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Someone had told us,
Hobart and Melbourne have roughly the same climate. After 18C in Hobart,
we are greeted by blue skies and 30C in the capital of Victoria. That's more like
the Australian summer we were expecting. Rain jacket, gloves and beanie
disappear deep down in our packs.
We spend the first night
with friends in town and then drive our little rental car 300 km
further west to the Grampians. A rugged mountain range in Western
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First day on the road
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| Cut Lunch Wall
in the Grampians |
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The Gallery
Here the cliffs are steep,
pocketed and dry. And the conditions are good even at 40C due to cool
breezes in the gullys. But one can see the draught. For the last 12
years there wasn't enough rain in Western Victoria. Water levels in
reservoirs are reported daily in the newspapers. At the moment they are
at 3.8%.
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Rocklands Reservoir with boat ramp
Swimming holes
are hard to find, like here at the Cherrypools. But where else can
you see emus, white ibis, spoon bills, black swans and cockatoos
while swimming?
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| Cherrypool |
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Orb Weaver Spider
We don't see many poisonous snakes or spiders. Only Orb Weaver
Spiders inhabit the forests below the cliffs, forcing us to take the odd detour.
But they are rather harmless. A bite is said to be like a sting from a
wasp. But I'm not going to find out.
Even in March the temperatures are still soaring up to 40C. So we drive over
the weekend down to the coast for a swim and a drive along the Great
Ocean Road. |
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The Twelve Apostels
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Former London Bridge
The coastline is really impressive with tall cliffs and 6 - 8 m swell. And we see many native animals along the road too. |
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Sleepy Koala
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Pelicans
After three weeks it's
time for a change and on Good Friday we drive 900 km to Adelaide and
further north to the Flinders Ranges. Destination Moonarie.
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Flinders Ranges
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On the way to Moonarie
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| Moonarie |
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Moonarie Top Camp
Even
on the Easter weekend things are quiet here. The campground below pine
trees is filled with 6 tents. It's 20C, not a cloud on the sky and a
light breeze is blowing. For belaying we put on a fleece but for
climbing it's as good as it gets. After two pleasant warm-up routes I'm
trying a 25 (7b). But after 15 m the ground feels much harder - I went
the wrong way. I place a Rock #1 in a horizontal crack and rest on it.
Straight ahead the rock is crumbly, if I go right rope drag will be too
much, and the next bolt 5 m to the left can only be reached via a
shaky traverse high above the last bolt. So I remove my wire and
climb down. 2 m below (still 3 m to the right of the last bolt) I'm
running out of steam and take a controlled jump into the rope. But don't see
the corner 5 m to the left of me. Only split-seconds later I realise, the
landing is going to be painful.
There is a horrible crash and it's obvious something broke. My right
foot hurts like hell. I remove my climbing shoe and pull up to the last
bolt. After removing my gear Debbie lowers me to the ground. The foot
is swelling quickly and every move hurts. Standing or walking on it is
impossible. Luckily two strong climbers from Sydney are around the
corner. Michael carries me piggyback down to the car which takes two
hours. We drive 150 km to the nearest hospital in Port Augusta. At the
emergency my foot is x-rayed and casted with a backslab. Two days later
I'm back at the hospital to get a full cast. But only after I insist
the x-rays are shown to an orthopaedic surgeon. His diagnosis: several
fractures of the ankle (talus). He wants to see a computer tomography,
to make sure the blood support of the bone isn't interrupted and the
parts aren't dislocated. The next CT is in Whyalla 75 km away.
Only the CT scans show the full damage. But at least nothing is
dislocated and I don't have to be operated. The foot is casted and I
won't climb during the next 8 weeks.
Still shocked we keep going north from here. |
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Stuart Highway from the passenger seat
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Lake Hart - a salt lake like most lakes in the Outback
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Sign along the road
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Road
Trains have up to 4 trailers out here
In the evening we
reach Coober Pedy (Aborigine for white man's hole in the ground) with
more than 250,000 mine shafts. Summer temperatures rise reguarly
above 50C and freezing in winter nights is common. Half of the
population (3500) is living in dug outs, where it's constantly 28C. We
find a nice backpacker hostel with rooms below the ground.
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| Locals in
Coober Pedy |
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| Coober Pedy |
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| Opal mine shafts |
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