June 6th-Ayers Rock Journal Entry

June 6th, 2007

This morning we flew out from Sydney to the center of the country called Uluru or Ayers Rock. First, let me tell you that upon checking in, getting through security, getting on the plane, they never checked our ID’s! I was amazed. Further, through security, they allow lotions, water bottles, jackets kept on, shoes on, belts, etc. They are so layed back. I guess that’s the Australian way!!

So, let me tell you about our flying experience with Qantas. We flew for only about 2 ½ hours. On our flight, we had an in flight movie. We were given headphones for this..we didn’t have to buy them! After about 20 minutes in flight, they came around with lunch-a fresh sandwich, and apple, and refreshments. About 20 mins later, they came around offering fresh coffee and tea. A little before landing, they offered us bottled water! I couldn’t believe all the service we were getting! Last, as we were flying the captain came on the intercom and informed us where we were flying over. It was so clear out we could see everything. The Red Centre as they call it was below us. The captain also came on to announce a couple flying out to Ayers Rock celebrating their 63rd anniversary. We all clapped as we heard this. We arrived in Ayers Rock Airport, which only has 6 flights per day that arrive, one airline, one baggage claim belt. It was about 1/10 the size of Greensboro! After arriving, we all hopped on one shuttle bus that took us to the Ayers Rock Resort. Here, this resort is a “mini-town”. It has several hotels for anyone’s budgets, a little supermarket (about the size of our CVS store), a post office, a couple restaurant, etc. So, noticing that there is nothing within 4 hours of this resort, I asked some of the employees what they do and where they live. They live right near the resort; they shop and eat on the resort campus. There is no mall, no movie theatre, and not really any awesome bars (So, yes for those of you who like some night life, this is 100 times worst than Winston-Salem!!!)

Our hotel that we are staying at is called the Lost Camel Hotel. We were very impressed by it. To start, we checked in and then the hotel employees brought our luggage to us! This was nice because we were on the second floor. Our room is really nice with one bed and a futon, radio, refrigerator, nice shower, etc. It was nice to go from our hostel to this place!

After settling, we decided to walk a block to the Resort shopping center for lunch and to check out our options to see the famous sites around here. Our tour options were sooo many from a helicopter ride over the Ayers Rock/Uluru to riding a camel around it to just getting a ride out there to walk it. We chose to be the cheapest(although this was still expensive!) and just pay for the rides to sites that we wanted to see. The ride picked us up at 4pm and we made our way out to the Uluru rock. This was about a 30 minute ride.


Just a little bit of facts about Uluru rock:

It is 328 meters above the plain, 9.4 km around. Temperatures can range up to 113oF during the summer and down to 23oF during winter nights. Right now, its about 60o during the day, and drops down to 30’s at night.

It is made from sedimentary rock called arkose sandstone, which is a coarse-grained sandstone which mostly contains a mineral called feldspar. Uluru rock extends below the surface of the earth for several kilometers. It is not well understood why Uluru stands above the surrounding landscape. It is speculated that it must have been harder than the rest of the surrounding area. The red color of Uluru comes from the weathering. The iron minerals in the rock are weathered by water and oxygen, in a similar effect to iron rusting. The feldspar minerals within the arkose sandstone are also weathered and form clays, which contributes to the colouring. The unweathered rock is a grey colour and can be seen in a few places called the Mala Walk (however here is a holy spot and we cannot take pictures).

Uluru is a sacred spot for the Aboriginal people, or Anangu they call here. They have lived at Uluru since the beginning of time. Many sites on the rock are sacred and it is asked to respect the rock and not to climb it. Although, many still do climb to the top, Pedro and I decided to respect their wishes and not climb it. Plus, it looked so steep and risky! There have been several people that have died falling off the rock.

When we arrived to Uluru, it really was spectacular! The color red of the rock out in the middle of this flat desert was amazing. We walked a little around the base of the rock until it was time to go to the Sunset viewing site. Here, the rock changes colors every few minutes upon sunset-from bright reds, to blues, to purples, until the sun goes completely down. It was really pretty.

We returned back to our hotel and went to one of the 3 only restaurants here in the resort. It was pretty good food however the prices were so extreme! Everything here is outrageous pricing but I guess we have to understand since it has to be imported from far away daily. After dinner, we returned to our room to relax for the night before an early morning.