This morning I saw my first live kangaroo of the trip on my way to breakfast! We caught a tour bus at 8.30am and headed for Uluru (Ayer's Rock). At Yalara when the bus stopped, I ran into the YHA to see if there was a letter waiting for me from Dad, but no luck. I hastily scrawled out a postcard to back to him, and sprinted back to the bus where I was met by frowns from our fellow bus travelers... I frowned back.
We went to Kata Juta (the Olgas) where Dave and Andrew did an abbreviated walk as there was only 30 minutes allowed by the tour. We continued on to the Uluru where Andrew opted to climb the rock, while Dave and I did several walking tours at the base.
The tour company put on a great BBQ at an observation point several km from the rock where we could get some good photos in the changing, fading light.... along with 500+ people from several other tour companies.
Then it was a 2 1/2 hour ride back to Erldunda on the bus. After weeks on our own on the bikes, the tour bus was definately a bit of culture shock. I'm used to being able to stop when I want, and also having all the things I need with me all of the time...
Its now 10.15pm and we're getting ready for tomorrow's ride to Stuarts Well, about 67 miles away. We are really hoping for a change in the wind, or we are in for a bastard of a day.
On a side note, we watched a dvd on the bus ride out to Uluru about John Mcdouall Stuart, the man after whom this highway (#87) is named. Stuart was the first white explorer to cross Australia, but it took him 6 attempts. He suffered tremendously in the process, and was a unique character. He finished his final attempt on July 21st... a day before our projected completion date!
