Blogs from Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia, Oceania - page 16

Another early morning start for us and for Maja, as she kindly volunteered to chauffeur us to the airport. Flights are good and Alice Springs is a very small airport we make our transfer easily. It’s strange landing somewhere that is almost entirely owned by our hotel company. Our hotel is adequate, but a far cry from the 4.5 Stars they have given themselves! (We had done the research and knew what to expect.) Our first night is the “Sounds of Silence Dinner” outside. It starts with a short bus ride to a champagne and canapé reception on the dunes. We are somewhere between Ayers Rock and the Olgas. I had a beer in this magical place that was magical in its own way. Somehow after years of brewing beer someone figured out how to brew ... read more

Day 54 (Saturday 13/06/09, NJJ) Up at 5.30pm after one of the most fantastic nights sleep ever, in swags under the stars. We were both very snug and comfortable all night. It was actually lovely being woken by a gentle breeze over my face now and then through the night as it allowed me to take in the experience numerous times over. It wasn't as cold as we'd expected it to be in the morning either. Brekkie was toast and cereal around the camp fire and we were on the road just after. We stopped at 7.15am to watch the sunrise in the distance over Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas). Collected more fire wood. Arrived at Kata Tjuta around 9.30am for 'The Valley of the Winds' walk about 7.4km. We did the difficult ... read more

Thursday was the third day of our Rock Tour trip. With our first day focusing on Kings Canyon and the second on Kata Tjuta, this was our Uluru day. The day before, we tried to see the sunset on Uluru, but rain clouds prevented that. So we made sure to get up bright and early to see the sunrise on Uluru instead, which is supposed to yield similar results. Well, it didn’t last long, but it was definitely amazing! The giant rock goes from grayish one second, to bright red the next! The colour contrast compared to everything else was so crazy! Unfortunately, it just doesn’t last that long, so it was over before we knew it. However, we were really lucky because just as the rock began to glow red, a beautiful rainbow appeared, forming ... read more

Del Jueves 2 al Martes 7-Abr-09 Esta parte del viaje la voy a realizar en un mítico tren llamado Ghan y que atraviesa todo el desierto australiano hasta llegar a Alice Spring, justo en el centro, el viaje dura 23 horas y aunque hay unas cabinas cojonudas con camas estupendas que incluyen la cena y tal y tal, yo me conformo con un asientito normal (que eso si, tiene dos posiciones de reclinado) y gracias a unas tarifas de súper oferta, por que hasta estos asientos son bastante caros. Tanto el tren como el viaje están bien, aunque ambos han perdido bastante la emoción y ese regusto a aventura que tuviera en otros tiempos, este tren es ya bastante “moderno”, con su aire acondicionado, ventanas y puertas dobles y selladas, restaurante, duchas, asientos individuales, lo ... read more

After a good nights sleep (the room had much needed air conditioning) although a bit short , we woke up at 5am ready for watching sunrise. Again we take the Uluru Express bus to the car park to watch sunrise at 6.54 am. Along with about 200 other visitors we wait and get our positions ready for the sun to light up this famous rock. We were provided with a hot drink and biscuits while we waited and started taking pictures of the sunrise in front of Ayers Rock and the rock it self as the colour got more red by the minute. The sky was perfectly clear and blue as the sun rose and the shadows were quite amazing. Uluru is 3.6km long and 348 metres high and is sacred in Anangu law. At ... read more