Wednesday morning started with a muggy overcast sunrise run in Cairns before our last visit to the Cairns McDonalds and the hotel buffet breakfast. After breakfast, we bid goodbye to our Pacific International Hotel room and checked out to wait for our airport transport. It was a bit damp and rainy for our drive, a good time for it to rain since we had no plans to be outdoors in Cairns today.
Domestic air travel in Australia is easy with the lack of ridiculousness that is American airport security measures, so we breezed through efficiently and settled into the common lounge to await our departure. The flight was on time with no issues along the way, and after a few hours we were descending into the Ayers Rock landing strip. Our descent offered aerial views of Uluru (aka Ayers Rock) and some of the other surrounding geological features.
Ayers Rock from the Air
As we hopped off the plane we were greeted with pleasant 80 degree temperatures, but did not expect this to last. Some recent rains have brought the temperature down, but now that they’re out of the way, the temperature will be climbing back to the mid-90’s soon. However, since we arrived on time to have the afternoon open and the temperatures seemed ideal, we moved our planned afternoon/evening visit to Uluru to today and quickly prepared to see the rock.
Our first stop to see Uluru up close
Uluru is a monolith, a single piece of rock, about 1000 feet high with a nearly 6 mile circumference that rises out of the desert floor in the middle of nowhere essentially, which is what makes it so dramatic. The iron content in the rock causes the surface of the rock to rust, which gives it a reddish tint that is heightened at sunrise and sunset. Our excursion took us around different viewing posts of the rock and included some short hikes and history of the aboriginal culture here. At the cultural center we encountered a large snake making his way down the path and were told it was a taipan, one of the most poisonous in all of Australia. We have not yet confirmed it to be true, but the snake did look impressively menacing either way as it slithered only feet away from us. The evenings trip concluded with wine and snacks at the sunset outlook as we watched the effect of the setting sun on the rock surface.
Uluru at sunset (photo credits: DPH) 
Sunset
We returned to the resort after dark and were dropped off at the neighboring hotel for dinner, where we dined with a couple from England who were in the middle of a trip around the world. We had crossed paths with them throughout the day, so decided to make them dinner companions. From here, they were heading the opposite direction as us, so it was interesting to hear about where they had already visited. Thursday was scheduled to be a very early morning since we were viewing the sunrise, so we were in bed immediately post-dinner.
At 4:35AM, our next day began and we re-boarded the same bus from the previous days’ excursion and returned to the national park. After coffee and snacks while viewing the sunrise (on the opposite side of Uluru), we made our way another 25 miles or so into the desert to Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), another nearby geologic feature in the desert.
Uluru at just before 5 am 
Uluru during the sunrise (photo credits: DPH) 
Ulura (right) and Kata Tjuta (left, in background) at sunrise 
One of the many, many photographers at Uluru at sunrise
Kata Tjuta is actually a range of “mountains” that jut up to 1700 feet from the surface of the desert, but include another nearly 18,000 feet hidden below the surface of the earth. They had valleys and gorges included, and somewhat reminded me of the area near Zion national park in Utah, but more isolated. As with the previous excursion, we hiked a bit, visited a couple outlooks, and learned of the lore associated with the mountains before returning to the resort as the heat was rising for the day.
The two geographical options for viewing 
Kata Tjuta up close 
…and far away 
A pictorial depiction of the multitude of flies
After a multi-hour excursion in the desert, we arrived at the hotel at only 9:15AM, so caught the end of breakfast service at the hotel before returning to the room for naps.
The rest of the day was low-key at the Ayers Rock Resort grounds, which included a shopping complex, a series of trails to various observation points, and nice pool courtyard at the hotel. Susan had wanted to ride a camel, so we rode the resort shuttle to the camel farm only to find it runs limited hours in the down season, and had closed earlier. The camels were still visible in their pen, so Susan was at least able to interact with them for a bit.
Susan feeding a camel 
Turkeys and chickens (left), camels (right)
A small lizard near our hotel
Evening at the resort consisted of having dinner at the Outback Pioneer Grill, which offers you the opportunity to choose your meat options from a counter where they are given to you raw. Then you can cook your own food on the large grills nearby. The sides, salad, and dessert were provided buffet style. It was a fun way to mix up the dinner experience.
The directions for the restaurant 
The meat selections 
Some of the cooks in our family 
Back home again
Tomorrow we head to another Outback post at Alice Springs for a full day of scheduled sight-seeing.
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