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Published: October 28th 2008
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Uluru Sunset
This is what it's all about! The Rock
October 27, 2008
Our 280 mile drive from Alice Springs to the middle of nowhere began early with a few stops along the way for gas and diversion. One roadhouse had caged emus and kangaroos for our amusement, another had saddled up camels ready for a ride (we passed), and another had a memorial to some guys who had died at that spot in the high speed Cannonball Run. Our favorite stop was the roadhouse where we ate lunch. It had a lot of Aboriginal crafts for sale and you could look through a window and see the “artists” at work with a sign saying “do not photograph the women working” and also had a lot of antique items scattered throughout the building.
There are four big dangers driving the roads in the Northern Territory: speed (no real speed limit), fatigue (long stretches of sameness), animals (more roadkill here than anywhere we’ve been…mostly roos), and the road trains. The road trains are trucks that pull three or four long trailers. As you can imagine, passing these monsters can be tricky. Joe is good at it.
The landscape was much more interesting than the view from
Road to Uluru
We thought it was a great road trip with lots of stuff to look at and fun places to stop. the train window. There were interesting flora, red sandstone features, some new birds, and some ups and downs in the road. After turning off the continent bisecting Stuart Highway onto Lasseter Highway we drove about sixty miles and there suddenly appeared this giant red mesa sticking up in the middle of the desert. Was it Uluru? Nope, it was Mt. Conner and it is often called “Fooluru” because it is so often mistaken for the famous Uluru. Didn’t fool us, we had a guidebook. But we did stop at the overlook there and viewed some interesting dried up lakebeds.
Then suddenly, there it was to the left. Our goal, “The Rock.” My heart fluttered a little just because we made it. It is 348 meters high and it’s a six mile walk around it. It does create an impression upon first sight and is a World Heritage Site for natural and cultural reasons.
We spent the afternoon becoming familiar with the resort, our cabin, the birds (no new ones), and the shops and art galleries. The place is called Yalaru or Ayers Rock Resort and it’s a well-thought out place with interesting architecture.
The thing to do
Emu
Sure wish we could see one in the wild. I kept an emu feather to use as a bookmark in the guide book. here is to watch the sun set on Uluru. It’s a like a tailgate party at a football game. Everybody parks their cars in the viewing area and people set up tables and chairs and have food and drink. It’s quite the social event, we had fun talking to the friendly Australians, Germans and Spaniards around us (still no U.S. tourists in sight). I kept thinking, “We’re doing all this for a rock?” Then as the sun started to hit Uluru at a certain angle and it turned red before my eyes, I decided it was all worth it. Photos (certainly not ours) don’t convey the overwhelming sight. 500,000 people visit this place each year and now I know why.
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Lois Settles
non-member comment
Thanks, we missed this one.
Judy, I am enjoying each and every blog. What fun for you and Joe. Wish we were there. So fun to see these things we missed when we were there. Aren't the birds WONDERFUL!!!!?? Look forward to your next epistle. Love, Lois