Alice Springs and Ayres Rock: Hot, Dry, Fun

With only week under our collective belt together Tyler and I headed off to Alice Springs to carve some notches into that belt. At the crack of 9am we went to catch a bus to the airport which somehow, even though we were early for it, we missed. What we didn't miss was the best cab driver ever, who picked us up. On the 20 minute drive to the airport he regaled us with information about the moons of Neptune made of liquid methane, pronounced by our cunning chauffeur, Mee-thane with and emphasis on the Mee.

After about an hour in the plane we touched down in the land of the dry ass desert. The internet gods had told us about a lovely hostel just over the Todd River (pictured above) in the middle of Alice Springs. We made our way there and subsequently to the pool were we med the lovely Inga. Tyler correct me if I'm wrong.

She decided to accompany us to the look out over Alice Springs. We'd heard the sunset was glorious and it did not dissapoint.

As the sun fell over the hills we knew that we had to get back as we had an early morning ahead of us. Of cousrse we went to the local watering hole before sleep set in. It was called Bojangles. Here's a giant bear trap.

The next morning started too early for everyone involved. The bus must have picked us up around 5 am or something. I don't remember, everything before noon is really too early. We drove for about 4 hours listening to the light crooning of our aged Australian be-mustached guide nicknamed, Tic.  


When we arrived at the rock he gave us the obligatory 10 minute diatribe on how 42 people have died on the rock and that we might be 43 if we climbed it. Being of the adventurous ilk Tyler and I decided to climb it, at least part way.

We scrambled up a good 60 feet of increasingly sloping red limestone until we got to the aid chain. The chain was sadly only about 2 and a half feet off of the ground so it provided little support for our accent.
Below is the first picture I took from the rock. Off in the distance is another rock formation called the Olgas. Note the desert.

Here's a picture of Tyler descending employing the almost useless chain.



When we came down, unscathed, Tyler and I decided to explore the base which yielded some cool pictures. Here is a good one showing the desolation of the landscape.

Tic took us around the rock explaining the various Aboriginal religious beliefs about the amazingly formed Rock. They call it Ularu which has become the official name in recent years but most Australian in the city still call it Ayers Rock. As with all great adventures we ended this one with champagne. As the sun set over the Australian desert we sipped unmarked bottles with about 50 of our closest friends.

This is what happens when you hand your camera to a tourist. And here be the beast herself, respendant in her earthy rocky late afternoon glory.

The rock changed colors many times before we left but I like this one the most. As fast or faster than we'd come we were cajoled back into the bus for the long ride home. Our beds were kind that night.