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Round The World 2000Australia |
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Uluru (Ayers Rock)
| Scenic Flight with RockAyer |
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A scenic flight over Uluru and the surrounding area was Kathy's birthday present,
albeit a little bit late. |
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| Our flight took us over Kata Tjuta and Uluru and on over the amazing Lake Amadeus, then across the empty
desert area to Kings Canyon. |
Kata Tjuta |
Uluru |
 
Lake Amadeus - a huge salt lake. |
 
Kings Canyon with it's water holes, lush vegetation and strange beehive shaped rock
formations. |
| Sounds of Silence |
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One of the highlights of a stay at Ayers Rock Resort is the Sounds of
Silence dinner. We were taken out into the desert by coach, then sipped sparkling
wine as we watched the sun go down while listening to the sounds of a didgeridoo
player. |
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| Then on to the serious eating, after soup the buffet included such
delights as Kangaroo, Emu and Crocodile plus the less unusual Barramundi, Lamb and
Chicken. The candles were blown out and an astrologer took us on a guided tour of
the night sky, indicating the constellations and relating native legends about the stars.
This was absolutely fascinating and probably the best part of the evening.
Once the candles had been re-lit the dessert buffet and coffee were served. The
newly lit candles attracted some of the biggest bugs we'd ever seen, but we didn't have
their company for long as it was soon time for the short ride back to the hotel. |
| Kata Tjuta |
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We hired a car and bought a three day pass into the Uluru - Kata Tjuta
National Park. The Olgas lie about 30km west of Uluru. They are a strange
collection of smaller more rounded rocks, hence the Aboriginal name, Kata Tjuta which
means 'Many Heads'. The tallest rock - Mt. Olga is 200m taller than Uluru
at 546m.
We walked along the Olga Gorge, shown on the right, it is 2.6km and takes about an
hour. |
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| Uluru |
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| Uluru or Ayers Rock is the major attraction of Australia, it is a
gigantic monolith 348m high, and 3.6km long. No photographs can do this rock
justice, it's sheer scale takes the breath away. Another way to have your breath taken
is to climb, though this goes against Aboriginal beliefs. We respected the ancient owners,
and walked part way round the base, in total a 10km walk that can take five hours. |
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The road around the base allows for some more unusual
views.
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The 'Minga Mob' climbing Uluru, Minga is
Aboriginal for ant!
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These pictures show how the colour of Uluru changes as the sun goes down,
contrast these with the pink in the daytime photograph at the top. |
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Go to Round the World 2000 |
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