07 March 2016:-AUSTRALIA :- Perth >>Cervantes, Pinnacles

AUSTRALIA & NZ :- Perth (The Pinnacles Tour)

2nd Day  : 07.03.2016

In order to be picked up by the ADAMS Tour (www.adamspinnacletours.com.au) at 07:00 o’clock, I woke up early in the morning at 06:15 and went downstairs to the breakfast hall of the Hotel. Breakfast is served on the ground floor looking to the Street. Breakfast is well enough and is responding to my tastes: Plain egg, cheese, croissant, boiled mushroom, some fruit, toast bread and cafe.

While drinking my coffee I saw a man walking on the street in front of the hotel. I have got the impression that he is looking for someone to pick up. He passed the hotel. In the following two minutes I saw him again walking the other way round. I went out and asked whether he is looking for me. Yes. I was right. I jumped into the coach waiting at the corner on the William Str.

The bus started to go and collected guests from some other hotels,too. Finally we arrived at the Convention Centre on the Esplanade. This is the place where all the guests are gathered and distributed to the adequate ADAMS Tour busses depending to the place where to go.

I climbed into another bus which was a little bit different then the modern coaches. This one was a 4x4 MAN modified bus. The weather is nice and warm but not hot and the sky is clear. We are approx.14-15 people on the bus. We departed at 08:10.

First we drove to Caversham Wildlife Park in the Swan Valley. It is a ½ hr drive from the Convention Centre and we stopped there. We saw koalas and kangaroos. There was also a wombat which is a native animal.

Kangaroos in the Caversham Wildlife Park, Perth

Wombat and the ranger, Caversham Wildlife Park, Perth.

We spent approx. 45 minutes there and then departed to the fisherman’s village “Cervantes”.

It was 12:00 when we reached to the town. Cervantes is a small village there are a few lobster companies. These are fishing lobster and processing them professionally. We stopped at the company “Lobster Shack” for an informative talk about the lobster industry. We visited the facility and saw every phase of processing clearly while walking on the grid floor construction above the lobster pools. After grading they ship them in big boxes alive to their customers all around the world. We sat there for lunch and I ordered lobster. I enjoyed the grilled lobster very much.

Lobster Shack:- Lobster Industry, Cervantes

Biggest size lobster, Lobster Shack, Cervantes

Lobsters alive; ready to be shipped, Lobster Shack, Cervantes

Lobster ready to eat, Lobster Shack, Cervantes

Indian Ocean from the coast of Cervantes

After the lunch we moved with our bus to the mystical “Pinnacles Desert” in the north of Perth. The Pinnacles is around 260 kms in the north. Our driver was also giving us information about different facts. The Pinnacles is very famous with the earth formation. The soil is sand and there are 2-3 meter high sand stones eroded within time. The landscape was very fascinating.

After a short visit at the Pinnacles Museum we headed to another place close to this site. On the vast sand dunes of the town Lancelin we enjoyed 4 wheel driving with our own vehicle. Our driver has got stuck at one of the sand dunes because of a mistake in changing gear. Then we rescued the vehicle and moved further on the sand dunes.

Our bus driver has stopped at a sand dune and took out several sand boards and we had experienced sand boarding, too.

Joel is on the sand board

Mia is climbing sand dune

Mia, on the sand board

Our bus driver and guide is trying to inflate the tyres

After all, around 17:40 we departed for Perth. It took around two hours to reach to the City Perth. The ADAMS Tour bus dropped everybody at their hotel and it was approx. 19:00. After having a shower in the Hotel I went out for dinner. 

23.03.2016 :- AUSTRALIA >>Yulara Kings Canyon Trekking

AUSTRALIA :-  Ayers Rock –Yulara (Kings Canyon trekking)

18th Day: 23.03.2016 

Today I have a scheduled tour: the AAT Kings bus will be going to take us at 04:05 in the morning. Therefore I woke up at 03:50 and quickly put on my clothes. Very punctually the bus arrived at the Outback Uluru Hotel. Today‘s program is to make trekking at the Kings Canyon which is approx. 300 km on the northeast of Yulara. This is the tour I had booked on internet one month ago.

The bus took us first to a road side camel farm where there is also a restaurant and a accommodation facility. The name of this small location is Kings Creek Station. We stopped there for breakfast. 2 pcs of eggs and 2 pcs of toasted bread, lamb sausage, a few dried beans (like we have in Turkey but smaller and little bit spicy) were good in the morning.

Breakfast stop at Kings Creek Station

The funny bird at Kings Creek Station

Our bus and fellows at the Kings Creek Station

At 07:45 we departed from King Creek Station and we arrived at 08:15 to the car parking of the Kings Canyon. All this area is within the Watarrka National Park. We prepared our backpacks as per the recommendations (maybe more than recommendation) of the bus driver as well of our guide Christina we took 3 liters of water with us.

Our smart and joyful guide Christina

After we signed some documents for taking our own responsibility, Christina gave us a short briefing. We started to climb. The first part is mainly with the stairs. There are 500 steps. As they mean it, this part is hardest part. The trekking is called “Kings canyon rim walk”.

The picturesque view on the canyon was wonderful. It was around 30 deg C and the weather was clear. It got 2-3 degrees more when the sun came up fully at the noon time.

During the trekking we saw a lot of natural wonders, like trapped water puddles, trees and local plantation, flowers, etc.

Various type of vegetation at the Kings Canyon

At the top of the Kings Canyon.

Short break and juicy apple at the Kings Canyon

One of few water puddles in the Canyon.

One of the largest water puddles trapped in canyon

My fellows walking in the canyon.

We finished our walk around 11:45 at the side of our bus. I had finished only 1 ½ liter of water. The trekking is easy and we did not need any special gear.

The bus took us back in the direction of Yulara. In half hours we stopped at a restaurant called Curtin Springs. I ordered a camel burger and a cold beer. Camel is edible but in my opinion is not tasty as beef or lamb. 

At the Curtin Springs for lunch break

Water is life in Red Centre 

After the lunch break we continued to drive. At a junction we have stopped in order to change some passengers from the other bus to ours. 

One of the busses will be driving to Alice Springs and our bus continues to Yulara. Around at 16:30 we reached to our Hotel. It was totally 600 km for us to return. 

I napped until 19:00 and then went out to the open air restaurant in the middle of our resort Outback Pioneer Uluru. There is an open banquet BBQ kitchen and someone is choosing the meat, sausages, fish, crocodile whatever and grilles it by its own on the BBQ plate. 

After the dinner I sat there in the open bar and then came back to my room around 22:00.

Next day, in the morning I need to wake up at 04:30 in order to take part at the Uluru Highlights tour between 05:00 and 09:00.