Weather: 30c, sunny. (Friday 13th, September)
Another fabulous day weather wise, and a drive to Ayers
Rock, also known by its aboriginal name of Uluru. The drive (Stuart Highway then Lassiter
Highway) was hilarious – whenever we saw anything higher than a termite hill,
we claimed it as Uluru – but for those who have already visited, you really
don’t see it until you are very close.
So hello Mt. Conner (above) and Mt. Ebenezer – who masquerade as Uluru (below)!
I am afraid that we were typical tourists here – stop the
car, jump out, take photos, drive to the next fabulous viewpoint, stop the car
etc., etc., etc., But you know
what? It worked for us. It really is quite amazing.
A few fun facts – it is made out of sandstone
that is actually grey in color. However,
it has quite a high iron content, and the orange/red color that you see is
actually rust. Yep, you got that, Uluru
is rusty! It has worn away quite a bit,
and the faces are not at all like the smooth sides that you see in
photographs. Here are some of my
favorite photos . . . .
I found the countryside most interesting, for some reason I thought that there would be
barren desert all around – but that was not even close to the truth. Some areas would be quite lush, with bright
green grasses, then we would see lots of trees, then scrubland, and so it kept
changing as we drove along. The land
itself though was pretty much the red and that you would imagine.
We didn’t see much in the way of animals today – not even
one of the over one million camels that reside in Australia. Actually – I tell a lie. Whilst driving I saw a twig in the road –
about 18” long with one end bent up from the road. I drove around it – didn’t want it getting
stuck under the hire car – and up it got and scurried off. Being an Australian creature expert, I
determined that it was ‘lizardy’!
We then arrived at Kulgera – an outback outpost, and booked
in for the night. The ‘roadhouse’
accommodation was very ‘rough and ready’, but basically clean. Look what Paul and Sharon found in their
bathroom . . . . .
The food though, was fabulous.
Tomorrow we are back in Coober Pedy and hope to make a trip
to an opal mine. Another early start –
but we can catch up on sleep on our flights later in the vacation. Right?!
Hey - you fly all this way - you certainly should jump out and photograph everything.
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