As soon as we arrived at Uluru, we were welcome by the desert flies. They were relentless and persistent. We ended up buying a fly net that covers over your head and we were so glad that we bought this net.
There was a resort that offered five different types of lodging. There was a shuttle running every 20 minutes so that all lodging facilities are connected. We stayed at Desert Gardens, probably the second to the best category. Many people carry the last name Uluru, but I was not able to get clear explanation about what it means.
We walked over to Town Square where you can find several shops and restaurants, including a small supermarket. One thing to note was that Korean Ramyuns dominate the shelf. I was not sure if Korean tourists are coming that much or people appreciate Korean ramyuns that much.
The next day, the pick-up time was at 5:45am. We picked up a breakfast box and got on the bus - all ATT Kings buses - to experience the sunrise at Uluru, the giant red rock. Unfortunately, the cloud caused a blurry scene and the sunrise show was somewhat disappointing.
After that, we went to the lookout for Kata Tjuta National Park, a different red rock formation close by. The tour guide said that this Kata Tjuta is more revered among the Aboriginal people although Uluru is better known and more popular to the people outside the Aboriginal people. At Kata Tjuta, we walked into the gorge. The giant rock formation was overwhelming and colorful. On the way into the heart of the gorge and on the way back, desert flies were persistently annoying. Without the fly net, we could have been exhausted by their tenacious attacks.
The rocks are so big that it is challenging to put them into a picture, but their reflection on the water make it some easier.
A few more photos inside the gorge and also outside.
There are many oak trees on the ground. But their juvenile trees were quite different from the mature ones. It was because the juvenile oak trees refrain from branching out until the roots reach the deep down water, usually 25 meter below. Then, they branch out and grow to mature trees.
We stopped over at a museum to watch an Astronomy documentary, but it was too boring to stay till the end. We sneaked out.
At 2:45pm, we got on another ATT Kings bus for the Uluru Base Tour plus Sunset Tour. The bus dropped us off at a cultural center, but no photos were allowed.
Driving around the Uluru Base was even more overwhelming than looking at it from a distance. This single red rock is 350 meter high from the desert ground (863 meter from the sea level) and 2.4 km wide and 3.6 km long. The distance around the red rock (circumference) is 9.4 km. The eastern part of the red rock is sacred and we were not allowed to take photos. They said that Uluru has a 35,000 years of history for Anyango people that have 4 language groups.
We took a walking tour at one of the base sections of Uluru. The tour guide explained to use about the fauna and flora of Uluru. One big water hole used to be a sacred place, but due to readily available water, it is not considered as sacred as before. We watched some artworks painted on the rocks.
Apparently, climbing the Uluru has been allowed, but will be discontinued in 2019. Uluru is considered one of the most sacred and mysterious places in Australia.
The sunset view of Uluru was indeed mysterious with the red rock reflecting the sun light in orange red color. The bus company offered drinks and snacks. I thoroughly enjoyed the short time there. The ambiance was far better than in the morning. Stephen and Gary were wonderful tour leaders. After a couple of glasses of wine and cheese, we all felt pretty good. We finished our tour with a group singing. Yeah!!!
Enough photos of Uluru...? Someone took the photos of Uluru in four seasons and at night. They were showing stark differences of who Uluru is.
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