Goodbye, Uluru

"Uluru is a very sacred place to us Aboriginals. Climbing it would be a great disgrace to our culture. Actually, it will be okay if you purchase one of our $800 tour packages."

Finally, I’m back in the Alice Springs airport where there is FREE INTERNET! I haven’t had it the past couple of days, so this is quite a nice opportunity to write a post!

As you know, we went to Ayres Rock, also known as Uluru. The place was… a complete and utter tourist trap. Don’t get me wrong, Uluru was spectacular and so was its accompanying rock formation, The Olgas (a.k.a. Kata Tjuta). But I would like you to imagine, for a moment, millions upon millions of medium-sized black flies. Have you imagined them? Good. Now multiply that by 6000. And that is how many flies there were around Uluru. These are not fly-me-to-the-moon flies; these are the piranha sort that love to land on your face and munch away at the delicious sweat and human flesh. Mix that with 105 degree desert temperatures and tour buses filled with obnoxious tourists, and you get a pretty miserable cocktail. So as you look at these pictures of me wearing a goofy fly-net hat and sunglasses, please keep in mind those six billion flies or so that I mentioned.

Consequently, I did not take too many pictures, as stopping at any time would result in hundreds of flies landing on you and buzzing in your ears. It was really hard to take in the breathtaking scenery of Uluru with millions of tiny distractions.

Nevertheless, I had a wonderful time. We stayed at the Outback Pioneer, a sort of lodge that has the basic amenities (TV, bathroom) but no internet. Oh wait, there was internet, but it cost $1 for FIVE MINUTES! This is the most ridiculous charge ever, and I pathetically relented and paid the fee just to check my email briefly (which I didn’t even get through). So I was quite disappointed with this.

Can you find Dad? He is very small. (Warning - big picture)

Can you find me? I am very small. (Warning - big picture)

So yeah, for three days Dad and I just drove around the park and took in the sights like good little tourists (once taking a shuttle bus, a really big mistake, as we had to walk around Uluru on a six-mile track in just two hours to catch the last shuttle back).

This is how hot it is at Ayers Rock. There is no hot faucet.

Now we’re on our way back to Melbourne for the AUSTRALIAN OPEN! It started two days ago, but that doesn’t matter because there is still lots of tennis to be enjoyed. Venus and Serena won both of their first round matches, and Lindsay Davenport and Maria Sharapova play in the second round tonight (which hopefully I will be able to see).

Picutres have been added : )

Until Next Time,
River