You&meTraveling2

South Australia When approaching Coober Pedy from the north, the landscape gets ever more flat and arid until just a few bushes dot the ocher colored desert. And then - small hills. More and more, some big and some tiny -mounds of debris. The whole area has been turned upside down. Like a Movie Set Coober Pedy is like nothing I've ever seen. It's probably the craziest place I've ever been to - seriously. Coober Pedy is like a town from a, maybe a bit weird, movie - and in fact it has been the location of several movies such as   Priscilla, Queen of the Desert   and   Mad Max.   At the end of the movie you'd say, "a place like that doesn't exist in reality". Oh, but it does! And it's very much alive and bustling; above and, especially, below ground. The reason why Coober Pedy exists is not because it's located in a particularly beautiful spot of Australia, nor because there'd be lots of water and good soil to grow produce.  No; this area is like...

Northern Territory, Australia Equally far from Alice Springs as   Uluru   and   Kata Tjuta   lies the truly majestic Kings Canyon. The Rim Walk A short and easy walk leads, not very far, into the canyon. Much better however, and really amazing is the walk along the canyon's rim. On days when the temperature exceeds 36°C, a part of the trail is closed so a visit in the cooler months almost guarantees that you can walk the whole loop. The walk is absolutely stunning and was one of the highlights of our road trip through Australia. After a steep ascent, you reach the top of the canyon. We thought we'd "just" walk along the canyon's rim but no: What you find on top of the canyon is a world on its own. Stone formations, gorges, trees and flowers, animals and waterholes. The diversity of plants you encounter on the walk is amazing. There are even four hundred years old prehistoric palm trees. What? Really. And all that combined with fantastic views of the canyon ...

Northern Territory, Australia In the same national park as   Uluru , but about 35 km further west from the big rock are the 36 boulders of Kata Tjuta (also known as The Olgas). The highest of the boulders is 100 meters higher than Uluru. A Beautiful Hike A trail leads around some of the rocks and takes the hiker through the aptly named Valley of the Winds and to several lookouts. The views are great, and the rocks and the gorges between them are stunning. Now it's spring and all the flowers are in bloom, the grass is green and there are lots of birds everywhere. Surrounded by flowers in all colors, the red rocks look even more amazing than they do anyway. Flowers Everywhere Spring is a great time to visit Uluru/Kata Tjuta. The nights may still be very cold (we never thought we'd need our winter jackets and gloves in Australia) but the days are wonderful and not too hot. The air is very dry; uncomfortably dry actually. In the gaps and gorges between the rocks however,...

Northern Territory, Australia Uluru/Ayers Rock is one of Australia's most iconic sights. In fact, a picture of Uluru is like a synonym for Australia and of course it ranks high on any traveler's bucket list. But is it really the greatest sight in the country? The one place you absolutely have to see if you're going to Australia? A Long Drive From Anywhere Driving towards Uluru on the Lasseter Highway, the first mountain you see is Mount Conner. It's an impressive sight and probably every first time visitor to Uluru goes "Whoa, look, Uluru!" (Moment of silence) "Er, no, wait, that's not Uluru". That's the advantage of having seen so many pictures of the famous mountain; you can tell which one it is almost immediately. Uluru or not, it's worth stopping at the lookout point for Mount Conner because, apart from great views of the huge mountain, opposite the car park a short trail (not really visible but just assume it's there) through san...

Northern Territory, Australia Stretching east and west of Alice Springs, the MacDonnell Ranges are a series of mountains with spectacular scenery, gorges and gaps, and diverse flora and fauna. West of Alice Springs, a road leads along the mountain range and to some of the gorges. An unsealed road then continues all the way to   Kings Canyon . Simpsons Gap Gosse's Bluff At the far southwestern end of the range - but not part of it - stands Gosse's Bluff (Tnorala), a crater of 5 km diameter formed by the impact of a comet or asteroid about 140 million years ago. Driving closer and with the mountain ranges behind you, the crater looks impressively out of place in the otherwise flat landscape. Gosse's Bluff An unpaved, sandy road leads to the crater and to a lookout but actually the crater looks much more impressive from further away. And I'm not just saying that because we couldn't drive the road to the crater. We tried (walking) but gave it up before we reached the cr...

Northern Territory, Australia Karlu Karlu, or the Devils Marbles (yes, without an apostrophe) are huge granite boulders that are of great cultural and spiritual significance to the Aboriginal people of the area. After hours of driving through flat, never-really-changing landscape, the boulders come as a real surprise. Huge pieces of rock strewn over a big area rise from the plains. Some almost perfectly round, others cut in half like an orange cut with a sharp knife, some by themselves, again others piled on top of each other forming strange figures. This place just calls to be explored and the boulders to be photographed from all possible angles! A small trail leads around part of the site but you can walk on and on and find many more astonishing rocks; the place is huge and it's beautiful. If you stop there just to break up a long drive north or south (the only two options) or if you want to stay, watch the sunset, and maybe even spend the night at the foot of the rocks, it's...

Northern Territory, Australia The area of UNESCO World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park has been continuously inhabited by Aboriginal people for over 50,000 years. Aboriginal history and culture is illustrated by some 5000 recorded rock art sites; however, only very few of them are accessible to tourists. Astonishing Biodiversity The national park covers a huge area (about half the size of Switzerland!) and is home to hundreds of different animals and plants. Although, when driving through the park, you get the feeling that there are only two plant species; grass and eucalyptus tress. But that's far from true: About 2000 different plants grow in Kakadu. In order to encourage biodiversity and to prevent devastating wildfires, traditional patch burning, a land management tool used by Aboriginal people for tens of thousands of years, is now again successfully employed in the park. Good to Know Before You Go A visit to Kakadu is not cheap. The park pass is 40 AUD per person an...