We were up early today to see the sunrise on Uluru (pronounced OOH-loo-roo), which I had expected to be pretty grand, based on how the sunset was. We were on the bus by 6:15 for the half hour trip to the viewing area. I'm just glad we were here in the fall with later sunrises! We got coffee and a snack when we arrived, then headed to the platform to watch. The actual sunrise (behind us) was quite nice, but the sun on the mountain was pretty tame. I forgot to mention yesterday that Uluru is a lot like an iceberg -- most of it is hidden. It goes up about 1100 feet, but there is another 1.5 miles underground.
 |
| Sunrise on Uluru |
 |
| Kata Tjuta at sunrise |
From the viewing platform, we also had a nice view of Kata Tjuta (pronounced KAH-tah YOU-tah), which is about 30 miles away from Uluru. This is also called the Olgas, was formed around the same time from very different rocks and has eroded into 36 separate but grouped domes. We went back to the hotel for breakfast and to check out, then headed over to Kata Tjuta for a walk into the Walpa Gorge and a billabong (watering hole). The flies here have been horrendous and we are very glad we heeded the warning to bring head nets that fit over your hat or just over your head and keep the flies off your face. Thankfully, the flies don't bite. The scenery here was quite different even though these mountains look pretty much the same from a distance. This one is much more rugged and rocky, where Uluru looks like sandstone.
 |
| Partial view of Kata Tjuta closer |
 |
| Entrance to Walpa Gorge |
 |
| Jim as we near the gorge |
 |
| Rick at the billabong |
 |
Lynn with requisite head net to protect from flies
much appreciated! |
 |
| Looking back out at the outback |
 |
| Kata Tjuta from another view |
After lunch, we flew to Port Douglas, a small town about an hour out of Cairns, which will be our starting point for exploring the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest. It is the nicest of the hotels so far and quite a pleasant contrast to the more basic places we experienced in Central Australia, though everywhere has been fine. It is hard to believe that we have less than a week to go on our three week adventure! It would be easy to stay much longer. Unfortunately, the Australian government doesn't seem too interested in having foreigners retire here. A four year visa that MAYBE can be extended will cost more than $13,000 per person and the rules say you have to make a 'significant' investment in business. Oh well.
No comments:
Post a Comment