We had arrived in the Red Centre. From Melbourne to Adelaide, via Woomera (nothing to do except have a few drinks with the friendly campground owners) to Coober Pedy (really nothing to do), then on to Uluru (the photo above was taken at the Ayers Rock Campground).
I had been to this incredible spot years before, on a school trip, so I was surprised at how much seeing that massive monolith affected me. I was amazed, once again, at not just the size of it, but the way it stands there amongst flat desert as far as the eye can see, and then further still. Over the years it seemed to have shrunk in my mind, until I was saying such things to Steve as, 'We'll all climb it, you can take Abbey in the hiking carrier' (when we saw the steepness of the climb, we knew that wasn't going to happen and, as I had done it before, I stayed at the bottom while Steve went up) and 'We'll go for a stroll around it' (that stroll turned out to be a three hour walk, so we were lucky we took some food for all three of us).
While we were there, we also visited Kata Tjuta (The Olgas). Walking around and through these stunningly beautiful rock formations was one of those experiences that makes you feel small and insignificant - in a grounding way that puts your problems and worries in perspective.
And then we arrived at Kings Canyon. Once again, a spot I had already been to but, being a teenager at the time, I think I must have been too busy chatting to my friends or being angsty or something, because I had no recollection of just how awe-inspiring the hike around the top of this canyon really is. The sheer red cliff faces, the surprising amount of greenery amongst it all, and the views across the whole thing, are unlike anything you've seen before.
And doing all this with a baby? It was fun. Travelling with a baby is all about flexibility: if they're upset, it's worth taking the time to make them happy again before continuing. It's worth having a long stop to let them crawl around and release some energy, and it's smart to time long drives around nap times. Of course, we had our moments - after all, she was also a teething baby during the trip. But the majority of the time we just loved seeing her playing, crawling and improving her standing skills in the tent, in the red dirt at the base of Uluru, on the rocks atop Kings Canyon... wonderful memories.
PS - it also helps to have a husband who is part Swiss Mountain Goat, to carry the baby around all these long walks and hikes... but Abbey loved being in the baby carrier:
In the next 'Driving Holiday With Baby' posts, I'll tell you about our time in Alice Springs, driving along the Oodnadatta Track, taking a dip in mineral springs, walking on Lake Eyre and our spontaneous winery detour.
Megan
6 comments:
Ohh, amazing! More please!
I just love those photos especially the ones of Abbey, what a wonderful baby to be so happy and contented while traveling the outback. Looking forward to the next update.
How lovely is that photo of Abbey with that huge smile on her face! I love it!
You're so lucky to have travelled through Australia. I wish I had experienced more of it before I moved to the UK. I would have loved to have taken two extra weeks when I come back for Christmas this year to at least do some of the outback but unfortunatly, I can't take the extra holiday time.
We never had one of those baby carriers, but friends who had them swore they were brilliant.
Looks so beautiful.
How wonderful! Looks like that baby had a good time!
Oh, I was hoping to see pictures of Uluru and Kata Tjuta (not that I can't see them on my own site, or hanging right here in my office for that matter). Lovely pictures of your daughter. You must have done the rim walk at King's Canyon. I had a shin splint when I went so had to do the lower canyon walk, which was lovely in itself and saved me the steep trek up the hill (gasp).
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