With the outside temperature forecast for about 2 degrees, we decided that a sleep in was in order for this morning. We eventually went to get some breakfast at the cafe and then went to the IGA to stock up on some lunch goods. Our plan today was to do the walk around the base of Uluru. One of the great things about Uluru is it is always good for a photo no matter what time of day you drive past. I stopped and took a photo on the way to the walk.
The walk around the base is about 10.6 kiliometres plus a few extra stops, so it ened up close to 12 all told. For me that was about 13,000 steps, for Deb closer to 20,000. It it actually an interesting walk, noting that there are lots of micro-environments in the shadow of the rock. There are waterholes, areas of hard ground where much doesn’t grow to soft sandy areas with eucalypts trees. Nothing seems to grow to any great height, but the walk is definitely interesting. There were a few wildflowers popping up after the recent rain.
Water has a big part to play in shaping the rock. There are some fascinating waterfall paths that can be seen on the rock that have eroded and shaped over thousands of years. While there are significant parts trhat photography is not allowed due to cultural sensitivity, but there are plenty of spots to take photos, some even including traditional rock art.
Once we finished the walk, it was back to the hotel to freshen up. For me that meant a shower, for Deb it meant a ‘power nap’. There are many dinner events to go to and tonight’s was the Field of Lights dinner. There was no time to clean our shoes, and given we were heading back to the paddocks, there was little point. This dinner was held on a ridge overlooking Uluru, so I guess one more Uluru photo was in order.
The dinner itself was more RSL than than our normal 5 star expectation. We sat next to a newly married couple from the Gold Coast who were pretty good company despite the husband being a little obsessed with his new camera. The Field of Lights is an installation created by Bruce Munro in 2016 consisting of approximately 50,000 lights taking up a space equivalent to 7 football fields. I found that it was hard to get a real perspective of the scale from ground level, but it is impressive nonetheless. There was a ‘star talk’ after dinner which was the same one as last night. I did take another star picture (still so many stars) and then some pictures at the Field of Light.
Until tomorrow!
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