Outback 2008
   
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Australia revisited


Less than 2 years since my last vacation there, it was time to spend some quality time in Australia again. The main purpose of the trip was the SETAC World conference in Sydney. Of course an excellent opportunity to explore other parts of this vast country. After one week in Sydney, I flew to Alice Springs, Northern Territory, and the central parts of the continent. The aim was to drive around in the desert for a week or so and then head down to South Australia and the coast. In Alice Springs I rented a 4WD car, to be delivered in Adelaide 17 days later. The massive Toyota Landcruiser is an excellent off-road car, although the 4.2 L engine was very thirsty and used almost 2 L/10 km. I covered approximately 4600 km during the 17 day long trip. A big thank to Stephen Powell (http://www.stephenpowell.com.au) for correcting a couple of the species names.

  

Outback walkabout

Canyon, East MacDonnell Range

   First I went to the East MacDonnell Range, with many nice canyons and spent a couple of days there. A favorite was Ruby Gap Nature Park, situated some 4 hours drive from the nearest decent road. Here I met some locals, a bunch of 70-years old campers on their annual outback trip. I was invited to camp with them, and we managed to pull off a nice party in the middle of nowhere. After going back to Alice and a refill of diesel, I headed to Palm Valley in the West MacDonnell Range. Thereafter I went down to Kings Canyon after a short stop in Rainbow Valley. Kings Canyons was fine but a bit touristy; I walked the rim in sunset and even saw some dingos on my way back to Kings Canyon Resort. Next day I went to the must-see Ayers Rock. Of course even more touristy than Kings Canyon, but kind of silly not to go there when visiting central Australia. Missed the sunset, as some clouds spoiled the iconic red rock in the late evening.
On my way south I visited the Simpson Desert before staying for one night in a opal cave in Coober Pedy. After the opal capital, I was spending a couple of days in the Flinders Range, before driving past Adelaide down to Kangaroo Island, where I stayed for a small week. On this page I have displayed some photos from the trip, from Sydney, the desert region of Northern Territory and of wildlife from Kangaroo Island.  

East MacDonnell Range

Arid hills in East MacDonnell Range

  

The MacDonnell Range Reef Mine was one of the richest gold mines in the region. The mine was operated intermittently from 1892 to 1908

Ruby Gap Nature Park, East MacDonnell Ranges

  

Ruby Gap Nature Park

Riverbed melons, Ruby Gap Nature Park

  

Paddy melons (Cucumis myriocarpus), Ruby Gap Nature Park

Outback camping with some locals..., Ruby Gap Nature Park

 

Camping in Ruby Gap Nature Park

'Western' Shrike-thrush (Colluricincla harmonica rufiventris), East MacDonnell Range

  

Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus), Alice Springs Desert Park (captive animal)

Outback landscape

 

Desert outback

Kings Canyon

  

Outback wilderness

Kings Canyon, rim-walk view

 

  

Red sands with spinifex grass (Triodia pungens) along the Ernest Giles Road

Alice Springs

  

Locals hangin' around

Rainbow beeater (Merops ornatus), Alice Springs

 

Australian kestrel (Falco cenchroides)

Rainbow Valley south of Alice Springs

  

Rainbow Valley

Rainbow Valley

 

Australian feral camel (Camelus dromedarius), between Stuart Highway and Kings Canyon on the Ernest Giles Road. This species, introduced to Australia during the 19th century for transport and construction during the colonization of the central and western parts of the country, is considered a pest because of its negative impact on the environment. In 2008 a culling program started, and the number of individuals has since been reduced from around 1 million to 300,000 (2013). The meat is sold to Saudi Arabia, where people have a taste of camel.

Palm Valley in Finke Gorge National Park. It was a challenge driving to this site, which includes an isolated stand of Red cabbage palms (Livistona mariae)

  

Palm Valley

Uluru / Ayers Rock

  

The dingo (Canis lupus dingo), near Kings Canyon

Uluru / Ayers Rock

  

Aboriginal art, Uluru / Ayers Rock

Spinifex pigeon (Geophaps plumifera), Kings Canyon

  

Gallah (Eolophus rosicapillus)

Black-footed rock wallaby (Petrogale lateralis), West MacDonnell Range

  

Australian ringneck (Barnardius zonarius), Alice Springs

Dry lake, along Stuart Highway

 

Desert oaks (Allocasuarina decaisneana) and spinifex grass (Triodia sp.). On the Ernest Giles Road toward Kings Canyon

Outback gas station, Stuart Highway

 

Road train, Stuart Highway

Stuart Highway carnage with Wedge-tailed eagles and ravens

  

Selfie in the middle of nowhere. This area north of Coober Pedy is called the Moon Plain, a vast expanse of rocky plains with lunar like landscape that has been the set for many movies including Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Pitch Black and The Red Planet

Wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax) eating sheep, Stuart Highway

 

Serious roadkill, Stuart Highway

Coober Pedy

  

Coober Pedy - Opal Capital of the World

Dugout motel in Coober Pedy

  

Central Australia wilderness

Red kangaroo (Macropus rufus), Flinders Ranges National Park, SA

  

Red kangaroo (Macropus rufus), Flinders Ranges National Park, SA

Stromatolite, the worlds oldest fossils, Flinders Ranges National Park, SA

  

Flinders Ranges National Park, SA

Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae), Flinders Ranges National Park, SA

  

Spiny-cheeked honeyeater (Acanthagenys rufogularis), Alice Springs

Short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), one of three egg-laying mammals on the planet (Monotremes: Short-beaked echidna, Long-beaked echidna and the Platypus). Kangaroo Island

 

Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), Kangaroo Island
     

Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea), Kangaroo Island

  

New Zealand fur seal (Arctocephalus forsteri), Kangaroo Island

Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus), Kangaroo Island

  

Pacific gulls (Larus pacificus), Kangaroo Island

Little penguins (Eudyptula minor), Penneshaw Penguin Center, Kangaroo Island

  

Flinders Chase National Park, Kangaroo Island

Little penguin, Penneshaw Penguin Center, Kangaroo Island

  

Little penguins, Penneshaw Penguin Center, Kangaroo Island

Admirals Arch, Kangaroo Island

  

Cape Willoughby lighthouse, Kangaroo Island

Black-faced (Phalacrocorax fuscescens) and Pied (Phalacrocorax varius) Cormorants, Kangaroo Island

  

Black swan (Cygnus atratus), Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island landscape

  

Kangaroo Island natural sculpture

Stalactites, Kelly Hill Conservation Park, Kangaroo Island

 

Tammar wallabies (Macropus eugenii), Kangaroo Island

Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus), Kangaroo Island

  

Tawny frogmouth (Podargus strigoides), Cleland Conservation Park (aviary bird)

Cape barren goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae), Kangaroo Island

  

Crimson rosella (Platycercus elegans), Kangaroo Island

Nankeen kestrel (Falco cenchroides), Deep Creek Conservation Park

  

Old opal mine near Coober Pedy

 

Long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus), Cleland Conservation Park

  

Superb fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus), Cleland Conservation Park

Malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata), Cleland Conservation Park (aviary bird)

  

Grey-crowned babbler (Pomatostomus temporalis), Cleland Conservation Park (aviary birds)

Chestnut teal (Anas castanea), Cleland Conservation Park

  

Pacific black duck (Anas superciliosa), Cleland Conservation Park

Australian wood duck (Chenonetta jubata), Cleland Conservation Park

  

Australian white ibis (Threskiornis molucca), Cleland Conservation Park

Red-browed finch (Neochmia temporalis), Cleland Conservation Park, SA

  

Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus), Deep Creek Conservation Park, SA

Deep Creek Conservation Park, SA

  

Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus), Deep Creek Conservation Park, SA

Black-browed albatross (Diomedea melanophris), outside Sydney

  

Hutton's shearwater (Puffinus huttoni), outside Sydney

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). Whale-watching trip outside Sydney

  

Humpback whale diving. Whale-watching trip outside Sydney

 

Humpback whale breaching. Whale-watching trip outside Sydney

  

Downtown Adelaide

Mojito at Manly, Sydney

  

BHH with a mojito at Manly, Sydney

Taipei, Taiwan, at night

  

Taipei dining