This is my first experience with a charter flight just for our group - no TSA, no security, just walk out onto the tarmac and get on the plane and they give you a welcome glass of champagne. We flew from Melbourne to Uluru in the outback in about 3 hours.
This is from the Alliance Air magazine on the plane - hmmm - I wonder how the rest of the world sees us. This was new to me even though it's true for the most part.
Our great tour guide, Lisa, handed these out to us on the plane and yes, we are wearing them because there are "millions" of moisture loving flies here in the desert of Australia. So what do they want - eyes and mouth and sweat of course!
This is the Anangu land of the Aborigines - the indigenous or natives of Australia, like our Native Americans at home. We visited the cultural center at the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park which is now a World Heritage Area and 30 years ago this week land was returned to those who occupied it first so there were celebrations on October 26.
Ayres Rock - lots of spiritual stories and values associated with this rock and their goal has always been to "look after the land" - they do not own it they just take care of it. The land is still inhabited by the ancestors and their spirits. They have "songlines" to teach their children. Lisa compared it to when sing the the "ABC" song to little kids and other similar teaching songs.
In our desert lodging for one night I turned on my computer to check the temp - 38 degrees Centigrade is about 106 degrees Fahrenheit. A little toasty but dry heat - right!!! ....still hot!
This is the view from our room and I'm not sure if that is a mirage or real rain. It is spring here so the temps will continue to rise and may reach 120 in January. Nice time to visit is now.
So tonight we take a bus to view the sunset that will change the colors of Ayres Rock. I would guess there will be a crowd. You do need a permit to enter the protected land which is included with our tour. I'm sure I will be taking a "few" pictures! Weather for next 3 days will be "toasty"!
No comments:
Post a Comment