Uluru, Northern Territory

There is only one place to stay at Uluru - the Ayres Rock Resort and it's got everying , it's like a small town. Accommodation ranges from budget rooms and dormitories, through to first class suites at Sails Desert Hotel. There is also a caravan park, 2 pubs, 9 restaurants and a shopping centre.

It costs $25 each to enter the park and the ticket is valid for 3 days. As we were lining up to pay to enter the park, a man in the hire car in front of us was very abusive to the young woman in the booth, he was furious and said that he'd driven half way around Australia to get here and no one told him it cost $25 to get in.

There was an interesting demonstration at the Centre when we arrived, an Aboriginal man and woman gave talks and demonstrations through an interpreter - the man talked about how they made hunting weapons and the woman about bush tucker.

Uluru draws about 350,000 visitors a year but figures are down this year by about half. The traditional owners of Uluru have not closed the climb but there are signs everywhere asking visitors to respect their sacred site by not climbing it.

This makes little difference because thousands of tourists climb it every year and quite a few over-enthusiastic older folk have died trying. It was a condition when the Aboriginal people took possession of the land in 1985 that it would remain open for tourists to climb.

The climb

Some visitors from overseas have their hearts set on the climb and often don't know about the Aboriginal request until they get here which leaves them a bit confused.

We got one of the last parking spots at the sunset viewing area

Aboriginal rock art

A proposal has been put forward to ban climbing permanently. The National Parks Service, who jointly manage the site with the traditional owners, has released a draft 10-year management plan on the environmental impact of climbers on the rock.

The draft will be open for public comment for two months before it's revised and presented to parliament later this year for final approval. Prime Minister Rudd has already expressed a personal view that visitors should be allowed to climb the famous rock.

I saw my first dingo in the wild today but still haven't seen a camel.

Uluru - magnificent, awesome, unforgettable

Pip, our French Bulldog has travelled 29,000 since leaving home in Sydney on 3rd December, 2008

Last year people were returning little bits of Uluru they had taken home as a souvenir, at one stage the Centre was receiving one a day. They believed the bad luck they were experiencing after returning home from Uluru was due to the theft. One package contained a 3 kilo chunk of rock and another piece was 2 kilos.

Alice Springs, Northern Territory

Alice Springs

Anzac Hill

Alice Springs sits right in the centre of Australia and has a population of about 45,000. It has a world-class teaching hospital, university, numerous private and public schools and modern shopping complexes.





Every year, a little madness comes to Alice Springs. At the end of August, crazy people build bottomless boats and race up and down a dry river bed to raise money for charity. It's called the Henley-on-Todd Regatta.

Once in 1993, the unthinkable happened, it rained and there was water in the Todd river so it had to be cancelled. The Alice also holds another popular and unique outback event , the Camel Cup in July, run by the Lions Club.

It seems the Northern Territory government has squandered $45 million so far out of the $672m set aside for the building 750 new houses for indigenous people by 2013. So far, not one house has been built.

The money has been wasted in bureaucratic red tape, unnecessary delays, unreasonably high administration costs which include excessive use of expensive external consultants.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin has given the NT government 4 months to lift their game or face federal control. The cost of each house will be brought down from an average $560,000 to $450,000 each!!!!

We really enjoyed the McDonald Ranges, especially Simpson's Gap and Standley Chasm.

Albert Namatjira - Artist, Northern Territory

Albert Namatjira was a man caught between two worlds, the Christian world of the whites and the Aboriginal culture he was born into. Born at Hermannsburgh Lutheran Mission near Alice Springs in 1902, Namatijr was baptised after his parents converted to Christianity. When he was 16 he went back to the bush for initiation by his people from the Arrernte community. He was later banished for several years because his wife Rubina was the wrong 'skin' group and he became a camel driver and roamed the desert that he loved.

In 1936 a painter from Melbourne, Rex Battarbee came to the area to paint landscape and Namatjira was his guide, showing him where all the scenic places were. That's when he was taught how to use water colours and his natural talent became clear. In 1938 his first exhibition was held in Melbourne. Subsequent exhibitions in Sydney and Adelaide also sold out. Queen Elizabeth II became a fan of his work and she asked him to meet her in Canberra in 1954. A painting of Namatjira by William Dargie won the Archibald Prize in 1956. His fame continued to grow but he was always happy to get back to Alice Springs.

He became very wealthy and being a member of the Arrernte tribe, he was expected to share everything equally with his extended family and at one time, he was providing for over six hundred people. Namatjira and his family finally took up residence in a squalid shanty in a dry creek bed at Morris Soak.

When an Aboriginal woman Fay Iowa was killed at Morris Soak, Namatjira was held responsible for bringing alcohol into the camp. He was sentenced to six months gaol but was released after two months on compassionate grounds. Soon after he suffered a heart attack, believing that relatives of Fay Iowa's family had pointed the bone at him and they were 'singing him to death'. After being transferred to Alice Springs hospital, he died soon after of heart disease complicated by pneumonia on August 8, 1959.

This talented man painted the country he loved so well and produced approximately two thousand pictures and founded a school of painting that still continues today. He and his wife had eight children.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service, Alice Springs, Northern Territory

The Royal Flying Doctor Service became operational on 15th May 1928. The first Flying Doctor was Dr K. St Vincent Welch and the first Flying Doctor pilot was Arthur Affleck, flying for Qantas. QANTAS (Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service) was a tin pot bush airline back in those days.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service is truly a wonderful institution and was founded by a Presbyterian Missionary, the Rev John Flynn who had great compassion for the people of the outback, and wanted to provide 'a mantle of safety' for these isolated people.

He told the story of Jimmy Darcy, a stockman hurt in a fall in Western Australia in 1917. Found badly injured, Darcy was transported by his friends to Halls Creek, 30 miles away which took 12 hours. There the only person who knew first aid was F.W. Tuckett the Postmaster who quickly saw that Darcy's injuries were serious. After trying to contact doctors at Wyndham and Derby, he telegraphed 2,000 miles to his first aid lecturer, Dr Holland in Perth. Following diagnosis by morse code, Holland went on to talk Tuckett through two long and painful bladder operations with a pen knife. Dr. Holland then set out on a 10 day journey from Perth to Halls Gap by cattle boat, then Model T Ford, then a horse drawn sulky and finally on foot. When he arrived he found that Darcy had died the day before from undiagnosed malaria and an abscessed appendix. That's when Reverend Flynn knew something had to be done

When you cross the Nullabor you will see a sign that says 'Flying Doctor' and you suddenly realise that the road you are driving on can suddenly become an airstrip. The police close the highway one and a half hours before the plane lands and as soon as the plane takes off, it opens up again.

Unless you have a satellite phone, communication can be tricky out here. Mobile phones work at petrol stops but not the vast distances in between. Three months ago, a woman rolled her car on the Stuart Highway and careened off the road and ended up in the bushes, hidden from view. Three days later a road train driver noticed tyre tracks leading to the bush and stopped his truck to investigate. Barely alive, she was taken to hospital and survived her ordeal.

There are wonderful stories of how the Flying Doctor has saved hundreds of lives over the years and always remember, if you're one and a half hours drive from most capital cities in Australia, you're in Flying Doctor territory. And if you become sick or injured while travelling, the 'Angles Of The Air' will be there for you.

UFO Capital of Australia, Northern Territory

There is a very lonely highway in the Northern Territory called the Stuart Highway, you can drive hundreds of kilometres and see very few vehicles. That's where Peter Falconio was murdered in 2001 and Joanne Lees almost lost her life. Bradley John Murdoch spotted a very pretty Joanne at a fuel stop, followed them and waved them over pretending there was something wrong with their car. After killing Peter, he came looking for Joanne who was hiding in the bushes. Terrified, she managed to escape and ran screaming into the middle of the road and stopped a road train. In December 2005 Bradley John Murdoch was convicted of the murder of Peter Falconio. His body was never found.

There's also an isolated petrol station with a run down caravan park behind it called Wycliffe Well and it's the UFO capital of Australia.

During World War II they grew vegetables here for the troops in Darwin. There were so many UFO sightings, the soldiers started a log book and documented every incident. Unfortunately, it was stolen. Sightings of UFO's in the Wycliffe Well vicinity have been going on for years but a credible sighting has yet to be documented.

Devil's Marbles, Northern Territory

National Park Ranger and traditional owner Lesley Jampijimba Foster

Karlu Karlu and is a sacred place to the traditional owners. On the 27th October 2008 ownership of the Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve was officially given back, 28 years after they first made their claim for title.

After years of fighting, the traditional owners have finally won the right to protect this special place against developments like new roads and railway lines which would have cut through it.

A new era of joint managment began between the traditional owners and National Park rangers who are now working together in partnership to manage the reserve for future generations.

Tennant Creek, Northern Territory

Tennant Creek is a small, mainly Aboriginal township of about 3500 people, 1000 kilometres south of Darwin. The town has a goldmining history and mining for gold and other valuable minerals, like manganese and copper, has been successful in the past.


A report announced this week that mining company Emmerson Resources has signed an agreement with Ivanhoe Australia (Canadian owned) who will give them substancial financial and technical resources for gold exploration. As part of the agreement, Ivanhoe will solely fund $18 million of expenditure over a maximum of three years, gaining a 51% interest in the majority of Emmerson’s tenements.


The town is surrounded to the east by the Barkly Tablelands - a vast expanse of land that supports some of Australia’s most successful outback cattle stations. The properties are huge, generally company-owned and very productive.

Road trains take cattle to Darwin for live export.