Blogs from Ayers Rock, Northern Territory, Australia, Oceania - page 4

Geo: -25.3393, 130.889"Sails in the Desert" is one of the best hotels in Ayers Rock Resort and has even been refurbished further since our last visit. We had flown overnight from Singapore to Sydney and had no sleep thanks to watching movies, dining etc. The transfer to Domestic for the flight to Ayers Rock was thankfully swiftly done as was the transfer by coach to the hotel. It had been raining in Sydney but here in the red centre of Australia it was hot and sunny. After the inevitable beer by the pool on arrival, we crashed out in our room and slept for 3 hours to catch up. The rooms are lovely and large as is the bathroom, much better than the hotel in Singapore. We had prebooked the “Sounds of Silence” dinner as I ... read more

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Day 4 – Tuesday July 3rd – Coober Pedy to Uluru A peek outside the tent at 7.15 am saw the sky an amazing mix of orange shades as the sun was rising. The stars slowly faded and the sun appeared over the horizon. 2 degrees overnight. Brrrrr. With 750 kms to drive today we were keen to get going quite early. After filling up with diesel in town we hit the Stuart Highway at 8.45am. It’s an easy drive – nice and straight and a mostly smooth road. Occasional 4wds, camper trailers and road trains to negotiate. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets continues. Who opened the chamber?? Our first unsealed driving experience the day before had taken its toll on the trailer. At the Mount Ebenzer Roadhouse (now closed down if ... read more

24th May To Uluru! This morning we drove back to King’s Canyon and we all saw a dingo! Just trotting around near the parking area! Then Howard, Matt and Rob went off to do the King’s Canyon Rim Walk while Debbie and I stayed in the MH, chatted and drank tea! The look of the sheer steps with no hand rails going straight up to the top of the canyon was enough to put us off, we reckoned they would be quicker without us anyway so we were doing them a favour really ha ha. They returned in record time and said it was fantastic but Matt and Rob were soon lying down for a kip! We carried on to the Uluru resort area where we checked into the campsite. I have now been officially sacked ... read more

It was an early wake up call, especially because we were up much later than usual at our dinner. Watching the sunrise over Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) is an inspiring experience. Watching the changing of colors of Uluru was a breathtaking experience. The sunset and sunrise tours are a true must. We were both so exited to experience the Outback. “The colour changes result from the effects of the earth's atmosphere on the sun's incoming rays. The ash, dust particles and water vapor present in the earth's atmosphere act as a filter which can remove the bluer light from the incoming rays of the sun, allowing the redder light through at different times of day. Reflections from the rock and clouds in the sky enhance the vivid colours.” We also had the ... read more