Part 2
S'mores, goon, and Uluru...
We drove until nightfall after we left Coober Pedy, and camped in the bush. A lot of us had picked up alcohol when we shopped for food, and we were all getting close by this point, so we spent a long time hanging out around a campfire that fourth night. Our circle was so large that when the fire dimmed, you could barely see across it. Some of us drank a lot of goon, which is cheap boxed wine -- no room for beer in our eskis (coolers), and goon is cheaper, anyway. $10 for 5 liters, and we got 4 boxes for 6 of us (for a few nights, don't worry!)... A few of us started a game of Shoulders that was picked up remarkably quickly, and when that lost its novelty we introduced another American cultural experience -- S'MORES! Sarah bought supplies for everyone after hearing how only a few in the group had ever had them, and they went over incredibly well. "Whoever thought of this was a genius!" After we gorged ourselves, we played a few drunken rounds of Mafia, then passed out on our respective tarps for a few hours of sleep before sunrise.
Sarah and a first timer, Paulina...
Noah and Gad, two pros (though at this point, I probably wouldn't have trusted either one of them with fire)...
The following morning, we were supposed to hike Kata Tjuta, the sister rocks to Uluru, but it rained. Rain rarely lasts long in the outback, but it was our luck that it poured all morning.
The only picture of Kata Tjuta that I got, in the fog...
Luckily the rain cleared by the afternoon, and we proceeded with our scheduled trip to Uluru. I wasn't sure was to expect. I mean, they tell you that this rock is so spectacular, that it's this amazing feature in an otherwise flat desert, that it's such a spiritual place and seeing it will cause something to stir inside you. Well, they're right. It was fairly monumental, and definitely inspired some reflection. To think that this rock has played such an important role in so many peoples' creation stories (we heard the Anangu's from an Aboriginal man later), and in the more recent past, has become a symbol of a culture that refuses to give up... So many people have walked around it (and up it, though I now understand how disrespectful that is considered), wondering about their own pasts and futures... I felt like being there wasn't something you could read about in a book, or get from a picture. Here are my photos anyway, because if nothing else it's still surely beautiful to look at.
Up close, it wasn't as flat and symmetrical as it looked from afar. There were some really intriguing formations on the rock, but we weren't allowed to photograph certain areas that are considered sacred sites by the Anangu.
These waterfalls are rarely visible, only during and after the infrequent rains.
I walked the 9.4km trail around Uluru with these folk: Elyana, Maiken (one of our guides), Noah, Gad, and Sarah (taking the picture).
Okay, so I just realized that I haven't mentioned the flies. Dear GOD, there were so many flies. Like, so many that you just have to ignore them, because they don't bite and there is no getting rid of them with any amount of arm-waving. Gad got a fly net early on, and a few others followed suit later, but I don't think that even helped too much. It was just something that we had to accept, and be thankful that they didn't bite.
We stuck around until sunset to catch the view. We had some time to kill, so we took more photos.
Chicken, anyone?
Obligatory (but still awesome) friend + monument shot...
Don't worry, Gad and I are only friends.
He was just happy that I took this:
Finally!
We drove until nightfall after we left Coober Pedy, and camped in the bush. A lot of us had picked up alcohol when we shopped for food, and we were all getting close by this point, so we spent a long time hanging out around a campfire that fourth night. Our circle was so large that when the fire dimmed, you could barely see across it. Some of us drank a lot of goon, which is cheap boxed wine -- no room for beer in our eskis (coolers), and goon is cheaper, anyway. $10 for 5 liters, and we got 4 boxes for 6 of us (for a few nights, don't worry!)... A few of us started a game of Shoulders that was picked up remarkably quickly, and when that lost its novelty we introduced another American cultural experience -- S'MORES! Sarah bought supplies for everyone after hearing how only a few in the group had ever had them, and they went over incredibly well. "Whoever thought of this was a genius!" After we gorged ourselves, we played a few drunken rounds of Mafia, then passed out on our respective tarps for a few hours of sleep before sunrise.
Sarah and a first timer, Paulina...
Noah and Gad, two pros (though at this point, I probably wouldn't have trusted either one of them with fire)...
The following morning, we were supposed to hike Kata Tjuta, the sister rocks to Uluru, but it rained. Rain rarely lasts long in the outback, but it was our luck that it poured all morning.
The only picture of Kata Tjuta that I got, in the fog...
Luckily the rain cleared by the afternoon, and we proceeded with our scheduled trip to Uluru. I wasn't sure was to expect. I mean, they tell you that this rock is so spectacular, that it's this amazing feature in an otherwise flat desert, that it's such a spiritual place and seeing it will cause something to stir inside you. Well, they're right. It was fairly monumental, and definitely inspired some reflection. To think that this rock has played such an important role in so many peoples' creation stories (we heard the Anangu's from an Aboriginal man later), and in the more recent past, has become a symbol of a culture that refuses to give up... So many people have walked around it (and up it, though I now understand how disrespectful that is considered), wondering about their own pasts and futures... I felt like being there wasn't something you could read about in a book, or get from a picture. Here are my photos anyway, because if nothing else it's still surely beautiful to look at.
Up close, it wasn't as flat and symmetrical as it looked from afar. There were some really intriguing formations on the rock, but we weren't allowed to photograph certain areas that are considered sacred sites by the Anangu.
These waterfalls are rarely visible, only during and after the infrequent rains.
I walked the 9.4km trail around Uluru with these folk: Elyana, Maiken (one of our guides), Noah, Gad, and Sarah (taking the picture).
Okay, so I just realized that I haven't mentioned the flies. Dear GOD, there were so many flies. Like, so many that you just have to ignore them, because they don't bite and there is no getting rid of them with any amount of arm-waving. Gad got a fly net early on, and a few others followed suit later, but I don't think that even helped too much. It was just something that we had to accept, and be thankful that they didn't bite.
We stuck around until sunset to catch the view. We had some time to kill, so we took more photos.
Chicken, anyone?
Obligatory (but still awesome) friend + monument shot...
Don't worry, Gad and I are only friends.
He was just happy that I took this:
Finally!