Alice Springs and Ayers Rock (Sun 8th -Wed 11th Feb)

Took the famous Ghan train from Adelaide to Alice Springs. It leaves Adelaide about mid-day on the Sunday and arrives in Alice roughly 26 hours later. Apart from the rather uncomfortable overnight sleeping /seating arrangements it was an enjoyable journey. We could have had an upgrade to a cabin for the night but we decided to rough it and save some money. Although the scenery is fairly monotonous (still haven't seen a kangaroo in the wild - ever ) there is plenty to keep you occupied including a commentary of the history and geography of the outback. The train staff were very entertaining and helpful. Originally the train only went as far as Alice however 4 years ago the line was extended to Darwin in the north.

Alice Springs was as hot (40 degrees again) and fly ridden as I feared. The hat with a net I purchased last week came in very handy here. In South Australia I stood out but here the majority of tourists were wearing something similar. There are also a large number of aboriginals living in this part of the world. They are not the most pre-possessing people on the earth and most of them seem to just sit around in family groups doing nothing in particular. Our hotel in Alice was good with an excellent restaurant attached. I had Kangaroo fillet for dinner. In case you are wondering what it tastes like - well it's a bit like llama.

Next day we hired yet another car (Budget this time) and drove the 450k (only one right turn) to Ayers Rock or Uluru as it is officially called thesedays. It only took 4.5 hours as the speed limit is 130k per hour on this fairly deserted road. We have also got into the habit of listening to CD audio books to help pass the time. The novel this week has been Arthur and George by Julien Barnes. We stayed in the Yulara resort 20k from the rock. I was here 22 years ago but a lot seemed to have changed over the years. You now have to pay to get into the National Park and Yulara seems to have expanded beyond all recognition. We watched the sun set over the rock whilst swatting away the flies. The park is now owned by 2 aborigine tribes who in turn have leased it back to the state government to run as a tourist attraction. Their attitude to climbing the rock is rather ambiguous. There are signs asking that you do not climb it because it is a sacred place but it is not illegal and it is still a very popular thing for visitors to do.

The following morning Gwen had an exhilarating helicopter flight to Ayers Rock and the nearby Olgas. You are not allowed to fly over the rocks presumably because of its sacred significance. We then drove back to Alice and visited the Royal Flying Doctor Service and a Reptile farm to see (and hold) a few lizards and snakes.