Monday, March 19, 2018

I Rode to the Desert on a Bus with No Name....

Wayne and Christy at Uluru

We left Alice springs today for the Uluru and Kata Tjuta National Park where we will spend a day and a half.  The drive there was 6.5 hours but the scenery so interesting it was fun.  We also took a break at Stuart’s Well Camel Farm where I took a ride on a camel.  It was a very short ride with a very bumpy run at the end.  I feel my camel riding desires are satisfied.  

Upon arriving at Uluru, we took two long walks led by Martin who gave an explanation of the Aboriginal significance, the flora and fauna and geology. Uluru is 1100 feet high, 2.3 miles long and 1.5 miles wide.  The monolith is truly a gray sandstone. But the iron in the stone has weathered and turned the rock red due to oxidation.  During the many years of geological time and earth movement, the sediment beds of Uluru were forced up and out at an 85 degree angle.  It is unknown how much more of Uluru remains deep in the earth.  It was on these walks that we saw the desert art mentioned in a past posting.  

After dinner we returned to Uluru for a sunset viewing.  Road Scholar had a reserved area with stools and champagne for us to see the icon in its purple sunset robing.  It is during the sunset that the Aboriginal women sit along the edge of the road selling their Papunya paintings.  I was looking at one woman’s work having decided to buy.  Because I was holding my iPhone, she accused me of video taping her and continued to accuse and lecture me even after I denied it.  I left at that point for the sunset viewing area.  Suddenly, she was behind me asking to look at the phone.  I eventually convinced her I did not video her or take her picture.  The odd thing was she had been allowing videos once someone bought a painting and posed with her.  Shrewd business woman?  Or maybe not.  She lost my business.  Hundreds of camel and Uluru pictures at flickr.