Australia - Day 3, Kata Tjuta (the Ulgas)
Arrived at Yalara (the Ayer's Rock area) in the rain. Turns out the area has been getting more rain this year than in the previous 9. According to the locals, there's a 10 year cycle and I happened to plan my trip during the 10th year. 'Cause I have that kind of luck.
Checked into the Outback Pioneer Hotel & Lodge where I had booked one of the backpacker rooms. It was a room with 20 beds (bunked) with dividers separating the room into five smaller spaces and I have one of the spaces to myself the entire time. It was kind of like being deployed only there was hot water and good food. As soon as I dropped my bags, I called
the tour company I had booked my tours through to let them know I had arrived late since I was running late. I was worried the tour was going to be cancelled (or completely suck) because of the rain, but neither of those happened. The tour I was going on was the sunset
tour of Kata Tjuta (the Ulgas - the 'Tj' is pronounced the same way as the 'dj' in Djibouti), hence my concern that it was going to suck. We drove out to a sand dune lookout to get a look at the rocks from a distance and Leroy (our guide) explained how Kata Tjuta (which means "many heads", btw) and Uluru were formed waaaay back when. The rain had created a mist that hung around the tops of the rocks which apparently never happens according to Leroy (he's been giving the
tour for over 13 years), so in that respect, the rain was a good thing. From the sand dune we drove to the west side of the rocks and were able to walk into a "gorge" between the rocks. Thankfully, rain had slacked off and the walk was pleasant. Met two cousins from Cali, a couple from Sydney, Switzerland & Canada (the husband looked the actor who played Major Dad). We had champagne & some snacks while we watched the sunset which, because it was overcast, didn't really happen like it was suppose to so the rocks didn't light up all red like they normally do. Leroy also recited a poem about where the outback is. I was able to get it on video & I'm going to put it on youtube. It's dark, so you can't really see him, but the poem is really neat. After that, I was beat from lack of sleep the night before so I ate & went to sleep since I also had to get up really early for the sunrise walk around Uluru.
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