Uluru: A Twist of Beauty and New Dimension of Hell all of Its Own (Part 1)

   

Distant view of Uluru - Ayers Rock.

I'm back from Uluru!! Being in the outbacks of Australia was very beautiful and very hot! Our first day there it went up to 105° Fahrenheit! The giant red rock and sacred landmark to the Anangu people was beautiful.

     Still it was too hot to take the Base Walk. It was definitely closed anyway. Anytime it gets above 36° Celsius (about 98° Fahrenheit) here all trails in the outback experience a shutdown, and for good reason. Hiking or walking in 105° weather without a cloud in the sky? Heat-stroke anyone? No thank you!

     It was onward to finish our two hour drive from the airport to Kings Canyon were we settled in the lovely little...hotel. Best way to start off the adventure is to have the door handle/lock mechanism too rusted to turn the key all the way. Perfect. Some maintenance guy drove up in his little outlander jeep, greased it down, we figured it out.

Our hotel accommodations for the night.
Not exactly what I would have called a resort...nice try, Australia.

     The inside of the lodge was okay. I mean, we already figured out that the bathroom was a public shared restroom/shower facility with the rest of the "hotel" lodges, but at least we had enough sleeping space! Karly, however, was less than thrilled about the two inch gap below the door. The variety of uninvited critters that could potentially slip under the poorly built blockade is all she could think about.

"'...and please bless that no spiders will crawl into our ears and lay eggs in our brains...'", Maddie quoted on cue. 

A daring "climb" that appears on the side of Uluru.
The Anangu are working to get it closed permanently.

     That put a smile on everyone's faces for a moment. When she wants to Maddie can raise the spirits of everyone in the room. Millie reminded everyone of her every intention to get her swimsuit on and head to the pool ASAP. Karly, Millie, and Maddie had already scoped it out, and it had passed inspection. So therefore it was now the only motive at hand. I was too tired to swim, so I followed in pursuit of the pool to wade my dirty little toe-sies.

     While the red sand of the canyon was breathtakingly gorgeous it didn't feel so pretty between my toes that had assumed a safe and dry haven within my socks and shoes for the day.

     When I entered the bathroom later in the evening, except for the luxury of electricity, it only concreted even further my feelings of being "right at home" at Girl's Camp. Whenever my fellow restroom mates are less or just as likely to be human beings and more likely to include a red-back spider (black widow) and a daddy-long leg by the hinge of the stall door - which, by the way, both those said critters were in fact my stallmates - it feels like the good ol' days of Girl's Camp.

     Of course this meant that not just Karly, but all of my sister's were hell-bent on speeding through all necessary night routines, sacrificing menial ones and considering for a moment's thought of holding it 'til morning, and getting the heck out of there!

     Maddie gladly volunteered her towel as tribute to shove underneath the door to stuff up nature's fast-track to its dinner.

     It took me awhile to fall asleep and I'm sure Karly eventually put her anxiety-ridden mind to rest.

Cheers,

Jess