We're Going to Sydney and Not Seeing Anything Again!?

Day 18:

Today was another travel day and we were leaving Uluru for Melbourne.  We'd both enjoyed being in the Red Center, but the heat was finally getting to us so we were happy to be leaving.  On this day, it was 39C in Uluru and 23C in Melbourne.

Our flight to Melbourne would have been long in the best of circumstances, but in this case it was going through Sydney as well so it ended up being even longer.  We finally stumbled into out hotel around 20.00, and got a quick dinner.  We had another early day tomorrow.

Jill Update:

Even though Jill pointed out the European lady with a black thong under her see-through linen dress, I was the one that got in trouble for staring looking at it.  The heat isn't doing good things for us.

My God It's Hot

Day 17:
Jill and I couldn’t face another early morning so we decided to sleep in to about 05.30. Once again we made our way to Uluru and once again we were disappointed to find that it was closed. Most things at Uluru are set up for a three day tour. The park entry is for three days, the hotel rooms have a 3 day minimum, etc. So after three days of trying, we weren’t going to be able to climb the rock. As a side note, our guide from the previous day mentioned to us that the climb is generally only open 40 days a year now. So if you’re going to Uluru for a holiday, climb it if you can, but don’t plan on being able to do it.

But that was OK. We’d walked nearly every single trail in the park, and seen amazing sunrises and sunsets at both of the sights. We’d definitely gotten everything we could have wanted (other than the climb) and decided that it was time for a rest. On top of that, the top (what Aussies call the high temperature) was predicted to be 42C! (that’s 108F for those who aren’t metrically inclined). So we went back to the hotel and slept. And slept, and slept. It really felt good to get some rest for the first day since we’d arrived. It did wonders for our aching backs and legs. Later in the day we ventured out to an Aboriginal cultural center, but even that little exertion sent us back to the room for more rest.

At the end of the day, we went to Uluru for one last sunset. On the way out, it started raining a little bit and we got to see one of the clearest double-rainbows that you'll find anywhere; the desert really is an amazing place. When we got to Uluru, Jill spread the ashes of her father around (some of the other spectators looked at us like we were spreading anthrax) as the sun set and then we head back to have a nice meal to end the day.

If at First You Don't Succeed, Climb Another Mountain

Day 16:
This was another early morning (earlier than the day before if you can believe it) and another trip out to Uluru to find out if the climb was open. It wasn’t, so we had to decide what we were going to do for the rest of the day.

Since we’d been planning the trip, Jill had been mentioning another rock formation called Kata Tjuta or The Olgas. This particular formation is actually made up of 36 separate domes of rock and is larger in area, taller in height (by 200 meters), and more spiritually significant than Uluru. On the other hand, you can’t climb it, which probably contributes to it being relatively obscure.

There are two hikes at Kata Tjuta and the longer one of them, the Valley of the Winds walk, is temperature limited. Seeing as this was ideal for a morning walk, we headed on over. The walk itself hikes out to a lookout area near one of the domes and then splits. It loops around two of the large domes and returns to the lookout for the return to the trailhead.

The walk itself is a fair bit harder than the Uluru base walk as it has a lot of broken ground and you climb up and down some very steep stone paths. That being said, it’s amazingly rewarding. Because it is so difficult, we did most of the walk completely alone. Back in the canyons between the domes the scenery was absolutely beautiful and the second lookout had great views of the surrounding valley.

After the walk, Jill and I retired to our room for a siesta in the heat of the day. There was a good reason too, as we had a tour scheduled in the afternoon! Coincidently it was Kata Tjuta again! Before we’d traveled we’d scheduled a guided tour of Kata Tjuta complete with an outdoor meal under the stars. We knew that it was unlikely that we’d get to walk the Valley of the Winds on the tour (the tour started at 15.00, after the walk closed), so we weren’t going to get much overlap.

We were right. We had a very nice guide and did the other (easier) walk through the domes. The sun was going down and the clouds were coming up at this point, so the it was relatively cool during the hike. We got a champagne sunset and then a BBQ dinner under the stars. We both had a great time even though our day went from 4.30 in the morning to 23.00 at night.

The Rock

Day 15:
Much in the way that my trip was focused on diving the Great Barrier Reef, Jill’s was focused on climbing Uluru. The problem is that this is somewhat difficult to do.

Jill and I got up early (even for us) at 05.00 to go to the Rock. Even this, it turned out, was a little late as we saw an entire convoy of tour coaches leave the resort before we’d left our hotel room. Some of you may be wondering why we’d gotten up so early and why the entire resort would do the same. It all comes down to temperature. The park service here dislikes having to pick up dead people during the summer and so has some rules about climbing. The big one is that if the predicted temperature for the day is supposed to be above 36C, the climbing route is closed at 8.30 in the morning. Because of this, everyone wants to get started as soon as it opens which is 30 minutes before sunrise.

We managed to see the sunrise as we were driving in (the coaches leave so early because they stop at a lookout and make breakfast for the riders) and after having some trouble finding the climbing trailhead, parked and started getting ready. It is an interesting fact that some Aboriginal residents dislike people climbing up the rock and as such the climb is not marked on any map, in any guidebook, or on any sign post. In truth, Jill and I drove around the entire Rock once before we figured out the correct location using nothing but guess work.

As we approached the trailhead, we saw a horrible notice; the climb had not opened because of high-winds at the peak! We were there at the right time (the climb would have closed in a couple of hours with the 40C predicted high anyway), but another rule kicked in and we didn’t have a chance to even start.

It wasn’t the end of the world though. We had 3 more days on-site to try the climb and there is another great hike that takes you around the base of the Rock. This is a 10km walk and so we got started a little before 7.00. The walk is completely flat and in many places is shaded by large trees. In addition, there are a million little nooks and crannies to pop you head into. One of the most interesting things though are the watering holes complete with Aboriginal cave paintings. We also got to see a couple of sacred sites along the walk with nice explanations about the legends surrounding them. All of this is very interesting to look at and made for a very enjoyable day.

Jill Update:
After two weeks Jill still doesn't hate me. This is important because it's the longest period of time Jill and I have ever spent together.

Like an Oven

Day 14:
Day 14 was another travel day. We flew from Cairns to Uluru which was/is known as Ayers Rock. The Cairns airport wasn’t any better than a couple of days before, but thankfully the wait was short. During the flight we learned that there is something worse than a kid kicking your seat from behind.

Jill and I had the unlucky experience of having a single mother with two children sitting behind us. After a bit of kicking our seats, the mother dropped the tray tables down for her sons to play on. It turns out that when a kid starts banging up and down on these, it gets a lot more leverage than merely kicking; your entire seat starts rocking back and forth. Combined with near constant screaming, the flight wasn’t great.

On arrival we deplaned and had to walk across the tarmac. Damn was it hot! The one lucky thing here was that it’s a very dry heat (somewhere below 50% humidity) so it’s almost bearable. I do have to say that it immediately brought back memories of my childhood vacations in Nevada.

We picked up our hire car and made our way to the hotel. Jill once again picked a great one and save for a damn bush, we’d have a perfect view of the rock. But no matter, shortly after getting settled in, we decided to walk out to a lookout point and watch the sun set on the rock, and it did not disappoint. We got some great pictures, saw the changes of color, and generally had a fine evening alone to ourselves.

After a somewhat drunken dinner, we retired to bed since we had to be up before sunrise (which was at 5:37!) to climb the rock in the morning.

Jill Update:
Jill has some trepidation about climbing Uluru tomorrow and feels that I’m babying her too much. There’s some tension over this.

Stinging, Poisoning, Biting, and Other Bodily Harm

Day 13:
Due to restrictions about flying and diving, we scheduled our final day in Cairns to be focused on the rainforest. Initially some of this was going to be done separately over a couple of days, but it sounded so cool that we wedged it all into one day so that we could do it together.

The morning started early (when else?) with a walk to the Cairns train station. From there we caught the Kuranda Scenic Railway for a trip to the historic town of Kuranda. The train car was mostly empty which was nice, but it also wasn’t air conditioned, which wasn’t. Cairns was at about 32C and 85% humidity that morning and the train wasn’t moving fast enough to make a real difference. I think we would have enjoyed the trip quite a bit more if the weather had been more cooperative. At any rate, the train had very nice views and was a diverting couple of hours in the morning.

Kuranda exists as nothing more than a tourist town. One of the guides joked that the town wakes up at 10.00 and goes to sleep at 16.00 (the train’s in and out). There are a couple of nature parks, but mostly it’s shops. We got a couple of post cards and I managed to find a slouch hat for the trip to Uluru.

The trip home was along the Skyrail which is a massively long cable car. The route goes along the mountain tops just above the rainforest canopy and was very cool (both temperature and style). Jill and I were able to see all sorts of things including flying cockatoos right nearby.

The evening though, was even better. We had scheduled a tour of the rainforest at night. When we were picked up at the hotel, we got the great news that the tour which had a maximum of 16 people was going to just be us that night! It was a great time that started with wallaby and platypus (damn faux-mammals!) spotting before dinner and dark, and ended with night-spotting for possums. Interestingly, possums in Australia are nothing like Possums in North America. 

We learned many important things about the rainforest.  Some of the ones that come back to me now are that there is a plant in the rainforest that if you touch it, will cause permanent nerve damage.  Also, there is a bush called the Wait-a-While which had recently killed a dirt-biker by slashing his throat with it's wicked serrated vines.  In fact during the rainstorm, both Jill and I picked up leaches on our legs.  I love this place!

Jill and I both were able to spot many of the animals and both enjoyed ourselves immensely. That night I personally loved seeing the blatantly luminescent fungi at night as well as the cute little bandicoots skittering all over roads.

The night ended around 23.00 and we fell straight into bed because of our long day and an early morning flight the next morning.

Jill Update:
During our 10 minute walk to the train station we were a bit lost and there was some tension. But after a day of sweating together and a night of Jill being frightened by every animal (real and imaginary), things were good again.

The Floral Shop

Day 12:
Today was the final day of diving for the holiday, and I went out on a boat called the Tusa T5. This was probably the purest dive boat I was able to find, but I’d say that it wasn’t as well set up as the SilverSonic. The biggest complaint I had was that even though I was diving Nitrox, the boat wouldn’t let me dive a Nitrox profile (longer or deeper.

On these dives we were unescorted and therefore had to dive with a buddy. Since I was alone on the boat, I got paired up with a stranger. My dive buddy was named Rob and he’d been diving for 20 years. He was a great guy, and a very good diver.

The first two dives were pretty mediocre, although it was fun to dive without an escort again. The final dive though was one of the two or three best dives of my entire life.

We dropped onto Hastings Reef at a dive site called The Fish Bowl. The dive profile is to run along an outside wall for a bit, and then follow a trench into a center bowl. When we entered the bowl it was unbelievable. I’ve been amazed every dive by how alive the coral was, but it’s been nothing compared to this.

Imagine walking into a floral shop in full bloom and you can kind of get an idea of what it was like. There were hard and soft corals as far as the eye could see in an area as large as a football field. There were corals of every single color of the rainbow and there it was so dense, you never saw the sand bottom anywhere. There were also a ton of giant clams more than a meter in length. I wouldn’t call it The Fish Bowl as there weren’t really many fish, but it was awesome nonetheless.

Jill Update:
Jill went out on an all-day tour, so by the time she got home, she was exhausted. She was so tired, she didn’t even want to fight with me. Result!