The Australian Desert
After Cairns, we missed our flight to Alice Springs (the schedule changed
since we bought the tickets), so we ended up going to Ayer's Rock first.
This was an excellent mistake to make!
There are parts that the Anangu (the Aboriginals that own Uluru) ask you
not to photograph, and they'd really prefer that nobody climb it (although
lots of people do). You can buy "I climbed Ayer's Rock" t-shirts,
and also "I didn't climb Ayer's Rock" shirts. We took
the walk around the base instead.
Pictures can't do Uluru (aka Ayer's Rock) justice. Here's one picture
to give you an idea.
Some more pictures of Uluru demonstrate how different
it looks in different spots.
After Uluru, we went back to the hotel and rested - it was really hot
out there. There are signs everywhere that say "Your safety is our
concern, but your responsibility" that go on to tell you to drink lots
of water and wear sunscreen and a hat. It takes a lot out of you.
The next day, we got up and drove to Kata Tjuta, aka The Olgas.
Here's a view of it. There are more pictures
showing some wildlife and other stuff we saw there.
We drove from Ayer's Rock back to Alice Springs - about 400 kilometers.
We got a pass and drove across Aboriginal land on unpaved roads.
It was a great trip - we saw maybe six other cars the whole time.
Here's a picture of Alison enjoying the view.
On the drive, we saw camels:
And horses:
