐊🦎🐛besucht. Es ist nicht sehr groß, aber sie haben immerhin ein 3 m langes, 500 kg schweres Salzwasser-Krokodil, viele Giftschlangen ( die meist wirklich eher klein sind) und jede Menge verschiedener Echsen. Dann noch einen Abstecher in den Supermarkt. Und immer schön daran denken: links fahren 😉 Dann geht es zur Abfrischung erst mal in den Pool. Und jetzt wird gekocht, das heißt, ich koche.🍅🍜🍽️Read more

    • TravelerAustralien 🇦🇺
      Day 16

      Flying Doctor

      December 4, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 39 °C

      Heute waren wir im Royal Flying Doctor Service wo wir die australische Krankenversorgung kennenlernen durften. Durch die großen Entfernungen reichen Krankenwagen sowie normale Arztpraxen nicht aus, weshalb John Clifford Peel 1917 auf eine ganz andere Idee gekommen ist: statt Krankenwagen Krankenflugzeuge einzuführen. Dieses System hat sich bis heute gehalten und ist mittlerweile sehr gut ausgebaut. Das Museum war sehr spannend eingerichtet: Hologram-Kino, VR-Experience und man konnte ein Flugzeug betreten und die Dimensionen wirklich begreifen zu können 🏥✈️

      Am Abend sind wir dann noch zu unserem Imker-Bekannten gegangen, wo ich dann die Bienenstöcke sehen und unterschiedliche Honigarten kosten durfte 🤤 zwei Gläser begleiten mich jetzt mit “nachhause” 🍯🐝      Read more

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    • daffy.reisenAustralien 2022
      Day 6

      Royal Flying Doctor Service

      November 3, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

      Ich erkunde die Stadt und Lande beim "Royal Flying Doctors Service".

      Das ist wirklich großartig und wahnsinnig interessant, was hier aufgebaut wurde!

      Ich bekomme eine private Führung, da die letzte Gruppe gerade durch ist.

      Anschließend noch was leckeres auf den Weg, dann geht's zurück ins Hotel.

      Die Hitze strengt einen doch an...      Read more

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    • AUSTRALIEN & NZLs SÜDINSEL
      Day 86

      ALICE SPRINGS

      January 25, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

      Wir können die beschriebene zärtliche Zuneigung, also "The Alice" ist gemeint, nicht teilen.
      Die Stadt ist sehr schmutzig, staubig, einfach abweisend!
      Das gleichen die netten Zoologinnen im REPTILE CENTRE aber wieder voll aus!!
      Und wir haben ein Hotel mit Platz für Camper gefunden. Pool, klimatisierte Gesellschaftsräume und der Außenbereich mit Wasservernebelung, so dass der Aufenthalt angenehm und nahezu FLIEGENfrei bleibt. GAP VIEW HOTEL, unser Geheimtipp für ALICE.      Read more

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    • TravelerAlice Springs
      Day 3

      Ein Tag in alice springs

      September 21, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

      An unserem ersten Tag in Central Australia haben wir uns einige Sehenswürdigkeiten in und um Alice springs angesehen. Das waren zum Beispiel das Reptile centre, in dem man ganz viele verschiedene Reptilien ansehen und sogar halten konnte, das Kulturviertel, mit Kunstmuseum, Flugzeugmuseum und einem generellen Museum über Central Australia und den botanischen Garten. Abends haben wir uns dann noch den Bahnhof angesehen, an dem der Ghan hält.Read more

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    • Eric SchaeferEpic World
      Day 90

      Larapinta Trail, Alice Springs

      June 30, 2016 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

      Larapinta Trail
      We packed up camp this morning. Everything we had with us was coming on the hike plus an additional 3.5 litres of water each so our packs were really heavy and wouldn’t get much lighter as we would regularly have to refill our water.

      Dropping off the car and getting to the trail head was a bit of a hassle but we ended up being dropped off in town and walked 3.5km to the trail head. The first day took us from the town centre to Telegraph Station to Wallaby Gap. It was 17 km of flat walking in the hot sun. We did climb a small ridge right before camp that gave us our first good look of the MacDonnell Ranges. The trail conditions also got greener as we went along. A lot more vegetation than we expected. I thought initially it was going to be more of a stark desert walk but it was far from that. We didn't run into anyone along the way but shared our camp with 3 other individuals. One was finishing his 12 day trek and had done the whole trail. The other 2 we would run into multiple times further up the trail. Everyone we met on the trail was Australian and most were trying to do the whole 230km trail or as much as possible.

      Didn't sleep very well the first night. I think our bodies we overly fatigued. The next day we got up for sunrise and set out from Wallaby Gap to Mulga Camp. The trail was flat again today but long. We walked 26km in total and find the trail really hard on the feet as the sole of our feet are getting quite sore. The rocks are unforgiving. That night was the only day we were bothered by a few mosquitos. Otherwise, the trek was pretty much bug free.

      Day 3 we travelled from Mulga Camp to Miller Flat. It was 18km. For the last 4 km we elected to take the high ridge route that took us up and down a 400 meter ridge. The climb and descent we very technical and you really had to watch your foot placement. Lots of lose rocks and scrambling. This is where the track started to get fun. The views at the top of the ridge were worth the extra effort. We camped at Miller flat at the bottom on the ridge. We were all by ourselves it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere for the first time, it was great. We were located in a flat surround by high mountain ranges. The nights have been very quiet. I would have expected to hear more sounds.

      We awoke to a beautiful sunny day. It was chilly last night, got down close to 0. The plan was to head from Miller Flat to Brinkley Bluff via Standley Chasm. Today’s walk started with creek bed walking which actually sucks because it is so easy to roll your ankle on all grapefruit sized round rocks. The creek came to a head and we had a fun up a small canyon which was really cool. On arrival at Standley Chasm Rebecca was able to treat herself to a coffee as this is a popular tourist spot that people can drive to from Alice Springs. After a nice break we hit the road to climb up to Brinkley Bluff. The climb was rated very hard and we were a little nervous but ended up being much easier than the prior day’s high ridge route. Rebecca was practically running up the hill after getting a coffee. The last kilometre was tiring but what a campsite! Situated 1,200 meters up at a high point in the surrounding ranges we really were camping on the top of a mountain. We arrived at camp early and had a long afternoon to relax. These are usually the times I injure myself while bored. I passed the time by making a table and chairs out of rocks. 15km hiked today.

      4 other people enjoyed the Bluff with us that night. We had crossed tracks with 3 of them in the prior 4 days and enjoyed a final sunset and chatting.

      The wind picked up a little through the night and shock the tent but was relatively calm overall. A clear morning revealed a final perfect sunrise. We retraced our tracks back to Standley Chasm. An easy 10km downhill. Could practically run without any food or water in our packs. It was interesting planning for this trip because we had to consider water consumption and where each fill up spot was located. We were probably more hydrated on the first day of the hike then the entire 3 month of this trip.

      We were picked up in Standley Chasm and walked into town for a beer. We finished the night at the tavern beside our camp ground.

      All in all a really great trip. We both kind of wish we did the whole trail but it’s probably better we only did 5 days as I am limping pretty good.      Read more

    • Australien 2015
      Day 6

      Das rote Zentrum - Alice Springs

      July 28, 2015 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 7 °C

      In das rote Zentrum Australiens, nach Alice Springs sind wir mit dem Flugzeug gereist.
      So heiß, wie es tagsüber war, war es abends überraschend kühl. So konnten wir den kleinen Pool in unserer Unterkunft nach unser Ankunft am Abend leider nicht mehr nutzen.
      Wir wollten aber auch früh ins Bett, denn sehr früh morgens wird es zum Uluru, den Ayers Rock gehen.      Read more

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    • TravelerAustralien 2019
      Day 35

      Flying Doctors

      October 18, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

      John Flynn hatte 1939 die Vision die Menschen im Outback medizinisch besser zu versorgen. Nach ersten Versuchen mit Wagen und Karren wurde klar, das Flugzeuge am besten geeignet sind. Heute sind an 24 Basen 70 Flugzeuge im Einsatz.Read more

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