Ayres Rock Weekend
Sunday Sunrise in the bush
Monday sunrise
Keep those flies offAyres Rock
After Sydney we flew to Ayres Rock, what a contrast, 39 degrees of dry heat in an arid dessert, the predominant colour being a dull red, the soil and the Rock itself, mainly due to the oxidisation of the iron ore in the locality, the only relief being some pale green scrubby trees, yet it has a beauty of it's own. It's hard to convey the beauty and majesty of this huge mass of rock which the Aboriginal people believe has so many mystical powers.
We were not booked on any organised tour on Saturday so we walked to a local lookout point to watch the sun go down, not much of a spectacle as the clouds built up at the last minute and we lost sight of the golden glow as it sank. We consoled ourselves in the Outpack Pioneer Hotel where there was the ooportunity to cook a steak of your choice on the communal BBQ, very Australian, see picture.
We can't tell you how many flies there are there, JB bought a special hat with built in net, see picture,
Sunday Morning it was up at 5 am to drive off on the first of two organised trips, this one being to a "Sunrise Breakfast'. Ten of us were shuttled off in a truck to an isolated spot in the bush where the guide sat us down with coffee and tea brewed on a campfire while we awaited sun up at 0640. It was well worth the effort and as the horizon lit up we were offered bacon and egg rolls, see picture.
That same evening was to be the highlight of our whole trip, a "Sounds of Silence" dinner. There were around 60 of us for this, we were driven off into the desert with a fine view of the rock while a lone diggeredoo player seranaded us (if that's the right word) as we supped ice cold champagne and ate little canapes of kangaroo and crocodile! The whole party then moved to the dining area which was laid with elegant white tablecloths and crystal under the stars which was to be followed by a illustrated talk about the stars in the southern skies. Sadly the skies darkened through the evening and lightening flashes started to replace the stars. By the time all the elegant diners had finished their main course the heavens opened and we got absolutely soaked. It hardly ever rains in this part of Australia, the organisers took no precautions and we all had to rush back to our coaches where they drove us to the best hotel in the resort for deserts, coffee and port. Imagine we had travelled over 12,00 miles for this experience and it was rained off, no stars, no magic. We were very dissappointed.
Undeterrred we got up agian at 0500 on Monday morning to go and look at another magical sunrise. The rain clouds had more or less gone and we were rewarded with another wonderful sunrise as you can see in the pictures.
It was a very tired couple of travellers who went to the airport on Monday lunchtime to continue the trip, this time we took off for Cairns. We shall be at sea now for three days so no more blog until we get back to Sydney on Saturday evening.
Sunday Morning it was up at 5 am to drive off on the first of two organised trips, this one being to a "Sunrise Breakfast'. Ten of us were shuttled off in a truck to an isolated spot in the bush where the guide sat us down with coffee and tea brewed on a campfire while we awaited sun up at 0640. It was well worth the effort and as the horizon lit up we were offered bacon and egg rolls, see picture.
That same evening was to be the highlight of our whole trip, a "Sounds of Silence" dinner. There were around 60 of us for this, we were driven off into the desert with a fine view of the rock while a lone diggeredoo player seranaded us (if that's the right word) as we supped ice cold champagne and ate little canapes of kangaroo and crocodile! The whole party then moved to the dining area which was laid with elegant white tablecloths and crystal under the stars which was to be followed by a illustrated talk about the stars in the southern skies. Sadly the skies darkened through the evening and lightening flashes started to replace the stars. By the time all the elegant diners had finished their main course the heavens opened and we got absolutely soaked. It hardly ever rains in this part of Australia, the organisers took no precautions and we all had to rush back to our coaches where they drove us to the best hotel in the resort for deserts, coffee and port. Imagine we had travelled over 12,00 miles for this experience and it was rained off, no stars, no magic. We were very dissappointed.
Undeterrred we got up agian at 0500 on Monday morning to go and look at another magical sunrise. The rain clouds had more or less gone and we were rewarded with another wonderful sunrise as you can see in the pictures.
It was a very tired couple of travellers who went to the airport on Monday lunchtime to continue the trip, this time we took off for Cairns. We shall be at sea now for three days so no more blog until we get back to Sydney on Saturday evening.
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posted by Johnny & Sue World Travellers at
11:15
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