The first wonderful thing we noticed when we landed in Ayers Rock, was the warm dry heat---we all just stood on the tarmack after deplaning and absorbed the heat. After a week of cold and damp, then warm, then cold and damp in Sydney this was such a welcome change.
The second thing we noticed was all the red sand. We were in an incredibly beautiful desert. In the distance you could see the Olgas--a rock formation consisting of several "humps" of rocky outcroppings (mountain size) and off in another direction is Ayers Rock, the famous red rock seen in many pictures of Australia.
Incredible!! I love the desert.
The first day we did a lovely 7.4 km (4.5 miles or so) walk through the Valley of the Winds at the Olgas. It was incredible--scrambling up rock faces to see incredible views of valleys of scrub trees between the mountains and then looking out between them to wide open spaces. I really expected to see the sea at one point, but alas no--I was in the desert.
Truly a lovely hike, but I understand why they close it at 11 am most days because it gets really really hot there!! Over a hundred on most days.
Our time in Ayers Rock was really all about a series of sunsets and sunrises, getting the best shots of the rocks and amazing trees and looking and looking for the ever evasive kangaroo. Rosemary kept assuring us that she was "open" to seeing a kangaroo--we all were! but alas we didn't see any in the wild.
I am happy to say that my hiking shoes are covered in lovely red dust now--a memento of our time in the desert. While this was surely the most expensive part of our trip, it was soooo worth every cent!!
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