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September 25, 2009 - Perth to Ayers Rock to Alice Springs
Friday, September 25, 2009. We got up at 5 so we could be ready to hop in our Maxi Taxi by 7 a.m. We had to get the Maxi Taxi so all of our luggage fit in (it is like a van). The gentleman who picked us up was very interesting and he and Daniel talked the whole way to the airport. Small wait at the airport as we once again had to get the special waiver for being international travelers so they wouldn't charge us an arm and a leg for our excess luggage.
Our flight from Perth to Ayers Rock was uneventful. They really do like to feed you on Qantas! On a 2 hour flight, we received pretzels, drinks, then a meal (pasta salad, roll, toberlone candy, cheese, crackers, tea or coffee and water). They also give you complimentary headsets and the tickets here are cheaper to fly about than at home...go figure that one out!
Anyway, we got to Ayers Rock and got our rental car all sorted out, filled it up with luggage, then headed to the ATM and grocery store. We picked up a bunch of water, some afternoon snacks/supper, and a map. We also added to our magnet collection!
Next we drove to Ayers Rock/Uluru. Uluru is the Aboriginal name and much like places in America that are sacred to the Native Americans, Uluru is sacred to the Aborigines. Our plan was to drive up, take a few photos, then head on to Alice Springs which was where we had rooms. This would give us a chance to drive through the Outback. We couldn't believe it when we arrived at Uluru and discovered it would cost us 50.00 to get in to see it up close! That's 25.00 per person over 16 years of age! So, we pulled out through the exit, Daniel took a couple of shots from afar and we rode on down the road.
The Outback is stark, but beautiful. We read information off of the map we purchased and learned several facts about the area. Even though, most would say that there wasn't much to see, to us, it was beautiful. I took a bunch of pictures, several while we were driving down the road at 130 km/hour. Here are a couple of the best photos. The rest you can find at Flickr.
Mt. Conner - in the same group as Uluru. Looks very similar in fact.
Free Range Cow
Sunset in the Outback
It is hard to describe how beautiful the Outback is. The part that we drove through reminds me a lot of the painted desert. There were dry river beds as well. I could see what draws people to this beautiful country for backpacking through or for living in. It is a place where you feel more alive.
Driving on the left side of the road is a bit of a challenge, driving a vehicle with a manual transmission on the left side of the road and the driver on the right side of the road is even more of a challenge! Daniel did really well last night, with only a couple of lapses. As it got darker, the driving became more challenging and we were really worried about running into a kangaroo or a cow. We made it into Alice Springs around 7:45 pm and it didn't take us too long to find our hotel, The Crowne Plaza Resort. I actually stayed awake until after 10 last night (but since that was 8:30 Perth time, it wasn't that big of a deal.) There is 1 1/2 hours time difference between Alice Springs and Perth! Isn't that bizarre?
