We were up at 6 am and out of the hotel by 6.30. The excellent 'Skybus' ($19 each way) got us through empty roads tot he airport in less than 20 minutes. We checked in at Melbourne Terminal 4 for our 'Jetstar' flight to Uluru (Ayers Rock), where we will spend the next 3 nights
We were lucky enough to get a flight upgrade - an empty seat between us!!!!!
In the flight, the in-flight magazine had favourable comments about our hotel back in Hawaii - the Surfjack Hotel....
After passing over hundreds of miles of very little, interspersed with the odd lake / salt flats, we were on final approach to Red Centre - and boy, was it red!
We landed at Uluru at 10 am, and picked up the courtesy bus to our hotel, the lovely (and 5* 'Sails in the desert' hotel.
So whose bed is that other one??
The 'Sails in the Desert' is one of the 4 hotels / accommodations at the 'Ayers Rock Resort' (Yulara). There is also a 4 star hotel, a back-packers lodge and self-catering apartments, plus a town centre square with shops and cafes, plus staff accommodation and utilities sites etc, all in the self-contained resort.
It was nice and warm, and getting warmer!!!
After unpacking and sorting out our tours and buying some drinks at the resort market, we set about relaxing! (When you go on a tour they wont take you unless you are carrying a litre bottle of water each!!!) The first thing was a dip in the lovely pool. After that we watched a didgeridoo class and Julie had a go.
The bloke himself was brilliant and Julie wasn't bad either!!! (Video to follow!!!)
Going to Ayers Rock / Yulara is of course about trips out to the sites in the National Park (25 Australian Dollars a ticket plus the tour costs.) We had 3 days to see all aspects of the bush, and of course Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta ('the Olgas'). We also wanted to learn about the 1st Australians who live in the area.
Our first trip was 'A Night at the Field of Light'. This took us out to have dinner at sunset in the bush, and to see the artist Bruce Munro's 'Field of light'. Going out in the dark means wearing long trousers, and enclosed shoes due to the risk of snakes / scorpions / spiders etc!!! But it was a great trip.
The sun sank behind Kata Tjuta in the distance, and camels sat in the cooling evening air....
...look carefully and you can see them! In the other direction we had our first real look at Uluru.
As the set set we drank champagne...
...and then dinner began. The food was lovely, but I cant deny that the flies were a pest!
... then it got dark, and the Didgeridoo man played again.
After dinner it was down to the Filed of Light', which was very surreal, and well worth seeing.
After a wonderful evening, the coach took us back to the resort.
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