Saturday, June 28, 2008

The Red Centre

Highlights from my trip to the Red Centre in March!

While walking around the small shopping strip in Alice Springs called Todd Mall, we came across a handy tool for surviving those nasty outback flies :D

Bart Push Ups for a cool afternoon treat :)

For our first dinner in the Red Centre, we followed the outback theme and went for game meat at the Overlanders Steakhouse! :P Croc vol-au-vents, emu, roo and camel steak... YEE HA!

The town centre is bordered by the MacDonnell Ranges and our accommodation at the Heavitree Gap Lodge was on the other side of the ranges. Every evening, these cute and wild black footed rock wallabies would skip down to the lodge and wait for guests to feed them. Not so wild anymore I guess!

Leaving Alice Springs, we drove southwest towards Ayers Rock. The 500km plus journey whizzed by as we took the dusty roads at 130km/h!! There were only a few petrol stations/settlements along the drive and some were named "Springs", (more of a water stop than actual water springs I think)! Sure reminds me of my literature text "A Town Like Alice" :)

We nearly missed our Ayers Rock base tour at dawn! There was a marvelous silence as the line of tour buses drove into the national park, heading towards the dome shaped rock rising out of the plains. At the sunrise lookout, we collected our coffees and chairs and sat in awe while the first rays of the sun lighted up the rock. The base tour included trips to the myriad of sacred sites, waterfalls, pools and rock paintings located at Uluru and the "dreaming stories" weaved around these sites. We also learnt more about the Aborigine culture and saw how "removed" they are in this modern world.

More walks to follow - Valley of the Winds at Kata Tjuta National Park!

The Olgas or Kata Tjuta - dome shaped by the wind over thousands of years.

One of my favourites - the Sounds of Silence dinner. This award winning dinner is held right on the desert plains itself with views of Uluru on one side and Kata Tjuta on the other. We started with a cocktail party while enjoying the sunset behind Uluru :) Pity the ladies who got red sand in their heels!

Followed by a three course buffet dinner with delicious Aussie delicacies and game meat, of course :) It was truly romantic with the only lighting coming from candles and a didgeridoo performance in the darkness.

Four magical hours ended with some an introduction to astronomy and some stargazing. FYI, Saturn looks like a sticker complete with it's rings!

Yummy and healthy camel burger (more protein and less fat than beef)!

Woo! This was definitely worth the 6km Rim walk at Kings Canyon!!

Our last walk at Stanley's Chasm just before our return to Alice Springs :)

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stormiii at 5:53 pm

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Friday, June 27, 2008

Momo!

Momotaro Ramen (392 Bridge Road, Richmond) is the place to go to for cheap and good ramen! They serve about 10 types of ramen and some small dishes.

It's also an annual favourite in the Cheap Eats food guide - just check out the "small" serving size :D

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stormiii at 6:23 pm

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Sunday, June 15, 2008

Teh tarik & cheese prata ;)

We lunched at Taste of Singapore (162 Clayton Road, Clayton) before the original mamak boss handed over management. Hm.. mm... I satisfied my craving for good ol' lontong and potato bergedel :D

This is how Chris looks before he attacks his favourite dishes!

Of course, Emi is "helping" him with his lunch.

The best teh tarik in town! I had two glasses that day.

And we actually returned in the evening for cheese prata drizzled with condensed milk :P

stormiii at 3:55 pm

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Friday, June 13, 2008

Going into the city...

Behind the grand facade of Flinders Street train station lie the old and often dirty (character?) train platforms :P

To my delight, I found a Beard Papa shop along Elizabeth St. And a "beard papa" manned the shop by himself too! He did a good job of filling my chocolate puffs with vanilla cream before packing them away in a clumsy but charming manner :)

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stormiii at 3:40 pm

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