The Red Center

Uluru (Ayers Rock) in the early morning light

4:05 AM...the alarm went off in our Ayers Rock Pioneer Lodge room.  We had to move fast to make it to the hotel lobby to catch our tour bus that whisked us in the dark starlit remnant of the night to catch the first sunrays lighting Ulhttp://www.parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/uru, the Aboriginal name for Ayers Rock. The pictures do not do it justice.  Everyone's cameras were snapping anyway.

This was our second glimpse of the Big Rock because yesterday we watched the sun go down as we sipped our wine and toasted that we made it to the Outback and checked it off our Bucket List.  How do you describe the Outback?  The scope of the land is amazing - just millions of acres of semi-arid desert with rich red clay sand with scrubby grasses and stubby trees.  It reminded us both of our trip to West Texas with our friends, Betty and Richard.  However, it has its own feeling of vastness.  The Aborigines look very different from any people we've ever seen.  Their art work is amazing.  They paint as if looking down from the sky with little dots and symbols. 

We also were taken to the rock where we walked along it and looked at the crevices where we viewed the ancient cave art, saw the hidden water holes and heard some of the Aboriginal stories. 

We went on a strenuous hike into Walpa Gorge in  Kata Tjuta  and visited other points of interest.  The MacDonnell Range was impressive as well as some of the other rock formations.  The rivers in this part of the world are hidden underneath the soil.  Often it does not rain for many years - the last appreciable rain fall was in 1989!

It's not easy to get to Uluru - it takes 6 hours by bus from Alice Springs (one way) but the ride is very interesting.  We stopped at a Camel ranch and other unique places.  We flew out of Alice Springs (a 3-hour flight to Sydney).  Tonight we are in a nice hotel and visited a Greek Restaurant that we had enjoyed 3 years ago when we were here last.  It was great!

We both talked about the highlights of this trip.  They were

• Going with Friendship Force and getting to know our hosts and hearing about their families, concerns, country, etc.  Maggie, Linda and Colin were wonderful!
• The gleaming modern city of Perth
• The gorgeous coastline of Albany and seeing the preparations for their Anzac 100 year anniversary of the troops departing their shores to fight in WWI - their patriotism is amazing
• Visiting and ringing the bells in Perth's iconic bell tower
• The Walpole boat tour with Gazza (Gary Muir) - just a hilarious time was had by all
• The Perth FF's puppet show rendition of the song Waltzing Matilda.  So original!
• Getting gonged!
• The fun time we had with the Fort Worth Dallas Friendship Force club - thanks to Randy and Jo, just super ED's (exchange directors)

We are sorry to leave Australia, but we do miss Mom, our kitty cat, and our wonderful friends in Punta Gorda.  We hope those reading this will visit Australia.  It's a great country!

Photos



Red sand of the outback



Richard on Walpa Gorge Hike