Travelog Australia 2015: Ayer Rocks to Port Augusta.. or not..

Date: July 2nd, 2015

We had a very long journey back, 1200km+ to Port Augusta. But this time, we had 4 drivers. Left the Park at around 11.30am and reached NT-SA border 4hrs later. Nothing much interesting to tell until we pulled over the rest area for iftar at around 5.30pm.

We departed at around 6.45pm for our journey. The moon was so bright yet it was so dark. Not a single soul was around and occasionally, trucks or pick up passed us through.

Few minutes after that, it happened... We had a collision with a herd of cow crossing the road near Marla, SA. my BIL broke his arm and I fractured my left ankle. my friend (the driver) suffered wound and bruises on her hand and leg and another one of my friend had bruises along his torso.

I wont elaborate more. Few minutes after the accident, a truck of prison wardens was on the way back and saw us. We had to wait for more than 2hrs until the ambulance arrive (nearest hospital was 170km away). We're brought to the Marla Outback rest area (a pub actually).and were pretty lucky that Marla does have an airstrip.

Me and my driver friend were accessed there and all of our clothing were cut. The guys were sat down and rested while waiting for us. 3 of us were later brought to a nearby clinic while waiting for flight clearance. I had no idea what time it was but I remembered I saw a clock while being wheeled out. It was around 4am. my BIL was sent to the hospital via the ambulance instead since his injury wasn't serious (we found out later that he broke more bone than me) and will be taking the flight the next day.

I was given morphine and the side effect showed when I threw up right after I boarded the plane. The plan was small, it could only fit 2 patient on stretcher and maybe 3 passenger on chairs. So it's basically me + my doctor; my friend + her doctor and my other friend. I could only remember the panels on my left where all the gadgets were and the doc/nurse seated on my right. I could barely opened my eyes after that and dozed off.

When i woke up, we had reached Adelaide and was heading to the ambulance. I was still drowsy, then next thing I know I was at Royal Adelaide A&E... I was scheduled for surgery the next day but after some discussion with the Orthopedist, I will have the surgery back home (5days after the MV accident).

We had to extend our stay in Adelaide, thanks to the Malaysian students there. I will forever be grateful to them and the world is small, their family resides in Sg. Petani, about an hour from when I'm living now :)

All in all, it was an unforgettable experience. One main lesson to learn is to make sure you have Travel Insurance or to confirm if you Medical does cover overseas hospitalization. Usually I do purchase travel insurance but for this trip, I was too busy to do so. Luckily, my medical insurance from work does cover overseas hospitalization although none of us really use our insurance to pay for this accident.

We pretty much ended our Oz trip here. back in Sydney, my friends went around on their own but just to few places and me? i stayed at home entertained by my 2 adorable nieces :D

Travelog Australia 2015: Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (pt.2), NT

Date: July 2nd, 2015

Woke up very the early and checked out. Head straight to the National Park for sunrise. There were a lot of viewing point - either the sun facing the Rock or raising from behind. We chose the one raising from behind...

After the sunrise, we went to the Mala Walk. There is a guided walk departing from there (need to check the timing) but since we're in a rush we decided to take our own walk around.

I wish I was able to run along the 10km Base Walk but since time was against us, we could only walk around partially up to Mala Puta.

Our final walk was to the Mutitjulu Waterhole.

It was finally the time to bid farewell to Uluru - Kata Tjuta N'tnl Park and off to Adelaide.

Travelog Australia 2015: Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, NT (PM visit)

Date: July 1st, 2015

It's relax and easy today. We went to the Ayer Rock Center and saw some local folks sharing on their weaponry, as well as art/painting before picking up my brother-in-law 

(BIL) from the airport. No photos here since all were in my camera.

Anyway, after picking up my BIL, we went straight into the National Park. 3 of us bought the 3-day permit (AUD25) while my BIL got the annual permit (AUD32.50). As suggested, we went to the Cultural Center first to learn of Uluru's history. No photo taking is allowed here though.

After the Center, we went to the Kata Tjuta Dune Viewing Area. Since it was a bit late, we decided the 44km drive to Kata Tjuta itself may not be a good idea since our main purpose was to catch the sunset at Uluru. Apart from that, we would need to spend some time walking around there before driving back to Uluru Sunset point.

From this spot, u can see both Kata Tjuta and Uluru

We spent about half an hour there before heading back. Luckily not many people around yet so we got to choose our spot :)

The sunset was very slow and calming.. there was this sense of peace when everybody just gawped looking at the impressive orange red rock that slowly turned to dark as the sun sets..

While waiting, we had some snack for iftar before finally returning to our lodging to cook.

Some random photos~

Ah for those who doesnt know --->

http://www.parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/index.html

Travelog Australia 2015: Ayer Rocks and the Outback Pioneer Lodge, NT

Date: June 30th, 2015

We reached Ayer Rock in the broad daylight, the 1st one during this trip so far. We had leisure time checking in and cooking for our iftar in the common kitchen.

The journey took us about 5hrs including a pit stop at a Camel Farm. We didnt really do anything there other then taking photos. We're able to come up close to Road Train here. I've seen a lot of these along Stuart Hway and they mostly carries livestocks, cows to be specific. They're a very long train - make sense that it's a train since it's actually a combination of a 3 contenna size coaches.

Anyway, we checked in to the Outback Pioneer Lodge dorm. If i'm not mistaken, there're 40 of us in a room but it was spacious and segmentized into 4-in a cube. However, there're only ur bed, a place to hang few stuff and a night light. That's it. U have to just put ur bags anywhere conveniently. I've read that this acco is one of the most expensive acco in Australia.

The whole resort at Uluru is huge and quite nice but because you pretty much have to stay there, they charge ridiculously high. I could see Uluru from the viewing point behind the resort. Very close yet far. 

After walking around, we started to prepare for iftar. The kitchen was spacious. There were 4sets of 4-stoves so there're plenty of space for everybody to share. 
We cooked there but end up eating in the van instead hahaha. They're not enough seating area...

We settled down early that day...

Travelog Australia 2015: Alice Spring town, NT

Date: June 30th, 2015

Alice Spring town is located 5km away and our 1st stop was the John McDouall Stuart memorial. 

"John McDouall Stuart was a Scottish explorer and one of the most accomplished of all Australia's inland explorers. Stuart led the first successful expedition to traverse the Australian mainland from south to north and return, through the centre of the continent. 

The explorations of Stuart eventually resulted in the 1863 annexation of a huge area of country to the 
Government of South Australia. This area became known as the Northern Territory. In 1911 the Commonwealth of Australia assumed responsibility for that area. In 1871-72 the Australian Overland Telegraph Line was constructed along Stuart's route. The principal road from Port Augusta to Darwin was also established essentially on his route and is now known as the Stuart Highway in his honour."- Wikipedia.

Next was the Desert Park. We only went into the reception hall which told a story of the original people of the land. The park was huge and divided into few sections according to the desert type. Being cheapos and not-time permitted, we didnt go into the park.

Nearby in the area is John Flynn's Grave. John Flynn was sent by the Church to check on the needs of the busmn and women living in NT. He founded the 1st radio transmitter that could send/receive message for over 500km. This, finally begin the work of medicine and radio, now known as the Flying Doctor Service. OMG! So ironic that we actually use this service after the next couple of days....

Our final stop in Alice Spring is Kmart!! hahahahaha! I cant remember the real reason we wanted to have a quick stop there, but we ended up with a spree. Well, it's not that we shop a lot, but we spent an hour there buying less than 5 items LOL. We also had an incident here where Nad rammed the campervans' top at the parking exit. There was a pole marking the maximum height and none of us realized that our top was higher huhu. Luckily, it was on the top and we can still drive thru with a loud screeching -_-' 

Before we left, full tank for the gas for our 445km journey to Ayer Rocks.

p/s: saw this Vegemite Cadbury there. I cant imagine how it tasted like. Vegemite smell itself was stomach churning for me.