Ayers Rock, Northern Territory, Australia

On Saturday, June 2nd, we left Cairns and flew to Yulara, the small resort community located near Ayer's Rock, which is also called Uluru - the Aboriginal name. We could see Ayer's Rock as we drove to the resort. It is spectacular. The temperature was comparable to what we had in Cairns. It was cool in the shade and felt really good in the sun! When we arrived, we walked around the resort to get our bearings. They have just the basics in this tiny community. I only saw one gas station, one grocery store, one police station, and one medical center. Most of the area is built around tourism so there were several motel options and a campground. There is also a free shuttle that makes a loop around the resort.

While walking around, we came to a gathering place for the community. We saw native dances. In one of the dances, emus, kangaroos, and other animals are imitated. Didgeridoos were played, spears were thrown, and stories were told. It was a good introduction to the culture and it was free - our favorite price.

On Sunday, we headed for Uluru, Alan and Amanda climbed the rock. It was a beautiful day for climbing. It was windy at the top (or so I hear). When the sun was out, they were creative with their photography and took pictures of their shadows. They imitated the animals they had seen in the cultural dances and made other goofy poses, but they were cute pictures! We spent the day at the rock and returned to the resort in the afternoon. After a brief rest, we headed out for a scenic camel ride at sunset. It was the night of the full moon. It could not have been better.

 On Monday, we took a tour of Kata Tjuta, also known as the Olgas. It is another large rock formation. You can see it in the background of the pictures above when Amanda is on the top of Ayer's Rock. We walked the Walpa Gorge, a path between two of the large rock domes. When we returned from our hike, we ate at the Outback Pioneer where you choose your meat and grill it yourself. We sampled kangaroo, emu, and crocodile.

We decided that Ayer's Rock was our favorite location. Our visit here ended too soon. On Tuesday, June 5th, we packed up and headed to Sydney.