On The Road - Day Four

Well, its been four days on the road now and I have seen Uluru more times that you can poke a stick at it... actually, its a massive rock, so you could probably poke a fair few sticks at it.

I've been offline because the internet is so expensive up here. I would whinge about the price of it, but then I think about the fact that we are literally in the middle of nowhere and its about 500km to the nearest city, being Alice Springs.

There are two things to talk about. Uluru itself, and once I get into Alice Springs in the next couple of days, I will be back online to post some spectacular photos of the Rock. And then there is the Ayers Rock area itself, the resort, and also some of the other activities you can do, including visiting the Olgas, camel rides, or just hanging out by the pool. But all of that will come in time, when I can afford to actually write a proper blog.

Overall, the trip has been fun so far but it is hard being alone as Christmas descends upon us. It will be a tough week or so as Christmas passes and I am traveling solo while families around Australia celebrate Santa and all of that jazz. When that gets me down though, the first thing I think about is the fact that I have not met ONE set of Australian backpackers traveling around here. Most seem to be English or German or from some other European country. There aren't even that many Americans (could be explained by the poor currency exchange). What lifts me up is the fact that I am seeing a part of the world that, for some strange reason, not many Australians (or New Zealanders for that matter) get to see. We travel the world extensively, but we cannot take the time to come on up and see our own spectacular and very famous landscape. I wonder how many Australians can actually say that they have experienced the real Outback?

Much of my days have been spent hiking around the area, around Uluru, through the gorges around the Olgas and of course seeing Uluru at both sunrise and sunset. It really is a sight to behold and I would encourage any Australian to get their act together and get over here to the Red Centre and see just how beautiful our country really is.

Time is now running out, so I must leave the writing for when I get to Alice Springs in a couple of days where the internet is cheaper. I am off to Alice Springs but I take the long bus trip via the famous Kings Canyon, which will prove to be another great opportunity for photographs.

I am thinking of you all, am taking a whole lot of pictures of the Rock (perhaps a little too many?) and also the Olgas and I am lucky to be meeting some really wonderful travelers and also local staff members up here at the Ayers Rock Resort.

Stay tuned for so many pictures of Uluru and its surrounds that you wont need to come and visit (really, the amount of photos I have is a bit ridiculous, but the landscape is so seductive to a photographer! The colours are amazing!).

Enjoy the leadup for Christmas, everyone!

KoTB