Glenn got his first taste of driving in Australia. We rented a car and headed off to the hotel. There is a group of hotels all owned by the same company that has the market in Yulura. Let's just say these are not four star resorts or hotels. But there is nothing else close by to stay in so we had to suck it up. We got in around noon, so we had time to go to the grocery store for some food, as our room was an apartment and we could cook there--good thing as there weren't many restaurants there either. After getting settled in, we head out to the cultural center and to go see Ayers Rock at sunset.
On the road to the Cultural Center:
I wasn't prepared for how I would feel seeing Ayers Rock in person. I can't even explain how beautiful it is to be driving along and see it there--so massive and such an icon in Australian culture. The pictures we took can't even do it justice. You really need to see it in person to get the full effect.
The cultural center gave us an insight on how sacred Ayers Rock is to the aboriginal people in the area. Many locations around the rock can not be photographed out of respect to sacred rituals at those locations. There were several aboriginal ladies doing artwork at the center but they do not like to be photographed. I bought a painting that one of them had finished the day before. Really beautiful artwork.
We got to the sunset viewing area and it was like a pregame tailgate party. People were setting up chairs, tables, drinking and sitting on top of campers. Who knew the sunset was that big of an event--we weren't that prepared. It was pretty cold and getting colder as the sun was going down. I guess I didn't realize it got that cold in the outback.
Trying to keep warm and pouting because I hadn't brought wine with me!
Ready for the sunset--it was well worth being cold!
We slept in the next morning, as it was going to be in freezing temperatures during the night and early morning. We wanted to make sure it warmed up before we went to do the base walk around Ayers Rock. It was a gorgeous day and perfect for the 4 hour walk. Standing by the rock and looking up to see how tall it was blew me away. We have a ton of amazing pictures but too many to put up here. There were so many side trails to see cave drawings and water holes around the rock. I'll have to put all the pictures online because they are worth sharing.
Prepared for our base walk:
After our long walk, we went to a different sunset viewing area that was farther out but we would be able to see the Olgas, a group of rock formations that is another sacred area for the Aborigines. Luckily it wasn't as cold but just as gorgeous.
The Olgas (Kata Tjuta) to the left; Ayers Rock to the Right:
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