Day 9 - Cairns to Uluru
- Woke up at 4:30 am for early morning flight
- Finished packing and left hotel at 6 am
- Reached airport in 15 minutes and after checking in and dropping off our bags, we had a quick breakfast comprising lattes, blueberry danish and yogurt
- Flight took off on time at 7:30 am and we reached Ayers Rock airport after two and a half hours but due to a different time zone, the local landing time was 9:30 am
- Ayers Rock is an extremely remote town in the state of Northern Territory and there are only 5 things in about a 200 km radius: the small airport (which is more like an airstrip), the Ayers Rock resort which is a collection of hotels with a small market, the Uluru rock, the Kata Tjuta rocks and the Aboriginal town where about 300 people live
- It's desert terrain with healthy vegetation of patchy grass and trees which is surprising because it's quite dry
- Temperatures can go above 50 degrees Celsius in summer which is why we didn't go in December when it's summer in Australia but chose the month of April which is fall in Australia. Fall temperatures can still hit early to mid 30s
- The resort has shuttle buses at the airport that pick up resort guests arriving on one of only 5 daily flights that come into Ayers Rock and transport them to the resort. There are no taxis or any other form of public transportation
- Our hotel room wasn't ready so we read brochures for guided tours of the area to pass time
- We booked three tours: one night tour departing at 8:20 pm later that day and two tours for the next day
- After checking in to our room, we relaxed for a little while and then spotted a big spider on the spare bed. I sprayed bug spray on it which killed it but we got scared about the animals in the desert, also because the room had a booklet warning about different dangerous animals that are found in the region
- We called housekeeping to change the sheets of the spare bed and went out for lunch
- We went to the so-called town center market of the resort that has a handful of shops and three restaurants
- We had fish and chips, peri peri chicken pizza and lime cheesecake for lunch at one of the restaurants
- Then we bought some insect repellent sprays and some snacks from the supermarket which is so fully stocked that it can fool you into thinking you're in a major city
- After that we walked back to our room and took a nap
- Then we walked to our hotel lobby where we were picked up for the night tour of the desert called "Field of Lights"
- We were driven to a field in the desert which has a multi million dollar art installation of softly lit lights that are powered by stored solar energy and each light looks like a medium sized stem with a colored bulb on top. The bulbs change color between green, blue, red, yellow, orange, white and purple and cause the field to appear as a field of lit-up crop
- We walked through the field for about half an hour and I wore Sereen in her baby carrier. We enjoyed the peace and quiet of the cool night desert with the moon shining in the clear sky and the thousands of lights changing color
- We took the return bus at 9:20 pm and had dinner in the lobby restaurant of our hotel. Samia had chicken qorma with basmati rice whereas I had a beef burger
- We came to our room after dinner and went to bed around 11 pm
Day 10 - Uluru
- Woke up very early at 4:15 am despite sleeping late the night before at 11 pm since we had a sunrise tour booked
- We didn't have time for breakfast so our hotel packed some continental breakfast for us to have in the tour bus
- The bus picked us up at 5:30 am and we drove to the national park that houses the Uluru rock. After parking, we were served some coffee and snacks before heading up to the elevated sand dune which has a viewing platform of wood constructed on it for best views of the rock
- We had arrived here in complete darkness and the silhouette of the magnificent rock had been visible from a distance
- Around sunrise time, within minutes, the desert started coming to life as the sun's first rays appeared and the outline of the trees and shrubs became visible with a pink hued background. The rock started to change colors as the sun rose, making the ridges on the rock obvious as the shadows emerged. The pink hues turned to orange and then blue, and then we could see Uluru standing alone in the desert, in all its splendor, towering over the flat land all around it for as far as one could see
- It's a sandstone monolith that is thought to have started forming some 550 million years ago! The local Aboriginal Australian people regard the rock as sacred and it plays a big part in their religion and lives
- The Uluru rock which is also called Ayers Rock is almost 350 meters high and is a massive 10 km in circumference!
- It was hard to take your eyes off the gigantic rock that has been standing in almost exactly the middle of the Australian continent for millions of years, virtually unchanged
- After viewing the sunrise at Uluru, we drove 40 km for our next stop: Kata Tjuta (pronounced Kata Juta)
- Kata Tjuta, also known as the Olgas, lay West of Uluru and the highest peak is 546 meters high (approximately 200 meters higher than Uluru). After viewing the Kata Tjuta from a distance, we went closer and hiked through Walpa Gorge. It was very windy so Sereen loved it!
- Then we headed back to our resort around 11:30 am and had reached back around noon
- We had two and a half hours before our next tour so we quickly ate at the lobby restaurant. We shared chicken pasta and lamb roghan josh on basmati rice while Sereen had her rice cereal
- Then we headed back to our room to quickly take showers to freshen up and then walked to the hotel lobby
- Our tour bus picked us up at 2:30 pm and then we drove to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre where we spent about an hour to learn about the unique spiritual culture and the dreamtime/creation stories of the Anangu (pronounced Ana-noo), the traditional custodians of Uluru
- Next we drove around the base of Uluru to see all its sides, including the culturally sensitive side that is still used for Anangu customs and is not allowed to be photographed
- Then we went on a guided walk that took us really close to the rock and we were able to touch some parts of it too
- The walk led to a famous waterhole that has been a source of water for Aboriginal Australians for thousands of years
- Our guide also told us about different plants and trees that grow in this area and how they are used by the Anangu
- After the walk, we got back on the bus and drove past a controlled fire that was being lit up to get rid of certain trees and plants so that it wouldn't result in bigger forest fires. When to burn which trees and plants is knowledge that is supplied by the local Aboriginal park rangers
- Then we parked at a viewing point of Uluru so that we could see the rock during sunset and had some snacks while waiting for the sun to go down
- Uluru was again beautiful in the dimming light of the setting sun but it wasn't as splendid as the sunrise
- After watching the sunset, we drove back to our resort and headed back to our room around 7:30 pm
- The hotel had accidentally left two packed breakfasts in our room as well, in addition to the ones we had picked up from reception in the morning so we decided to have those as dinner so as not to waste them
- It was a very long and tiring day but we decided to finish packing before going to bed so that we could sleep in the next day and went to bed around 10 pm
- Woke up at 4:30 am for early morning flight
- Finished packing and left hotel at 6 am
- Reached airport in 15 minutes and after checking in and dropping off our bags, we had a quick breakfast comprising lattes, blueberry danish and yogurt
- Flight took off on time at 7:30 am and we reached Ayers Rock airport after two and a half hours but due to a different time zone, the local landing time was 9:30 am
- Ayers Rock is an extremely remote town in the state of Northern Territory and there are only 5 things in about a 200 km radius: the small airport (which is more like an airstrip), the Ayers Rock resort which is a collection of hotels with a small market, the Uluru rock, the Kata Tjuta rocks and the Aboriginal town where about 300 people live
- It's desert terrain with healthy vegetation of patchy grass and trees which is surprising because it's quite dry
- Temperatures can go above 50 degrees Celsius in summer which is why we didn't go in December when it's summer in Australia but chose the month of April which is fall in Australia. Fall temperatures can still hit early to mid 30s
- The resort has shuttle buses at the airport that pick up resort guests arriving on one of only 5 daily flights that come into Ayers Rock and transport them to the resort. There are no taxis or any other form of public transportation
- Our hotel room wasn't ready so we read brochures for guided tours of the area to pass time
- We booked three tours: one night tour departing at 8:20 pm later that day and two tours for the next day
- After checking in to our room, we relaxed for a little while and then spotted a big spider on the spare bed. I sprayed bug spray on it which killed it but we got scared about the animals in the desert, also because the room had a booklet warning about different dangerous animals that are found in the region
- We called housekeeping to change the sheets of the spare bed and went out for lunch
- We went to the so-called town center market of the resort that has a handful of shops and three restaurants
- We had fish and chips, peri peri chicken pizza and lime cheesecake for lunch at one of the restaurants
- Then we bought some insect repellent sprays and some snacks from the supermarket which is so fully stocked that it can fool you into thinking you're in a major city
- After that we walked back to our room and took a nap
- Then we walked to our hotel lobby where we were picked up for the night tour of the desert called "Field of Lights"
- We were driven to a field in the desert which has a multi million dollar art installation of softly lit lights that are powered by stored solar energy and each light looks like a medium sized stem with a colored bulb on top. The bulbs change color between green, blue, red, yellow, orange, white and purple and cause the field to appear as a field of lit-up crop
- We walked through the field for about half an hour and I wore Sereen in her baby carrier. We enjoyed the peace and quiet of the cool night desert with the moon shining in the clear sky and the thousands of lights changing color
- We took the return bus at 9:20 pm and had dinner in the lobby restaurant of our hotel. Samia had chicken qorma with basmati rice whereas I had a beef burger
- We came to our room after dinner and went to bed around 11 pm
Day 10 - Uluru
- Woke up very early at 4:15 am despite sleeping late the night before at 11 pm since we had a sunrise tour booked
- We didn't have time for breakfast so our hotel packed some continental breakfast for us to have in the tour bus
- The bus picked us up at 5:30 am and we drove to the national park that houses the Uluru rock. After parking, we were served some coffee and snacks before heading up to the elevated sand dune which has a viewing platform of wood constructed on it for best views of the rock
- We had arrived here in complete darkness and the silhouette of the magnificent rock had been visible from a distance
- Around sunrise time, within minutes, the desert started coming to life as the sun's first rays appeared and the outline of the trees and shrubs became visible with a pink hued background. The rock started to change colors as the sun rose, making the ridges on the rock obvious as the shadows emerged. The pink hues turned to orange and then blue, and then we could see Uluru standing alone in the desert, in all its splendor, towering over the flat land all around it for as far as one could see
- It's a sandstone monolith that is thought to have started forming some 550 million years ago! The local Aboriginal Australian people regard the rock as sacred and it plays a big part in their religion and lives
- The Uluru rock which is also called Ayers Rock is almost 350 meters high and is a massive 10 km in circumference!
- It was hard to take your eyes off the gigantic rock that has been standing in almost exactly the middle of the Australian continent for millions of years, virtually unchanged
- After viewing the sunrise at Uluru, we drove 40 km for our next stop: Kata Tjuta (pronounced Kata Juta)
- Kata Tjuta, also known as the Olgas, lay West of Uluru and the highest peak is 546 meters high (approximately 200 meters higher than Uluru). After viewing the Kata Tjuta from a distance, we went closer and hiked through Walpa Gorge. It was very windy so Sereen loved it!
- Then we headed back to our resort around 11:30 am and had reached back around noon
- We had two and a half hours before our next tour so we quickly ate at the lobby restaurant. We shared chicken pasta and lamb roghan josh on basmati rice while Sereen had her rice cereal
- Then we headed back to our room to quickly take showers to freshen up and then walked to the hotel lobby
- Our tour bus picked us up at 2:30 pm and then we drove to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre where we spent about an hour to learn about the unique spiritual culture and the dreamtime/creation stories of the Anangu (pronounced Ana-noo), the traditional custodians of Uluru
- Next we drove around the base of Uluru to see all its sides, including the culturally sensitive side that is still used for Anangu customs and is not allowed to be photographed
- Then we went on a guided walk that took us really close to the rock and we were able to touch some parts of it too
- The walk led to a famous waterhole that has been a source of water for Aboriginal Australians for thousands of years
- Our guide also told us about different plants and trees that grow in this area and how they are used by the Anangu
- After the walk, we got back on the bus and drove past a controlled fire that was being lit up to get rid of certain trees and plants so that it wouldn't result in bigger forest fires. When to burn which trees and plants is knowledge that is supplied by the local Aboriginal park rangers
- Then we parked at a viewing point of Uluru so that we could see the rock during sunset and had some snacks while waiting for the sun to go down
- Uluru was again beautiful in the dimming light of the setting sun but it wasn't as splendid as the sunrise
- After watching the sunset, we drove back to our resort and headed back to our room around 7:30 pm
- The hotel had accidentally left two packed breakfasts in our room as well, in addition to the ones we had picked up from reception in the morning so we decided to have those as dinner so as not to waste them
- It was a very long and tiring day but we decided to finish packing before going to bed so that we could sleep in the next day and went to bed around 10 pm
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