Central Australia Tour

My Experience in Central Australia

Central Australia was incredible. Long journeys to Adelaide, Coober Pedy, and then Alice Springs were the beginning of the trip. However, Netflix, sleeping, charades and Steve the bus driver saved us from boredom. The bus trips passed quickly, and before long we were in the heart of Australia.

Coober Pedy is a very small town. When arriving you could tell you were in Coober Pedy as nearly everything is underground as it gets so hot. It’s named the Opal Town of Australia - and sure is in the middle of nowhere.

We had a fabulous bus driver along the way named Steve. It was his first school trip, and he was the best. He had all these ways to entertain us on the bus including his singing and trivia questions. He was very knowledgeable, funny and overall, a great tour guide and driver. Our cook Alex was amazing - he made us all the meals for the trip! 

We were also so lucky to see and find ourselves at Kings Canyon. I was struck by the size of this place; the canyon walls were gi-normous! The hike was truly amazing with great views, and we had really nice weather. The canyon was filled with colours of earthy yellows and rustic oranges.

One of my favourite parts [of the trip] was Uluru. Honestly, it was so much bigger than I expected.  We were lucky enough to see the sunset, and I was able to capture Uluru during sunset time, which was approximately 7 p.m.; otherwise, the colours wouldn't have been as vibrant. At dusk, it was a dazzlingly sight, with a mix of vivid oranges and luminous reds. It was amazing to see how the light illuminated Uluru. I wanted to capture the magnitude and light of the rock at sunset because I had heard about it but could only really understand it by going there and experiencing it myself. I made an effort to photograph what I felt to be breathtaking and really spiritually moving.

We were able to learn about native plants and fascinating indigenous art techniques by taking part in a tour at Standley Chasm. I had the opportunity to try wasp eggs (which are tastier than they sound!) - they have a nutty earthy taste. I also got to taste kangaroo tail, which had a lamb-like flavour.

We discovered that our flight back to Melbourne had been cancelled on the final day of our journey! The teachers were able to find a solution to get all 40 kids, and themselves, back to Melbourne. We had to fly to Sydney, take a bus home, and get back to Brunswick around 4.30 am. 

Fun fact: We spotted Jack Riewoldt in the Uluru airport, and he was on the same plane with us travelling to Sydney!

I wanted my photographs to capture this sense of appreciation and beauty. Overall, I gained a lot of knowledge from this trip and had a blast doing it!