Gerty, I went to Uluru when it was still called Ayres Rock and you could camp at the base and there were no huge resorts - it is a sight and a feeling I will never forget. Ditto for the Olgas as they were (Kata Tjuta). Great place to be but damn cold at night in the Centre.
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Esmeralda
It aint over until the fat lady sings, and I dont feel like singing just yet!
Go gerty dancer, you good thing. Seriously, hope you have a wow of a time out there, such beautiful country & the opportunity to take it all in by air will never be forgotten. WONDERFUL!
Been up Twice! even got my name in a book called"a day in the life of Australia". There was this Japanese protografer, who even brought his push bike up, and years later My sister said "is that you in that photo, and lo and behold , it was the pic of me and the ex on Ayers rock, Will try and scan it and post. Stay tuned........ Here it is. That me and the ex misses at the bottom. Sorry if its not very good quality, and sorry Gerty, If i am abit off your track.
-- Edited by bill12 on Friday 13th of May 2011 06:14:09 AM
Yes , it was a pleasent surprise when my sister showed it to me, and now I am a little bit more substantial- try 17kgs! You have to be fit to climb or stupid to climb twice. I was playing pro soccer in Brisbane at the time.The Japo was a noted photo journo in his country, and cycling around Oz taking pics. Better him than me.I would love to do what Gertie did and fly over the area. Perhaps when I win lotto..........
-- Edited by bill12 on Friday 13th of May 2011 01:02:55 PM
I reckon that I am donating to lotto as I haven,t won anything since christ was a child. But I do like fantasising about what I would do with the money.Have you heard the one about the fisherman who wins lotto- he ,s down the pub , shouting the bar , wnen someone asks him what he is going to do with the money?He scractches his head , and says" i,ve thought about it- I think I,ll keep fishing til its all gone"............
While I'd love to have the Ayres Rock and Olgas experience, I have been put off the politics which has surrounded the place in recent years, and now the commercialism of the place. So I drove right past it all when I went through that country last November. I missed something special apparently, as it was raining at the time. I have seen the Rock in the rain, and it is really speccy. It doesn't happen very often. Maybe I will get there one day when all the hoo hah has passed.
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20ft Roma caravan - Mercedes Benz Sprinter - SA-based at the moment. Transport has no borders.
Management makes the decisions, but is not affected by the decisions it makes.
We are now in Alice Springs, staying at the G'day Mate...(great park!) Have heard people say they would rather not go to The Rock as its a "tourist rip off". Having seen a few places that are crowded and poorly managed, we thought the management out there do a great job. There are 500 thousand people a year from all round the world visiting there nowadays, and the whole area is well organised and clean, the camping area one of the best we've stayed at lately. Sure its not cheap, but somebody has to be paid to clean up after all those people.
We may never go back there, but we absolutely enjoyed the whole experience. Kings Canyon was more spectacular although the facilities came nowhere near Yulara's. We camped behind a roadhouse near the Rainbow Valley which had awful amenities, so were very pleased to arrive here, its lovely!
Interestingly, diesel was cheaper at Yulara than any of the other roadhouses in the area! But bananas were $19.99 a kilo!