A Night in the Desert

Outside Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Thursday, May 2nd and Friday, May 3rd, 2013

I'm sure you are aware that there is a very large expat community in Riyadh and we are always looking for normal things to do to keep us occupied. The many organized camping trips every year are certainly something we look forward to and this weekend I got my first opportunity to attend one. Now you have to remember that things are never that simply around here, especially of late. There have been many raids by the Mutaawa'a and we've seen an increase in arrests again. Obviously being caught with alcohol is an arrestable offence but so is being caught with a man who is not my father, brother or husband.....which means even co-ed camping trips are technically against the law.

That doesn't stop people for doing stuff though and this trip was no exception. There was a large group of us going, split between 3 vehicles and we would join a couple hundred or so other people at an undisclosed location in the desert. In fact only a few people knew the actual location. Camp organisers met groups of vehicles in various locations in Riyadh and then we would travel out to the camp location. I didn't know what to expect once we got out there so I was surprised to see how organised everything was. Each little group normally had their own fire and brought their own food and tents etc but there was one main area, with tents set up and a DJ.....and some "punch" for the group. There was a nominal fee (100SAR I think) charged by the organisers to cover those costs but basically it was a giant party in the desert.

 A look at our little campsite. I found this little blue tent under the bed in the spare room. There were no instructions with it so it took us a bit of time to get it set up but we still did better than a lot of boys. The ground was a little soft too but luckily there were a lot of rocks around to hold the tent in place.

A few of the other random campers and in the background you can see the party tents. Just for reference, the black corners on these pictures are not meant to be artistic, it's just a sign that I need a new camera.

Watching the sunset, while dinner is cooking. Fires are allowed so we had some great meat cooked over some hot flames.

Another look at the desert sunset. So pretty. Of course once the sun went down,  the party really got started.

A look at a few of the party goers. It was a smaller crowd than was originally expected (I know a bunch of people were scared off by recent raids on western parties) but it was still a great time.

The next morning people slowly got up, had some breakfast and then headed home. Good thing is the group was very good and cleaned up after themselves. Not a lot of garbage left behind.

 

It was certainly a short little trip, and probably a lot more work than one night deserves but it was a good time and totally worth it. Camp outs are hosted a few times a year so hopefully we'll head out on another one soon.

 

Julie

Sleeping Under the Stars

Travel from Exmouth to Karijini National Park To Pardoo Cattle Station, WA
Wednesday July 6th to Saturday July 9th, 2011

We left Exmouth nice and early this morning to make the 700 kilometre (435 mile) drive to Karijini National Park. Making its home in the Hamersley Ranges, Karijini is WA's largest national park and certainly one of the highlight destinations on this tour.

Of course we had to get there first though so Wednesday we pretty much spent the whole day on the road.

We were well prepared for our hours on the road. Wine or beer anyone?

Obviously there were a few stops along the way for food and toilets and coffee and to let Candice rest her eyes from the driving but mainly we just watched the scenery go by.

Our lunch stop for the day. Much prettier than the roadhouses we often stopped at.....although the girls say the toilets were some of the worst on the trip. I skipped these ones.

Those pesky stray kangaroos and cows. You'd think they would learn to stay off the road.

One of the things you will notice while driving through this area is how red the soil is. This is due to the high iron ore content. Lots of mining takes place in the area. Can't always see it from the road but what you can see are the trains that carry the materials blasted in the hills to the processing plants. These trains can often be up to 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) long. You want to try to avoid getting stuck at a rail crossing when they go by.

Our itinerary said we would visit the mining town of Tom Price....however it was out of the way so we visited the town of Paraburdoo instead. Not much to see but apparently a typical mining town. Interesting to know about Tom Price, (the town) is actually named after the vice president of Kaiser Steel (Thomas Moore Price). Ok maybe that's not that interesting but it was a long drive and there wasn't actually much else going on.

Watching the sun go down from the road.

We arrived at our camp site just as it was getting dark so basically found some sleeping spots and then got supper made. Western Xposure has a couple "perma-camps" set up with tents and swags and everything else that we need to cook and survive for 3 nights. I wasn't expecting much when we got there so I was impressed. They even had flush toilets and a shower (heated by solar power so no there was no hot water). Pretty nice spot.

The weather was pretty nice so a few of us (well 4 actually) decided we were dragging our swags outside the tents to sleep under the stars. It was a great decision. Yes, it cooled down a little bit at night (my nose kept getting cold) but the fresh air was nice. Before you ask, the weather was too cold for the snakes to even think about coming out to bother us so it was ok.

That's Laura, Mickey and I. Daniella also joined us for 3 nights. Seriously, with all the layers I had in my swag (sleeping bag, sleep sheet, fleece blanket) I was actually a little too warm at times. I would like to point out that not a single guy manned up and joined us outside.

A good night's sleep was required as our 2 days in Karijini were going to be very, very active.

Thursday July 7th, 2011

A little look at our camp. That's one of our group members John, checking to make sure the tents are ok. I haven't talked about the group too much but it was very eclectic in age and countries of origin and everything. John was part of a group of 6 special needs teachers (3 couples.....in their 50's) who were visiting from Queensland. They were very informative (have all kinds of information about plants and animals and Australia in general....even if you didn't ask) and they BBQ really, really well. At times however, it was kind of like travelling with my parents (50 year olds' humour.....funny to them, not so much to the rest of us). All in all though it was a great group to travel with.

Thursday morning, after breakfast, we made our way over to the Karijini National Park Visitor Centre. Only open since 2001, it is a great place to stop before heading out on any hikes.

The front of the Visitor Centre. The sun was not quite out this morning but our hopes were that the rain would hold off.

I'll try to provide you with a little bit of information about Karijini National Park itself. Candice was always giving us all kinds of information but at times the scenery was overwhelming.....and I wasn't taking notes. I am trusting that the information Candice has given the group is correct but as you can imagine the information and stories you get will always depend on who it comes from.

The word Karijini means "meeting place". There are 3 major Aboriginal groups in the area and the land is very scared to them. How they interact with the land and which areas they interact with is very dependent on which group they belong to. Many believe that the creative serpent lives here and that it was he, who formed the gorges.

Hikes in the area are labelled Class one through six.....one obviously being the easiest and six being the hardest. Actually you're not allowed to travel on a Class six trail without a trained guide and proper equipment as they normally involve climbing or abseiling or both. Over our two days in Karijini we tackled Class two through five trails. Pretty fun.

Here are some pictures from the journeys on this day.

Looking down at Fortescue Falls.

Sitting above Dales Gorge. Not to worry, we would be walking down there very soon. Going down isn't so bad....but you do always have to come back up.

That's Circular Pool. It is said to be the place where the Great Serpent was born and then created the gorges and the land.

Working our way down to Circular Pool. Often some creative climbing involved but a lot of fun.

Some of the walking trail. Most of the time to know which way to go we had to follow yellow circles attached to random rocks. They weren't always easy to spot but I don't think we ever got lost. Traveling through a gorge, there's not that many different ways you can go.

Also part of the trail. Our destination is just on the other side.

This is Circular Pool. Really beautiful and relaxing spot. On the far side there was a small little trickle of a water fall that put out nice warm water.



One of the other pools we wandered by in Dales Gorge.

We came around one corner and found these. Of course as a group we built one of our own. Apparently there is always something here that hikers build up but it can often be different because it seems the Rangers come in every once in a while and take it all down.

Hanging out above one of the other pools waiting for the rest of the group to catch up. One of the problems with hiking with 20 people......we didn't get anywhere very fast.

On our way back up. Yes we are attempting our best "boy band" pose. With me in the band, Laura, Hayley and Candice.

We took a break for a really late lunch (because our 2 kilometre hike took 3.5 hours) and then we made our way to another gorge. This walk had to be quite a bit shorter and quicker as it is not a good idea to be anywhere in a gorge after the sun goes down. We made our way to Kalimana Gorge to check it out before heading back to camp for dinner.

Look.....Love Birds. How cute are they? We found them sitting next to Fern Pool. Fern Pool is also a very sacred spot to Aboriginal people. It is one of the places that the Great Serpent created during the time when the earth was soft. It is said that the Great Serpent still lives in Fern Pool and other pools that you can find in the gorges.

You can already see the shadows creeping in. Lucky for us it also didn't rain. Not really a good idea to be in a gorge when it's raining.

Just a beautiful spot hiking in Kalimana Gorge.

Friday, July 8th, 2011

Friday we had another full day of hiking planned and today we managed to get the best weather we have seen thus far on the trip. We were all very happy to see the sun and I know at least a few of us were looking forward to our first stop which would be at Hancock Gorge.

Ok so our first stop was actually at Oxer Lookout. You will find a lot of these trees around the area (not sure what kind it is). I think it kind of looks like one tree is swallowing another tree but actually it is just that the bark grows slowly (when it has water and nutrients etc).

Looking down from Oxer look-out. Another very pretty spot.

Heading down into Hancock Gorge. These steps are very new and Candice was super excited to see them. These steps are really steep so I can't imagine what they looked like before.

Working our way around the trail. When we made it around the corner we had a little rest and took off our shoes. The rest of the hike we made barefoot.

This would be why we took off our shoes. After this was the Spider walk. People call it that because lots of people travel this narrow section by walking along the edges. Candice however had us sufficiently scared of the high danger of these actions that we mostly walked slowly through the middle.

You will have to use your imagination because Candice also had us sufficiently nervous that none of us felt safe enough to stop and take pictures but the Spider walk is narrow enough that you can stand in the centre and rest your hands on each side. There is ankle deep (on this day) water running down the centre and the rocks underneath are smooth enough to be ice. Very fun. We are just about to make our way into the Spider walk. That's Mickey you can see and hidden partially by the rock in Lutz.

And this is on the other side of the Spiderwalk. Down here......class Six so we weren't allowed to go there. But so pretty.

This is as close as we were allowed to get. If you happen to go down there (unintentionally) it's around a 12 or 13 hour rescue....or at least that's what we were told.

Eventually we made our way back out of Hancock Gorge, had lunch and then headed to another hiking spot.

This is the top of Joffre Gorge....where we would be heading next.

That's Mickey (did I mention she's from Sweden) standing next to Joffre Gorge.

This is what Mickey was looking at. We headed down there next.

The water in the first picture leads to here....and that was our destination.

Didn't take Mickey and I long to make our way across the pond at the bottom and start climbing up the water fall. There is another very nice swimming hole just above here. We tried to get others to join us but they wouldn't.

Eventually it was back to camp for dinner and drinks and our final night under the stars. It was a great 2 days in Karijini. Certainly not to be missed if you're in this area of the country. The next day we headed just a little bit farther north.

Saturday, July 9th, 2011

Our desitination today was the Pardoo Cattle Station, which is in fact a fully functioning cattle station with cows and cowboys and everything, but it also happens to be a great location to spend your last night on a trip up the West Coast. It broke up the distance between Karijini and Broome.

Not snow, but it did kind of make me feel at home. This is the salt mine outside Port Hedland. Probably the most exciting thing there.

Port Hedland is a big shipping port. Most of those 2 kilometre long trains I mention in a previous post end up here. This was our lunch stop.

We got into Pardoo nice and early and had another great BBQ prepared by our teacher friends from Queensland. This was our last night as a group. After dinner we spent the night hanging out by the fire and making smores (or something that resembled smores.....I'm still not sold on Australian marshmallows). I'm again surprised that I didn't take any pictures on this night but I think it's because I left my camera in my room and it was too far away to walk and get it. Anyway, imagine big fire on cattle station, with a lot of strangers and some cute dogs.....but not nearly enough cowboys.

The next day....well it would be our final day on tour and we would finally get to set our eyes on the infamous Broome.

Julie

Gone Camping

Robin Falls, NT, Australia
Friday May 20th to Sunday May 22nd, 2011

Yes that’s right……I went camping. Don’t act so surprised. I camp…..I just prefer 5 Star hotels but I can handle roughing it for a couple days. And roughing it we did. Darwin is surrounded by some great and beautiful places to camp and with my time in Darwin quickly coming to an end and with Debi and Scott heading to Canada for all of June, it was decided that we better get out camping and soon. Of course it is difficult to camp during the wet season but now that the dry is upon us it was perfect.

So when Friday arrived we packed up the Discovery and headed out to a spot recommended by a friend of Scott’s. We weren’t too sure where it was but we found it and it turned out to be a very nice spot.

Trying to get everything from our 9th floor apartment to the parking garage. On days like this you wish we lived closer to the ground....but on every other day, we love our rooftop patio.

We had a nice huge camp site with easy access to a little creek. The place we camped (Robin Falls) was mostly empty and really quiet (could barely hear those few other people who were around). The only thing it was missing…..toilet facilities of any kind. After I got over the initial shock of that, Scott went to scavenge up some fire wood and Debi and I set up the tent (well mostly Debi but I was there for moral support. She really does underestimate how much shorter than her and Scott I am).

Scott's fire wood collecting success. In a few weeks I'm sure we won't be able have fires but until then we will burn as much scavenged wood as possible.

There's our beautiful spot. We could have gotten like 10 more tents in the site but it was very nice to have the place all to ourselves.

Here are a few more pictures of our wonderful 2 days in the wilderness.

Hiking up to the falls. It was suppose to be a nice 5 minute, easy hike that we could do in flip flops. It was certainly longer than 5 minutes and it would have been nice to have boots on but it was worth it in the end.

Debi and I hanging out in the totally croc free fresh water swimming hole complete with waterfall. We had the place to ourselves and the water was only a little cold.

Later in the day (Saturday) we made our way to a fishing spot. We didn't catch anything but we did take some good pictures.

Debi and I just hanging out while Scott tried to catch some fish.

One of the many water markers you will find on any road in the Northern Territory. Not needed so much this time of year but certainly you must pay attention to them during the wet season. Yes Debi and I are enjoying a glass of wine while Scott fished.

We also stopped by the ARSS Club (Adelaide River Show Society). I feel like they could come up with a better name. There is a chance we will be back to check it out another weekend when some horse racing is going on.

Looking warm and comfortable in my corner of the tent. Still not sure why Debi felt it necessary to wake me up.

The wonderful wine we were drinking Friday night. I shipped this home from Melbourne. I was worth the cost of shipping it. And Debi then spent the morning taking some very artistic pictures of the bottle.

This was part of our campsite. Yes, Debi and I are really, really relaxed.

Scott was also very relaxed. He tied himself off so he wouldn't float into any spider webs. He'd never get them out of his dreadlocks.

The "man steaks" Scott made for us. I took care of the fire (super hot coal action is all I have to say). Those steaks were good and Scott was super impressed with my fire building ability. He didn't think I had it in me.

This is how we spent most of Sunday, hanging out in the hammocks that Scott was able to string up for us. I do have one complaint.....I was woken up when the hammock hanging was going on but I had a talk with management and I was assured it wouldn't happen again.

It was a very relaxing morning.

We're tied together so we didn't swing all over the place. Well mostly I think it was because Debi likes to irritate me. Sometimes it is really hard to tell who is the younger sister.

So it was a great camping weekend, even with the limited facilities. Too bad this is probably our last chance to head out to the bush together but at least we got one weekend in.

Julie