Pas vraiment le temps de souffler après la journée "wine testing", j'enchaîne avec un tour de 7 jours pour cette fois traverser le bush et arriver à Alice Springs. The "Desert patrol tour" (ou la patrouille du désert, c'est le nom du tour), toujours avec les raisins qui groovent, mais cette fois-ci deux nouveaux guides bien barrés, Robert and Manoli. J'ai vraiment hâte d'être dans l'outback, la partie aride de l'Australie (soit plus ou moins partout sauf sur les côtes...) car c'est un tout autre pays qui m'attend, et notamment la découverte du rocher sacré: Uluru! (et pas Ferrero). Bref, tout commence par un long trajet en bus, qui ne sera pas le dernier, car ya pas mal de kilomètres à parcourir tout de même... Puis nous arrivons dans la chaîne de montagne des Flinders Range avec visite de caves aux ornements aborigènes. Le soir nous dormons dans un trou paumé et perché, dont l'auberge n'est autre qu'un ancien hôpital pour tuberculeux... Et j'en profite pour remercier Mickael, grand gaillard allemand, qui a eu la bonté de tuer la douzaine d'araignées pendues au dessus de mon lit... (enfin surtout pour que j'arrête de soûler le dortoir entier).
Pretty no time to breathe after my "wine testing day", I move on to a 7 days tour to go through the Bush and end up in Alice Springs.The tour is called "the desert patrol" with the "Groovy grapes" tour operator and two wacky guides: Robert and Manoli. I'm really looking forward to being in the outback, the driest part of Australia (that would mean everywhere except the littoral coast...). A new world is coming, and that also includes the sacred rock: Uluru! (not Ferrero). So we start with a long bus ride which is not going to be the last (just the half country to cross...).Then we head the Flinders Range and aboriginal caves. As the night's coming, we find refuge in a lost and perched spot, where the hostel is nothing less than an ex-hospital originally caring for tuberculous people... By the way I would like to thank our german warrior Mickael for killing the dozens of spiders hanging above my bed... (well I guess I was pissing the guys off )...



Tough wake-up at 6am the morning after to hit the road again. We were pretty close to turning around coz the way is partly flooded. But we finally got through! Then we have our first night in the center of the outback! Bushcamping in the middle of nowhere with dingos as our only neighbours, kinda wild half wolves-dogs... Brr (To be honest they are thoroughly safe but it's just to spice the story up...). We cook a giant-size paella with the needed campfire and the horizon which spreads out endlessly... That is quite a drunk night with goon and we end up singing with some dutch crew and the dingos screaming... what a good night! Early wake up and sand taste combined with hangover! Freezing night especially when you have to walk over 50m to go pee behind the only bush around the campsite... But then it's already time to get back on the roads (or should I say THE road), and we finally get a coke in William's Creek's famous pub. (William's creek: 3 inhabitants: 2 behind the bar and the third one who's drinking his beer). The place is known for its wall fully covered with all the things visitors have stapled on it as a parting gift. For me that will be my voter registration card (I don't really use it anyway).




Then we are back on driving again to Coober Pedy, the Opal Capital of the world... We end up singing some Dutch national songs in the bus as it's"Queen's Day" in Netherlands. ("Wir houden van Oranje" as the one, which can be translated as "we love orange"... No comment :-). We head to some place on sunset time and the landscape is a lot like Mars. One awesome view, a fabulous site, one sunset and few pizzas... the Australian dream in someway! the same day we're lucky to feed and carry kangaroo babys... then we go back to the backpacker which is actually an old opal mine. That's pretty close to the bunker but that give us a full and great free-mosquitos night!




Still the bloody early wake-up but i get used to it... (and also to get the chance to grab one or two pieces of toasts before the hungry rush...). It’s a big day driving up the Stuart Highway with several pitstops en route. Our goal for the day is Uluru. We set up camp at the official camping. Available now: Free pool with frozen water and camel rides... Welcome to Uluru resort :( We go then for watching the sunset over Ayers Rock, while drinking a beer or a glass of wine. Next day, we enjoy a sunrise breakfast watching Uluru and we spend the morning hiking The Olgas (little sisters of Uluru). Camping tonight under the desert stars! We finally hit The Rock even though I choose not to climb it in respect for aboriginal traditional owners (It's viewed as an offence to climb it in aboriginal culture)... I go for the walk around the base instead. 10km and 3 full hours later (made me realize how big the rock is!), we drive the afternoon to Kings Canyons for our very last campfire and bush overnight...





The following morning, we go for a 4h hiking through the sand domes... to me, one of the most beautiful and majestic place of Australia. The braves from the group (included me!) even cool off in a natural 'lagoon" in the core of the Canyon...(Actually it looks like more a pond with we-don't-want to-know-what's-inside than a lagoon...).Then we cruise into Alice Springs to finish the trip. We all party the last night in one of the 2 pubs of the city. How could we end up better?
Having become a relative expert in tours recently (3 tours in 10 days!), I reckon the success of a tour relies on the group and the guide, more than on the proper visited sites. So here is a special "big up" to Robert and Manoli who, though they won't read this blog they deserve to be named in it...