Monday, December 29th - Uluru to Alice Springs

Early morning wake-up this morning so we could – hopefully – see a lovely sunrise over Uluru. As we waited our bus to pick us up, we looked up into the sky and had an amazing view of the Southern constellation! Great news – a clear sky.
The trip out to Uluru – sunrise viewing spot took about ½ hour and then we were treated to coffee, hot chocolate or tea and biscuits as we awaited the sunrise. It was truly beautiful as the pictures can attest. At 6:05 we were back in the bus and took a drive to the climb spot – which unfortunately was closed due to high winds. The climb looks somewhat daunting, but Barb was prepared to go, but not altogether disappointed. We were told that it is only open approximately 40 days of the year, and that the Anangu really don’t like people climbing their sacred place.
As a result, we took the bus tour around the base of Uluru, with our driver filling us in on many of the stories that surround the area. We stopped and took the Kuiya Walk into the Mutitjulu water hole. Daniel our guide filled us in on some of the flora and fauna of the area including some of the berries that could be used by the indigenous folk for food. This picture is of the Desert plum. The fruit is about the size of a cranberry or blueberry. We also stopped by a cave that has paintings from some 5,000 to 20,000 years ago. He also pointed out the desert oak which is pictured here, and stays this size for about 25 years until its root system manages to find its way down to the Artesian water table. At that time it begins to develop a larger trunk and many more branches. These trees can live for hundreds of years.
Our next stop was the cultural center which was very interesting and provided us with an understanding of the reverence with which this land is held by the Anangu. Barb was really glad that the climb had been closed, she would have felt very guilty had she desecrated their sacred spot. We were not allowed to photograph the cultural spot, as they believe as do many indigenous people, that the act of taking a picture – somehow takes away from the spirituality of the place.
We arrived back at the resort around 10 and stopped for a bit of brunch and time to relax before the next part of our journey to Alice Springs. While awaiting our transport we had the opportunity to chat with a few of our fellow travellers. They come from all over the globe. We have met couples and families from Nigeria, England, Singapore and Denmark. This beautiful moth was just one of many that had taken refuge for the day around the sign for the Deli at the Centre of the Ayres Resort. There were several different species - al very intricately decorated.
We left Uluru around 1:20. Our first stop was a viewpoint for Connor Mountain, seen here. Neat stop was a transfer shop. When the moved onto another bus for the balance of our trip to Alice Springs. This restaurant was our next stop and we had the opportunity to look at a lovely selection of native crafts. As we approached Alice Springs the land had increased vegetation, and there were a couple of rivers that uncharacteristically had water.
A few interesting points – the speed limit is130, the road is completely straight and there are road trains, (trucks that have 3 or 4 trailers). Our last stop was Jim’s Place where we were entertained by Dinky the Singing Dingo.
We arrived in Alice Springs just after 6 and checked into our hotel. All the cameras needed charging.