book double feature: the rachel papers + kafka on the shore

and finally with the second double feature in the book series (is it a series? what is it?). keeping with the theme of the original (not really) this time we have two books (not a theme) and one of the authors is again haruki murakami (maybe a theme, but i doubt it).

once again these two books are loosely tied together, although really they're only paired to save some space, which isn't really necessary since i did my little travel posts but whatever...themes! these two books are about a boys coming of age (kind of). they're certainly both about growing up. about self-discovery. about weird changes in life. and about sleeping with girls. and sometimes those girls are also grown women (murakami only).

the rachel papers is about a rapacious youth, name unremembered, growing up in jolly london, enjoying the spoils of youth. it's all very self-involved. it's a bit exhausting really, the navel gazing. it's the point of the book but still...the kid is obviously a dickhead, but then aren't all teenagers? that's what these coming of age books are about right? kids who think they're so grownup but are then shown to be children in adult clothing. he very strongly reminded me of a wes anderson character in his precociousness: writes letters, keeps a document on everyone, manicures his self image just so. ultimately i was conflicted: did i want him to fail because i hated him, did i want him to achieve because he's the stories protagonist? fortunately the dean made the decision for me. yes, he's insufferable, but at least with the right tutelage he can be made less so. much better than letting the ego go unchecked.

once again murakami takes us on a surreal voyage. his books are often about change and that change is often nudged along by a surreal, fantastic hand. does murakami believe humans are incapable of change through their own means? must we rely on ghosts, spirits, gifted individuals, and cats to help us make something of ourselves? but that's also what's nice about his stories. easy to get lost in because of their weird floating worlds where anything can happen. colonel sanders makes an appearance here as does johnny walker, and why not? oh and the story is about a boy who runs away from home to try and, i don't know find out what its all about. and then this old guy talks to cats. meow.

the red centre, part 2 of 2

the startling conclusion!

5 am wake up call, as promised. continental breakfast followed by more hours in the van. fortunately a london comedian named tom came to the rescue and instead of top 40: the musical we had the keystone bar playlist (franz ferdinand, white stripes, etc) to rock us into the rock territory.

we did eventually get our first glimpse of uluru but we weren't actually headed that way yet. first stop was a walk through the olgas, or kata tjuta as it was originally named. kata tjuta means 'the heads' and is so named for the 36 dome shaped rock formations that make up the site. while its tempting to think of these as smaller versions of uluru/ayers rock they are actually slightly geologically different.

a quick rundown on the formation of kata tjuta/uluru as explained to us by our guides (and then probably reassembled incorrectly by myself from memory):
millions of years ago australia used to be mountainous, very mountainous even. mountains taller than everest. eventually erosion from these mountains created large deposits of boulders and sediment that were compacted over the years, laid over by inland seas, and buried deep underground. then, another shift in the tectonic plates caused a second eruption of landmass. the deposit of boulders were thrusted through the crust and became kata tjuta, the sediment forming uluru. and if you look closely at the two you can notice the rock face is definitely different. kata tjuta looks almost like a public works project - bits of rock and soil cemented together to form a man made sculpture of earth. uluru on the other hand just looks like a giant, single rock. and it is. and much like an iceberg we're only treated with a small portion of it. a very, very small portion of it. in fact, something like 300 meters are above ground while an astonishing 6km are buried underneath. that is an enormous rock. shit.

so our first stop was a nice 3 hour walk through kata tjuta. it wasn't particularly strenuous but there was a steep climb involved and the heat was definitely ramping up from the day before. walking through the domes was unlike anything i've ever done. at this point things stop relating to anything back home and take on an entirely different, alien feel. the domes are massive. their shapes organic yet strange. and then there's the massive valley between them. i was reminded of the savage lands in x-men (some of us draw allusion to classic literature, i find my reference points in classic 90's cartoons) and was half expecting to find dinosaurs stomping around the grassy lands down between the domes. eventually you get to the steep climb up and when you turn around at the top you are rewarded with a magnificent overall view of everything framed by two of the giant rock faces. it helps solidify that feeling of crawling out of a forgotten land.

everyone was definitely well knackered by the time we finished the hike but the rest of the day was fairly easy-going: a stop at an aboriginal cultural center to learn about the area and it's peoples customs, quick pit-stop at our campsite to take a shower, and then we finally got up close and personal with the big boy itself, uluru. they were saving the base walk for the final day but we did take a short walk up to it just so we could say hi and learn a bit about it. following that we drove out for a better vantage point and the tour guides made us some dinner while we watched sunset fall on the rock. this is where all those amazing blood red images come from as the sun really makes those red earth colors come alive. we luckily had amazing weather and the sunset was brochure quality beautiful. i'm no great photographer but its easy to make it look picturesque under those conditions.

after the long day we had our final night camping, still in the swags and sleeping bags, but on slightly nicer grounds. there were proper toilets and some lights so you could see what was crawling on you if anything in the middle of the night.

the final morning and the final 5 am wake up call. this time it was all the more necessary because we were heading back out to our vantage point to see the sun rise up behind uluru. without a tripod this was pretty hard to capture but i did my best to brace myself and got some pretty good representational shots. did i mention how beautiful the sunsets/sunrises in australia are? that hole in the ozone layer must be good for something, and if its these colorful rises and falls then...well its still awful but i suppose its the thinnest of silver linings. our last rock experience was a walk around the entire base of uluru. this was also the time when you could climb the rock should you choose but nobody from either groups did so. our guides didn't forbid us from doing so but did heavily dissuade us for many good reasons. for one its quite dangerous: it's steep, it's windy, it's hot. there have been quite a few deaths from uluru climbs and as more and more people climb it the slicker and more dangerous it will become. two, it's environmentally irresponsible. foot traffic is actually scarring the surface of the rock and people are poisoning the water around it with trash, driving out the natural wildlife from the area. and finally, its culturally insensitive to the native people who outright ask you not to climb it. it's a sacred site after all, like climbing on top of a buddhist statue or mecca or a church altar. still, we saw people doing it and looking like idiots as they struggled to keep from falling. it's like my man blade says: "some motherfuckers are always trying to ice skate uphill." truth.

the walk around the base was interesting as it laid out quite clearly all the pocks and deformities of the rock that you don't quite get from just looking at it from afar. most, if not all, of the major blemishes on the surface hold significance to the aboriginal people and relate to the stories of their creation. uluru itself is a major battleground between the woma python and poisonous snake and you can see signs of their epic battle all over the rock face. many of the caves are used for sacred rites, or at least were used, back before it became a tourist attraction. still, as interesting as it was, i was a bit camera'd out at this point and chose only to take a few photos. there is very little, after all, to differentiate one face of the rock from another, unless you're taking it all in together and i wasn't about to record the entire thing. in fact, in several areas you are forbidden to take photos as they are too culturally significant and some members of the aboriginal community are not allowed to view them, even on accident - say, on the internet on some dude's blog.

after the walk we piled in the van, said our goodbyes to uluru, and headed back to alice springs. at one pit stop people were invited to ride racing camels but i chose to protect my groin rather than smash it against a dromedary hump. we arrived at our hostel mid-evening, rested up and then hit the one main bar in alice springs for celebratory drinks. i stayed out until about midnight with an english fellow from york but that was all we could manage. the following day was a day of rest. i read. i did little else. it was a-ok. a flight was had. i made it back in one piece. small but important things.

overall: not the most relaxing of trips, true. but, overall: exactly what i needed. i was feeling all cooped up in melbourne. things had gotten stale. dissatisfaction was at a high. it's all been well documented. having returned, having done things, new experiences experienced, one with nature, star contemplation, stoic van gazing - it's like a freshly laundered pair of underwear. not new yet familiar and comfortable and ready for anything. maybe its something spiritual gleaned from the rock: energy siphoned from deep down at the base of the column (who knows whats down there?! molten hot magma probably, but also maybe aliens?!). anyway, the return of the trip also marks the 3 weeks left period at work. that means i have 3 more weeks allowed to work at my current job on my visa. after that i have to find something else. so this is a natural turning point. i am being pushed over the precipice, which is what people usually need anyway. it's all very exciting and i have no idea what i'm doing. but for now...photos:

uhhhh...

anything not uluru is probably part of kata tjuta

view from the top

view of uluru from kata tjuta

another put together panoramic. probably more obvious here but gives you a good idea of how close the two are.

rock surface of uluru

some sacred cave. secret rites. passage of man. 

best uluru photo

sunset photos

no color manipulation, all natural

sunrise photos

our van/bus/whatever

base walk

so long

the red centre, part 1 of 2

so i went to the middle of nowhere, australia and now i have some pictures to share.

from my last australia post you may have gotten the idea that i was becoming a bit burnt out and that would have been the correct impression to pick up on. the thing about working in tourism is that there are never holidays and often there are not consecutive 2 day weekends and that people are horrible to be around constantly, so it had been months since i last had the chance to unwind a bit.

now going to the middle of the desert for a 3 day, 2 night camping trip isn't the most relaxing option in the world but it did have its therapeutic qualities. for one it brought back those old feelings of traveling again. i was experiencing something new, out in nature, meeting new people, etc. also, despite the arid flatness of everything it was surprisingly beautiful. much of australia's red centre is reminiscent of areas of the western states of america, particularly utah.

i arrived in alice springs, which if you're looking at a map is almost smack dab in the middle of the country, on tuesday morning and had the day to myself before the camping trip started up the following day. alice is not a huge town but there are a few deserty things to do including a desert park, a reptile farm, a museum about ghan trains, a hill...but having done a little prior research i felt the best use of my time would be a 16km bike path out to something called simpson's gap.

of course, 16km was only from the head of the trail, which was probably a good 10km outside of town to begin with and that was only going one way. why i thought cycling 40+km before going on a camping trip was a good idea well who knows but it was definitely worth it. the path itself was a fun, winding strip through australian bush. i had rented a little single speed from the hostel for $20 and it dutifully made it up what little hills there were. the hour long journey (just a guess) ended up at simpsons gap itself, which is, true to it's name, a gap in the rock face with a little watering hole at its base. it was a surprisingly serene spot to find at the end of the trip.

i rested a bit and then made my way back along the same route. the path originally left me with the impression that a majority of its uphill climbs were on the way to the gap and i was looking forward to the easy coast back to the hostel but i guess the heat played tricks on me because it was a good 3x harder on the return. speaking of the heat, i started the path around noon which i figured would be the hottest part of the day - and wasn't that hot - but the early afternoon return was definitely much hotter and exhaustion set in way easier. i had plenty of water and some nuts so i was fine, but it made me appreciate how easily you can get messed up out there. anyway, made it back to the hostel and had a beer at the bar and went to bed early. it was a 5am wakeup call and i didn't want to be completely knackered.

5am certainly came early but at least they provided us with breakfast. three separate tour groups were heading out that morning (and this is just from one company there) so there were probably about 60 of us milling about waiting for our guides. they came around 5:30 and we were separated into the groups we would have to get to know and love for the next 3 days. i was really hoping to get in the same van as this pretty german girl i had shared some moments with (an eye roll here, a knowing smile there, a polite gesture in the breakfast line, etc.) but unfortunately it was not to be so. and i felt an empty dread as we were pulling out for the first leg of our 5 hour journey into red centre when a welsh girl offered her ipod for the van music and 2 of the first 3 songs were a glee cover of some top 40 hit and that damn let it go song from frozen.

turns out they were okay people who just had horrible music taste. there were a few english folk, several young german girls (who are everywhere? i think it's a bit like china in germany except instead of just getting rid of the girls they raise them to the age of 18 and then force them out into the rest of the world), an older couple, some asians. your normal backpacker mix. there were some coming-together type activities to get us all more friendly than a mix of strangers normally would, but nothing quite does that more naturally than being crammed in a sardine can for hours upon hours a day.

our first stop and introduction into the australian outback was kings canyon, a natural gorge somewhere between uluru and alice springs. on every hike of our trip we were not so much as advised as forced to carry 3 liters of drinking water. apparently it was a heavily fined infraction if caught without. the mid afternoon heat eventually reached temperatures of about 40 C, over 100 F, and the climbs weren't sunday strolls so the water was probably a good idea anyway. but the hikes and the heat were nothing compared to the real horror of the outback: flies. if i thought melbourne was ever bad my god i had no idea. it was if the anus of hell opened and beezlebub spewed forth his entire army of minions into central australia (that may be too odd of a reference for everyone, sorry). i could last about 10 minutes during the day without the aid of a fly net over my face, otherwise i'd have to constantly flail my arms about in defense. the worst is the ears. they fly in and you can hear them and feel them and it's so incredibly invasive, like they are seeking entrance. and of course the real trick is to try and drink water with a fly net over your face and not let the flies inside because once that happened it was trapped in there and free to fly about your face until you took the whole thing off and tried in vain to redress without another getting in.

enough about the flies. the hike to the main canyon was about 2 hours one way. this part reminded me most of my trips out to colorado and utah. the terrain and rock formations were pretty similar aside from the odd prehistoric palm tree here and there. apparently in wetter periods there is a water hole that guests can choose to swim in (although it's discouraged as it is insensitive to the aboriginal people and culture) however we did not have the opportunity.

after kings canyon we rode out and were greeted with what we thought was our first look at uluru/ayers rock - a massive formation sitting alone in an expanse of nothing. our tour guide even played it up asking us if we knew the name of the landform we were observing. of course we said uluru and of course we were wrong. and in hindsight it's quite obvious as the two are nothing alike really, but the effect is so convincing the guides have taken to calling the formation fool-uru. its actual name is mt. connor and it is a flat topped mountain, much like you might see out west. and despite not being uluru it is still an impressive visual on its own, particularly at sunset.

after the tease we made our way to a cattle station where we picked up some beer/cider and made camp out in the airy open. we made a bonfire, setup camp, and started preparing dinner. food was a communal event on the rock tour and everyone had a hand in preparation/cleaning. my particular task was making a bread from flour, spices and beer. i don't remember it's name...tucker bread maybe? it was joined by a handmade chili and rice, all cooked over the fire. it was extremely satisfying after the long day. as night fell i was immediately taken with the night sky and how clear and expansive it was. it was one of those huge skies where you could clearly make out the milky way and the vast immensity of the cosmos (i'm caught up with the neil degrasse tyson series if there was any doubt). i rather lamely asked the tour guide if he ever tired looking at it and i think he was honest when he said it was one of his favorite things about the trip and something he would never forget.

our sleeping arrangements were quite simple. we had sleeping bags and placed those sleeping bags inside something called a swag. its basically a larger sleeping bag with a thin mattress inside meant to keep out the creepy crawlies. as we were laying things out to go to sleep the guides (we met up at this point with another of the groups traveling - the third does things in reverse order) asked if anyone was worried about snakes and spiders and things like that. i'm sure at least half the people raised their hands so helpfully they gave us some advise: for the snakes draw a circle around your swag with a stick, the broken ground will throw off their heat signatures and make them less likely to cross your path; for spiders and other insects lightly sprinkle the circle with salt as they will be more attracted to it than the salts of your skin; and for dingos put a light dusting of pepper so when they come sniffing it will throw off their senses.

this was, of course, complete nonsense. but peace of mind is better than nothing i suppose. sleep came easy anyways.

next post will be part two of the outback adventure and will focus mostly on getting up at 5 am every morning and also large rocks jutting out of the earth's surface i guess. photos below.

start of the bike path

outback

the gap

the waterhole down at the gap

the tour guide, tommy, also note the trip rules

hike up to kings canyon

the gorge

a faked panoramic, i think i'm getting better at these

this photo and the last go together

the water hole

fool-uru/mt. connor

lenzzzzzflare