13Oct08
Today our goal is to see the Olgas - a second rock formation in the park that isn't nearly as famous as Ayers Rock/Uluru but is just as wonderful. The Olgas are a group of monolithic rocks that are made of a conglomerate rock that the guide book describes as "plum pudding." Sigh - I was hungry for British pudding the whole day!
We took the "Valley of the Winds" walk through the Olgas which is fantastic, and in some ways more interesting than the walk around Uluru just because you can get so much closer.
The day was very hot and we were pretty worn out afterwards even though it is only a 7km hike. The heat here can really take it out of you and we are being very diligent about sunscreen, hats and drinking lots of water (yes, even me.)
We headed back to the resort complex for lunch and a little A/C, stocked up on ice and supplies at the store, wrote a few postcards, and then drove back to the official sunset viewing site of Uluru. Since watching the sun set on Uluru is the main attraction in the park the viewing area has a crowded, party-like atmosphere. Couples are drinking wine, and kids are running around with cameras. Determined to get a good photo I set up my tripod on the roof of the "troopy" and waited for the light.
Alas the light never really came - the sunset on this evening was dampened by some clouds on the western horizon. C'est la vie. At least we got to see one good sunset!
In the twilight and under the full moon we drove one last time around the rock - very eerie at this time of night. Then we drove away to Curtin Springs - another roadhouse that has free camping. You really have to watch out for wildlife at night and we came across both kangaroos and cattle in the middle of the road. Exhausted we ate cold sandwiches and went straight to bed.
Olgas photoset
3 comments:
It would be torture to not be able to explore all those great caves. Imagine what you might find in them if you had the right lights etc.
You poor thing, Christina, you had to eat a COLD sandwich and go straight to bed?? what? no tea to warm up after the c o l d sandwich? lol
I know how you detest cold sandwiches ;)
yeah, yeah. I still hate cold sandwiches but now I eat them EVERY DAY... almost. just one of my many sacrifices...
Although after a hot day in the car the pb&j sandwiches can hardly be called cold.
We had some aussies tell us that they thought the "jelly" in pb&j's was jello! jelly = jello here.
Post a Comment