20060522 Monday Ayer's Rock NT, OZ        Map Link             Photo Link  

On the road again. Brief breakfast in the apartment, then final cleanup & take luggage down to the car. Car to the domestic airport terminal, turn it in, over to the Qantas kiosks, check in with them, take luggage to the luggage drop. Pass through security (rather easy this time) into the waiting area and wait.

Did some spreadsheet work while waiting and watching aircraft come & go. 

Our turn after a bit. We charged in and were first onto the aircraft (a 717). Takeoff and flight were smooth. The landing was odd in that the pilot was all lined up to land and at low altitude when we went off on a big arc off around the countryside to land in the other direction on the runway. Maybe a wind direction change.

We hopped onto the shuttle bus and were taken to our hotel (The Lost Camel) in the Ayer's Rock Resort and checked in there. Very funny little room but cute and functional. As you walk into the room, there's the bed. Behind that is the washbasin area. Behind that is the shower on one side, toilet on the other. A little cutout in the wall holds the luggage, mini-refrigerator and closet. Small, but very efficient.

The whole complex is designed to be eco-sensitive. You plug your key into the wall after you've entered the room to enable the electricity. When you leave and pull the key from the wall, all the power goes off. A diesel power plant does the generation.

The place isn't quite a desert. There's well water 20 meters down. There's some emphasis on conserving water.

There are two lookout points in the Ayer's Rock Resort where you can see the rock (Uluru) some 6 miles away. The resort was built to minimize impact on the rock area when the national park was established in 1983-4. All prior lodgings inside the park area were then removed. The park officially belongs to the aborigines but is leased back to the state for 99 years from then and is operated under contract by a private firm for the state & aborigines.

Since it is a monopoly, all prices are high. We went to the tour agent office and found we'd been entered for one of the two trips (Sounds of Silence tomorrow evening) but not the other (Desert Awakening tomorrow morning early). Finally, it came that we'd take the early tour and sort it out afterward.

We went to the lookout at sunset and watched the rock change shades of red/grey. 

Then off to dinner at the five-star restaurant "Kuniya" in the Desert Sails Inn nearby. D had an appetizer of maple-glazed quail with a number of complementing things, and an entree of barramundi with rice crust, coconut foam, etc. I had Angus Beef carpaccio with other things, and then speckcock (chicken) with potato gnocchi & extras. Wine was a NZ Viognier. There was a little tiny dish given first, a small circular slice of raw tuna about two inches across on a little bed of greenery with a lime and sweet chili dressing - just a knockout start to the meal. We got the recipe for the bread dip, and will try that on our visitors after we've tested it. Dessert and port. Excellent all round.

Then back to the room to fall asleep early so we could get up early.

20060523 Teusday Ayer's Rock NT, OZ                 Photo Link    

Up at 0455 for our Desert Awakening experience. Down to the lobby about 0530 to wait for pickup at 0550. But at 0535, Laura entered the lobby, gathered us up into a Toyota Land Cruiser 4x4 and away we went.

We scurried out of the resort area into the brush. The road got narrower and Laura speeded up. It got down to one lane and bumpy, so Laura went faster. Finally some turns came along at which Laura slowed, turned into a sort of parking area and stopped.

We got behind her and her very weak torch (flashlight) and walked off into the brush. Beautiful stars - no ambient light to dim them. Galaxies easily seen. We went up hill and rounded something to come to a thatch-covered gazebo. We took folding chairs from there about 50 feet to a firepit. Laura started the fire and then put me "in charge" of keeping it going. She went off and started coffee. As she came back with it we could see the other vehicle with four more guests in it approaching. We finished our first cup as they came into the pit area.

Leroy was the driver and person in charge for the morning. He brought out muffins and danish and made more coffee. These were followed by bacon and egg sandwiches. We all introduced ourselves - us, a couple from the Gold Coast, and two guys (one from San Francisco and one from Adelaide). The sun started coming up in the east and Ayer's Rock could be dimly seen to the south. Kata-Tjuta (many heads) rocks could be seen to the west. 

Leroy made bread in the dutch oven on the coals next. We had it with honey and bush tea, a tea from some of the flowers and berries around the site. Not bad at all.

Leroy told stories, mainly native ones, as he gave the background to the place. Nobody ever lived here. All the various northern tribes came here for ceremonies as the time for them came, but all the tribes were nomadic. Leroy's been here 15 years and obviously loves it.

After the sun was well up and everyone had all the pictures they wanted, we cleaned up and took the remains back to the vehicles. Leroy and the other four took off and we with Laura followed. We entered the national park (AU$25/person entry fee) and came to the rock and then began to circle it. We stopped at a parking area and started a walking tour in toward the rock. Leroy told folklore stories as well as narrating why this place was needed and used by the tribes. Hieroglyphics on the walls of one cave showed that messages were passed here. The path went on to a water hole at the very base of the rock. Leroy said another waterhole is up higher and is named Uluru, the name the tribes now give to the rock and the whole area around it.

About 1030, we took off again and came to the cultural center run by the tribes. One room is history, another art, another art for sale. Nice place. We bought a gift for our neighbor.

We were finally dropped off at the hotel about 1130. We went off and got a small snack to hold us to dinner and returned to the room to nap (0455 came awful early what with the hour-and-a-half time change and all). I decided to type these notes now (1500) so I'd have them done. Soon we'll get active again and prepare for out 1705 pickup for Sounds of Silence.

Sounds of Silence is a full linen-on-table dinner in the desert (or near-desert) featuring native animal and bird dishes, with canapes, beers, wines, desserts, coffees, teas, port, etc., as the sun sets and the shadows change on Uluru. I hope it lives up to its billing.

(Later) It did. We loaded 56 people into a bus and went into the brush. We got off and went to a viewing area, were given champagne and the opportunity to take pictures of Uluru and Kata Tjuta until past sunset, then we walked to the dining area. Many tables were set up there in the dust; we stumbled into Craig and Tim from this morning's trip and asked if we could join them, and did. Two young lady travelers joined us to make the table of six; Catherine and Lucy from Manchester, England. Craig's originally from Melbourne and Tim is originally from Eau Claire, Wisconsin; they both now live in San Francisco. Lucy has lived in Hong Kong, so the pair are headed from here to Bali to Hong Kong then home. The guys are headed to Perth (so we gave them a few thoughts) and back to SF.

The soup was a pumpkin concoction, but good. Great rolls. The buffet included a ceasar salad with emu or crocodile, kangaroo, beef, chicken, barramundi, lamb sausage, and vegetables. The wine glasses were refilled liberally. The dessert buffet chocolate pudding, bread pudding, compote, cheesecake and others, with coffee or tea, and fruit plate.

Then the astronomy specialist came out with a hand-held torch and laser gun to point to the stars as she talked about them. We were led thru the planets to the southern cross to the ways of estimating true south and many other pointers. The milky way was especially clear and easy to see. Beautiful.

Then it was time to give up and return to the bus and to the hotel to take easy and prepare for tomorrow's run to Port Douglas.

A great day and worth every penny.