At another stop we had an opportunity for a camel ride for only $7.00. For those who elected to take a jaunt around the lot, it was great fun and a good deal. There were more bird photo opportunities as well.
Along the way we got more information about the dry, parched landscape and heard about the challenges of cattle ranching in this part of the country. We also watched a video about the Building of Australia. It showed the strength and determination of Charles Stuart who blazed a path through central Australia from Adelaide north to Darwin in the 1860s and 1870s. The harsh conditions suffered by Stuart and his men laid the groundwork for the overland telegraph line which connected Australia to the rest of the world.
The temps today were the hottest yet topping out at 40 degrees C - that's on the north side of 100 degrees F. No one wasted time getting back on the bus at rest stops. We are constantly being encouraged by our guides to drink plenty of water. The bus has a huge barrel of ice water in the lower carriage compartment for topping off our bottles.
We arrived at Uluru in time for lunch. As luck would have it, the air conditioning at the restaurant was not working but we persevered through a light midday meal. A short walk around the base of Uluru was on the itinerary, but because of the potentially unsafe heat conditions for us northerners, we rode around the monolith in our air conditioned coach, stopping once for photos.
After checking into our hotel, getting a swim, a shower and a short rest, we headed back to Uluru for sunset. Sunset visitors are traditionally served wine, juice and light snacks while waiting the hour or so for the sun to show the color palette of the monolith.
In addition to seeing the colors change on Uluru, the sun setting over the horizon created fantastic photos.
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