Map of Ayers Rock/Alice Springs Environs
June 23, 1978 The bus arrived in Alice Springs at 6 AM. I stowed my baggage at Kirk, Bob & Janes apartment. Kirk and Bob knew Paul because they had also taught in Bairnsdale. Jan, Noola, Myra & I rented a Minimoke from Avis. We drove it to Stanley Chasm and Simpsons Gap. Jan twisted her ankle and had a difficult time walking out of Stanley Chasm.
Photo: Stanley Chasm
Photo: Mini Moke in background
Photo: Jan, Noola & Myra
June 24, 1978 We concluded our Minimoke tour with a trip to Ritchy Pitchy and a camel farm. Ritchy Pitchy was an open air museum of sculptures and old time mining equipment.
June 25, 1978 The biggest thing in Alice Springs on a Sunday is sports. I watched organized teams play baseball, tennis, field hockey, soccer, and footie. Alice Springs reminded me in some ways of an American town. Aboriginals were part of the community, but not equal in status to whites. In other major urban and developed areas I traveled, aboriginals seemed to be almost nonexistent.
June 20, 1978 At mid-morning we pulled into a 24,000 square mile station (ranch). The station people sold biscuits (cookies), coffee, tea, sandwiches, and cakes. Some of us changed buses at this point. Our new bus driver, Dennis, talked nonstop for the next 200 miles. The majority of the bus passengers were pensioners. Three of us had been in the Adelaide hostel, Ken from Oregon, Jan from England, and me. We arrived at Ayers Rock late in the afternoon, checked into the Inland Motel and then went and saw the sunset. I took photos from “Sunset Strip”, a wide spot in the road a few miles from the Rock where people in buses, cars, and vans gather to watch the Rock change color.
Postcard of Ayers Rock
June 21, 1978 Everyone got up early to see the sunrise on the Rock. The bus then took us back to the motel for breakfast. Before lunch the bus driver took us for a spin around the Rock and to the Olga’s, a similar formation about 18 miles away. Although it had been 10 days since it had rained, the road still held some very large puddles. Earlier on the trip Dennis had told us the best way to travel on wet roads was down the middle. On the way back from the Olgas Dennis drove the bus down the middle of a very large puddle. The right side of the bus tilted as it sank deeper and deeper into the puddle. Dennis finally stopped when the water almost reached window level. He was able to back out.
In the afternoon we saw slides, a fertility cave in the Rock, and Maggie Springs. The younger tour members climbed the Rock. Though I had a cold, I managed the difficult climb in about 30 minutes. In certain places, we were able to hold on to chains strung on the Rock. The record for climbing it, held by a New Zealander, was 12 minutes. In the evening we were shown an excellent slide show.
Photo: 'Ritchy Pitchy sculpture
Photo: Camel farm
Photo: Noola on camel
Photo: Ralph on camel
Photo: Outback tree
June 26, 1978 The Adelaide bus left at 10:30 AM. It would drop off mail at an oil drum along the road for isolated station residents or on aboriginal reservations. We stopped briefly at Coober Pedy, a rustic opal mining town. Many homes are built in the rock. We were able to tour an underground home, where one could see tiny opals flash in the dark.
June 27, 1978 Soon after midnight the bus broke down. After two hours it was fixed, but soon broke down again. After another hour of mechanics work, the passengers had to give the bus a push to get it going. We were now 4 hours behind schedule, partly due to the rain of the previous day. We saw many trucks stopped along the road, unable to continue.
We reached Adelaide at 6 PM, giving me enough time to make the 7 PM train to Melbourne. Unfortunately, the train crews went on strike, so I ended up taking the 7 PM bus to Melbourne instead.
Area Map
