March 28 – April 1
Hi All,
We’re back on Mystic Moon now, finished with our Oz “road” trip. Last stop was in the Outback, Ayers Rock, now known as Uluru. It was very mystical indeed, and wow, you would not believe the color of the desert….red, red, red (from oxidized iron we found out). Actually pretty stunning, and yep, it’s us….it rained in the desert on us. Again. We are starting to get a complex. But, the bursts of budding green against the red sand was stunning! And, we rode camels. Yes, you read that right. Camels. Apparently Oz has the largest wild camel population in the world, some 400,000. So many, that they catch them and send them off to the middle East. Seriously. Anyhoo, the camels were awesome and good fun! :))))
We had so many pictures we made an album under the Gallery menu tab at the top, titled Uluru….enjoy!
It was a trip of a lot of wows and also quite a few “reallys”. So, some good stuff and some disappointments. We received a lot of opposing opinions from our Aussie and cruiser friends about going to Uluru…..like maybe a 55/45 split in favor of going. Comments like the geography/rock formations are spectacular (we agree, by far the highlight), over marketed, under delivered (we agree, what was in the brochure was not what was delivered), 4.5 star accommodations….maybe 20 years ago but certainly not now, great Aboriginal experience….it had potential but not delivered, prices very inflated (agree…maybe 2-3 times the value), you’ll see lots of wildlife….not!!!
All in all we are very glad we went as the geography was spectacular. We hiked both Uluru and Kata Tjuta over 2 days…..about 10 miles each day so we very much got in some exercise!! We also saw sunset on 3 nights and one sunrise. The sunsets were a huge wow as you saw the rocks go from a red glow to purple to brown. Sunrise was not so spectacular at least from the view we chose…..no slow progression….just a brown rock and then the light switch gets turned on and blip, there is the red rock!!!
Mr Weather: yep, he gaveeth and he taketh. The first day it was cloudy and eventually rained….yep, rain in the desert AGAIN!! However, it was spectacular as we got to see the desert change colors to a bright green. People who lived there said they had not seen the desert this color and how unique it was. The first night’s sunset had a lot of color as at the moment it was partly cloudy….the rain came about 1 hour after sunset. And then it stayed cool…only in the high 80’s to low 90’s F. This next week the temps will be >100 deg F….yikes!!!
We did two tours and the rest of the events on our own. Sounds of Silence and a sunset camel tour. We loved the camel tour but the Sounds of Silence dinner was a bust. It was supposed to be an evening under the desert stars, eating delightful Aussie/Aboriginal food, and hearing Aboriginal stories and music and listening to the desert silence. First, it cost about 3x too much, the only real native Oz food was a marinated kangaroo, which was actually quite tasty, but no emu or crocodile as advertised, the staff were Aboriginals but no stories, there were dancers, but they shined a spotlight behind them right into our eyes so we could not see anything and then it lasted for about 5 minutes….yes, that’s all…..maybe 2 dances….really, that’s all….and then the cu de gras ….which was not really their fault….it started to rain at the end of dinner before the “star” talk began….but the lady said go over to that table and the ” star man” will describe what you missed….so I went over and this “white” guy, not Aboriginal, is saying you didn’t miss much…get up at 4am and look in the south sky and you will see Jupiter, then north and you will see Saturn, then east and see Mars, then look up and see Orion….that’s it a lady asks…what about the southern cross…oh, look in the south and you will see it. The next 3 days were cloudless so we did see the desert sky at night….impressive, and yes, all the “man’s” stars were out!!
The camel tour at sunset was another highlight. We found out this tour was not associated with the Aeyer’s Rock Resort that seemed to control a lot of the tours and accommodation and jacked all the prices sky high. These guys were a delight, reasonably priced and very funny. The camels themselves were very well trained and gentle and slowing walking through the desert at sunset was a real delight. They kept the experience fun by telling a lot of camel stories/jokes so a good time had by all. Back at the farm they served hor d’oeuvres and an open bar. As we were standing around chatting with a few folks we noticed we were the oldest couple there….the rest were families or twenty/thirty somethings…yikes:(((((
The Aboriginals experience….hmmmm….this land was taken by force from them but about 30 years ago it was given back. The people seemed tired, very shy and you got the impression they did not want you there or they did not want to be there. It could be they do this for tourists everyday and were just very bored with their jobs. We did go to the Cultural Center and spent several hours….very well done…told the history through stories, some legends, and some with mystical characters. A Ranger there was very helpful and gave us a lot of advice on how to hike both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. We also attended a “bush” talk, just ok, another dance show….same people, did 5-6 dances, lasted 8-10 minutes….supposed to last 30…..and finally a cultural movie that told a legendary story through 3d animation and live actors which was excellent!!
They still permit people to climb Uluru….about 1000 feet @ a 60 deg slope….it’s pretty dangerous/slippery, ~40 people have died trying….AND it is quite controversial. We went on a Ranger led tour near Uluru and he said they ask people not to climb for safety, the environmental impact and because the Anangu, the Aboriginal people at Uluru, consider some of the grounds sacred and ask people not to climb. This Ranger says he gets into arguments/discussions all the time….he said, you have to remember the Aboriginals were just given citizenship in my lifetime and attitudes are hard to change…it will take generations….the discussions go….It is my right to climb and I will do it respectfully…but as the Ranger says…you can’t climb and respect the Amandu….I don’t care, I’m climbing anyway and I do respect the Amandu…sir, you really do not understand….you can’t do both!! We of course did not climb and personally do not understand why they do not close it all together.
No trip to Uluru is complete without mentioning the black flies…..arghhhhhh!!!! We had experienced some of these pesky dudes in some of our travels but this was ridiculous. We bought fly hats/screens to help keep these guys out of our ears, nose and eyes….sometimes maybe 50-100 all over us…..but at least they did not bite….yuck!!! They were the worst around Kata Tjuta….we think because it was somewhat hot and very little breeze that day. We did find out that after sunset they go to bed so no issues at night….relief!!
Here is a brief description of Uluru and Kata Tjuta:
Uluru, or Ayers Rock, is a massive sandstone monolith in the heart of the Northern Territory’s Red Centre desert, 450km from the nearest large town, Alice Springs. It’s sacred to indigenous Australians and believed to be about 700 million years old. It’s within Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, which also encompasses the 36 red-rock domes of the Kata Tjuta (colloquially “The Olgas”) formation. Uluru is one of Australia’s most recognisable natural landmarks. The sandstone formation stands 348 m (1,142 ft) high, rising 863 m (2,831 ft) above sea level with most of its bulk lying underground, and has a total circumference of 9.4 km (5.8 mi). Both Uluru and the nearby Kata Tjuta formation have great cultural significance for the Aṉangu people, the traditional inhabitants of the area, who lead walking tours to inform visitors about the local flora and fauna, bush foods and the Aboriginal dreamtime stories of the area.
Uluru is notable for appearing to change colour at different times of the day and year, most notably when it glows red at dawn and sunset.
Kata Tjuta, also called Mount Olga or The Olgas, lies 25 km (16 mi) west of Uluru. Special viewing areas with road access and parking have been constructed to give tourists the best views of both sites at dawn and dusk.
Uluru and Kata Tjuta are millions upon millions of years old. Geologists say their formation began about 550 million years ago. Back then, the Peterman Ranges to the west of Kata Tjuta were much taller than they are now. Rainwater flowed down the mountains, eroding sand and rock and dropping it in big fan shapes on the plains. One fan had mainly water-smoothed rock and the other was mainly sand. Then 500 million years ago, this whole area became covered in sea. Sand and mud fell to the bottom of the sea and covered the seabed, including the fans. The weight of this new seabed turned the fans into rock. The rocky fan became conglomerate rock (Kata Tjuta) while the sand fan turned into sandstone (Uluru). About 400 million years ago the sea disappeared. Rocks folded and tilted as the earth’s tectonic plates shifted. Kata Tjuta tilted slightly. Uluru tilted 90 degrees. Over the last 300 million years, softer rocks have eroded away leaving Kata Tjuta and Uluru behind. What we see at Uluru and Kata Tjuta today, are just the tips of huge rock slabs that continue below ground for up to six kilometres! Uluru is made up of a type of rock called arkose. If you take the Base Walk you’ll notice the surface is actually flaky red with grey patches. These flakes are bits of rock left after water and oxygen have decayed minerals in the rock. The red is the rusting of iron found naturally in arkose and the grey is the original colour. Inside the caves you can see this original grey colour.
So that’s it on the Australia road trip….54 days, 12,000 miles covered on planes, train and automobiles:))))
We leave for LA this coming Friday, April 8th, spend 3+ days with Josh, Courtney and little Sadie, then on to Pleasanton to see the rest of the family and some friends!! We then return to Oz on April 21 and will begin our cruising season soon thereafter!!
Stats:
Traveled:
Car miles: 160 miles in Uluru; 4860 miles total
Air miles: 2710 miles round trip from sydney to Uluru; 5460 miles total
Train miles: 1600 miles total
Total traveled miles: 11,920 miles; call it 12,000 miles total
Wrong turns: 3 total
Kangaroo/”Roos”/Skippy count: 0 this leg; 353 total!!!
Skippy roadside warning signs: 2 this leg, 179 total
Koala count: 0 this leg; 49 total
Emu count: 0 this leg; 120 total
Echidna count: 0 this leg; 5 total
One Way bridges: 0 today; 19 total
Speeding Tickets: 0 today; 1 total
Hotel: Sails in the Desert: disappointing; rated 4.5 stars but give them a 3; tired hotel; needs a thorough cleaning and renovating; the AC grate in our room was dirty and had mold growing, we asked them to clean which they did but really….yuck!!!
Food: buffet breakfast ok, pub food for lunch, ok, one nice steak dinner but Kathy’s steak medium rare not rare, at least it was not well done!!!
LIG!!!!
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
