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Published: June 18th 2009
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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 beer that taste exactly like water! I soon realised it was light beer in a fancy bottle. (no harm really)
After sunset in the desert the temperature dropped dramatically to 4 Degrees. We were extra polite to the seating women and got seat for our meal near a gas outdoor heater.
The food was alright (I would have said nothing to write
Champagne reception
(actually sparkling Semillon, much tastier) home about but I am writing about it), mostly what could be described as showy tourist food. KANGAROO, CROCODILE, BARRAMUNDI, LAMB were all part of the menu.
The best part of the night came just after dinner when a local astronomer walked us through the most incredible night sky we have ever seen. Billions of stars, the milky way actually looking milky. Really amazing night, a must for anyone who comes here.
(Kim taking over now.) Wednesday started with us taking our rental car out to Uluru (Ayers Rock). What an amazing site. The first hour in the cultural centre was great, there was a talk by a local aboriginal, explaining all about the tools they use and how they hunt and teach their children. For a massive tourist attraction, I found that the thing I liked the most was that you feel like you’re visiting someone else’s home; it wasn’t built for tourists and covered in tacky shops.
So Shane and I did the base walk, a total of about 13km. It was unbelievable. What’s even more unbelievable is how people can do this in the summertime. It reached 20 Degrees here during the day and
the sun would have baked us if we weren’t in hats, sunscreen, etc. How do you do this in 40 Degree heat?
Feeling rather adventurous and taken in by such beautiful scenery, we decided to attack the Valley of the Winds walk at Kata Tjuta, aka The Olgas. This was an 8km hike that was much more difficult! We went around a couple of the mounds but it was all loose gravel and rock. Fabulous hike and just as impressive as Uluru.
We got back to the hotel at around 5pm tired, covered in red sandstone but satisfied. And starving. We decided to have dinner at the “fine dining” restaurant as a treat for all our hard work and we weren’t too sure what to expect as the hotel “star” system is rather suspicious. But we were in luck. Dinner was amazing. Forgot to take pictures but Shane had the beef (cooked to perfection) and I had the crab risotto. And a great bottle of Metala Shiraz Cabernet 2006. Could not have asked for a better meal.
And then we were asleep by 9pm.
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The K Man
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So jealous
The Red Centre sounds (and looks) awesome. Shame we're stuck here at work. Also, where's my credit for confirming the Metala as a goer based on my extensive wine knowledge?!