After a short plane trip yesterday flying over the vast wilderness of Australia we arrived at the Ayers Rock airport which has only one runway and no real taxiways.  Therefore the plane lands and turns round on the runway and goes to the terminal.

You can see that there are no roads here, only open space.  Where New Zealand had varied and richly different topography within the space of a few miles, here it is the vast open areas that are overwhelming.

I did catch one pic of our plane from the terminal.  Sorry for the focus but they are very snarky about taking pictures on active airfields so I had to sneak this pic.

Don’t say we weren’t warned!

 

Uluru which is what most people know as Ayers Rock is a sacred Aboriginal location.  Taken over by European and English settlers and turned into a tourist attraction is was only handed back to the Pitjantjatjara Aborigines in 1985.  It is one of only 29 UNESCO world heritage sites that have “dual” or “mixed” designations.  Uluru was listed for cultural and geological purposes.  Take a look at the link above for a full explanation of the unique geological aspects which created this place over millions of years.

The resorts here are all owned and run by the national park which helps keep them organized and reduces the impact on the environment.  The silence of the place creates peace and tranquility.  Here is a pic of the balcony off our room.

Last night we were scheduled to have a a dinner while watching the sunset over Uluru.  There was a rare thunderstorm which forced cancellation of the dinner but that was fine with us.  We got to see this incredible place with an unbelievable weather system passing through that created rare light and shadows.

A dingo wandered into our gathering, not sure if he was there for the food, wine, or us.

We were seated at tables in the open air but had to hurry and leave when the lighting and thunder started.

Who needs dinner when they can see this?

Not settling for a sunset, we rose about 4:45 AM this morning to see the sun rise.  We were again blown away even in our sleep deprived state.  The same weather system made the experience more stunning.  For those of you trying to figure out how we could see the sun rise and set over the same place, we were on the other side of Uluru for the sunrise.

After watching the sun come up we shared a breakfast and here is where the flies come in.  They are very intense, everyone has to wear a net and they still bother the heck out of you.

But you can’t beat the view

After breakfast we headed to the “Four Domes”.  Similar to the “big rock”, these were formed over millions of years.  It is impossible to understand the daunting scale of these incredible formations.  So I’ll be quiet now and let you enjoy the view.

The “pock marks” in the face of the stone are formed when boulders literally fall out of the face.  Geologists predict the next will fall in about 1,000 years.  Well after we are gone.

 Tonight we are off to another sunset dinner, maybe this time we’ll get to finish the dessert!  Please keep the comments coming and feel free to share.  We appreciate all the feedback and it seems that folks are liking the daily diversion.  Oh, and for you Chicagoan’s, it’s about 85 degrees today.  But it’s a dry heat!