March 9 – Uluru

March 9, 2016 – On the road to Uluru
We left Alice Springs at 7:45 am . We have been told to get to Uluru we have 2 right turns and 1 left turn. It is raining very hard so this may be good.
Last night our guide, Troy, made us a BBQ. While he was cooking, he had a Digeridoo player teach us how to play. It was hysterical at first because we all sounded like elephants that were blowing their noses. David, who used to play trumpet, was actually very good. Mike was second best. We “learned” different techniques of playing during the one hour session. For appetizers we had grilled kangeroo meat with garlic bread. The main course was lamb, chicken, sausages, and two salads. For dessert we had lamington and grilled banana.
On the way to Uluru:
First stop was at road station with camels. It turns out that there are camels raised here to sell. Three people in our group paid to ride a camel. It was just one lap around a small oval speeding up in the straightaway.
Next stop was another road station. Each had restrooms and souvenirs and food/drink to purchase.
Third stop was to take pictures of the false Uluru. Troy said some tourists come and take pictures and head back to Alice Springs thinking they saw the real thing.
For lunch we stopped at Curtin Springs which is a 1600 sq. mile working cattle ranch 365 km from Alice Springs. As people stopped over the years on the way to Uluru they have expanded to have a gas station, store, restaurant, bar, and accommodations. The granddaughter talked to us about the history and workings of the ranch. They run 2000 head of cattle that is sold as domestic beef for restaurants and grocery stores.
We got to our hotel at Uluru at 3pm. We had 1/2 hour to go to our rooms and meet up again. We drove to the Uluru Visitors Center and visited for a half hour. We then drove around the base and took 3 shorts walks to see sites. Troy told us many stories about how the indigenous think the rock was formed. He also pointed out the ways the rock helped them by giving them food and shelter. The pictures we see from home do not give this rock justice. It is phenomenal. You can feel it’s spirit while walking around. At 6:30pm we headed to the sunset viewing spot. OAT, our tour company, had a table set up for us with champagne, OJ, and nibbles. We toasted the rock and at 7:08 PM sunset started and we all started taking pictures Iike crazy.
Tomorrow, most of us are meeting Troy at 5:40am to view Uluru again at sunrise. We’ll visit more sites in this area and then fly to Port Douglas in the afternoon.
Random thoughts :
Hotels have been very nice. So far free WiFi at most with signing up for their frequent stay club.
Most places a pint of beer is $8 AUD ($6 USD). Most pubs have both beer and hard cider on tap. A glass of wine is about the same price as beer. Lots of McDonald’s, Hungry Jack’s (Burger King), and KFC. Eating in pubs for lunch $10-$15 AUD and restaurant dinner $20-$30 AUD food no beverage.
I have never drunk as much water as on this trip. Everytime we go out, we are reminded to bring a full bottle. Many times we need to get them refilled during the day. I also have never sweated as much.