Saturday, November 7, 2015

Uluru...the End of the Road

I thought Alice Springs was in the middle of nowhere. it is a bustling metropolis compared with Uluru. (directions to Uluru: drive south from Alice; after 100 miles turn right. drive another 100 miles. You can't miss it!)  
We lunched along the way at a cattle station (ranch) and heard about life in the outback.This station was 40 kilometers by 60 kilometers but, due to the fact rain is infrequent, it takes 250 acres to support one cow. Somehow they survive. Predators are few. The ranchers biggest nemesis are the feral camels who push over the few fences that divide the land.  

The draw of Uluru is a chance to view what was formerly called Ayers Rock, now called Uluru. It is an impressive sandstone monolith emerging from the trackless desert. The resort/town also draws back country campers who use the area as a jumping off place for "outback" adventures. 
While it's not a big place I nearly became a skeleton in the desert when I got lost coming home from the grocery store. I grabbed a shuttle bus to the "town center." After shopping I gave up on the shuttle and tried to walk back in the 102 degree sun. I labored on the town footpaths for a time and then spotted a promising short cut. It twisted and turned and veered from the direction I wanted. Twenty minutes later I emerged from the bush at the town center shuttle stop. I decided to wait for the bus.
Clearly I'm not cut out for outback travel.

And then there are the flies. There was good and bad news about the flies. Unlike Alaska fliers they don't bite. That was good. But they still taste bad. This was the only "fly" place we have encountered so not a big issue.

Uluru is a must see stop for Australian visitors. But it is a hot, hot, hot place.

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