June 15, 2006
Hello!
It has been about two weeks since my last update and that is mostly because I had to work on my last paper for a whole week and therefore did not do much worth writing about. The only time I went out and did anything noteworthy was on Saturday June 3rd when I went to the Market at The Rocks, down on the Harbor, and bought a really nice Australian photo album and some gifts. Then at night I headed back down to The Rocks to go out to the bars for my friend Katie’s last weekend in Australia. She is actually leaving today (the 15th) and will be my first friend from here that is going home. Other than that I had to work on my final paper (worth 70% of my grade) for my Australia and the World class. I finished it on Wednesday and was able to go out Wednesday night, as it was the last big night at the local dive club that everyone at St. John’s College goes to, because it is closing down for renovations.
Then on Thursday (June 8th) I handed in my last paper and had my last two tutorials ever. Felt good to be almost done with school work. I still have three exams next week; one on the 19th and two on the 21st. After tutorials were finished I had a few hours to pack and get things in order before I had to be at the airport for my flight to Perth. I got to the airport on time, unfortunately the flight was delayed an hour because one of the exit doors wasn’t working properly. So I arrived into Perth about an hour late and got a taxi to my friend Haley Schaefer’s apartment on the University of Western Australia campus. Haley has lived down the street from me my whole life and we went to elementary, middle and high school together. I had not seen her in a few years but we had been exchanging e-mails lately because we are both in Australia. So she was nice enough to let me stay with her, a big help, and we spent Friday and Saturday walking around Perth with her friends.
I liked Perth because it was a clean and quite city on the water, but I imagine it would be nicer in the summertime and if you had a car to drive up or down the coast with. Even without either these I enjoyed Perth. I got to see one of Perth’s shopping areas, downtown Perth, Freemantle (a separate town on Indian Ocean across the river from Perth), Kings Park, Cottesloe (a nice beach area) and the UWA campus. I did a lot of walking around and I think I wore Haley out but it was a good time and I got to see a lot.
Early on Sunday morning I left Perth, but almost missed my plan because of a late taxi, and flew to Ayer’s Rock. Ayer’s Rock (or Uluru or Red Rock) is in the center of Australia. It is said to be the most recognizable sight in Australia, the most photographed place in Australia and the most popular postcard from Australia. When you see the photographs below you will definitely know what it is that I am talking about. The town I flew into is really just one large resort, with many different hotels and shops constructed into a semi-circle. The only thing for hundreds of kilometers is desert and Ayer’s Rock and The Olgas. Both are rock formations, though they very different. Ayer’s Rock is about 318 meters (or 986 feet) tall and 8 km (5 miles) around. So basically it is a really, really big rock in the middle of a flat desert. Also, Ayer’s Rock is much like an iceberg in that most of it is actually below ground, two-thirds to be exact. And Ayer’s Rock is made of sandstone, while The Olgas are the remains of ancient mountain ranges that were eroded by an ancient sea approximately six million years ago and are basically mud, silt, rocks, etc from this sea that were rolled together and compressed. While Ayer’s Rock appears to be one large, long rock with very steep sides, it is actually part of a larger mountain range that is connected to The Olgas, which look like thirty-six separate domes.
With all of that out of the way, I landed in Ayer’s Rock at 2:30pm on Sunday and got the free shuttle to the resort. I was staying at the lowest end lodge at the resort and it was basically hostel accommodations run by a semi-hotel. So I had the services of a hotel but shared a small room with three other people and there were outdoor bathrooms and showers. After getting dropped off at my ‘hotel’, the Outback Pioneer, I checked in and tried to figure out what I was going to do. I ended up discovering this tour company that basically is a shuttle company and fit perfectly for what I wanted to do. For a reasonably low price I bought a two-day pass with them and I got to schedule all the trips I wanted in my two days there. The premise of this company is that they make regular trips on the hour to Ayer’s Rock and on the half hour back from Ayer’s Rock and you may get on any of them. And for The Olgas, the drive to them two times a day, leave you to walk around, and then drive you back to the resort. It is perfect for people that just want to organize their own schedule and walking, without being restrained or hurried by a tour group or be told all the garbage stories that the guides tell.
Once I had figured out my schedule for the next two days, I was able to relax in my room for a little while until the 4 PM shuttle came. The shuttle dropped me at the major parking lot at Ayer’s Rock and I had just about an hour to do a quick walk before the last shuttle came back to take me to the sunset viewing area. The walk I took was very nice and it absolutely amazing, not only the rock and the surroundings, but also just how the edges of the rock are. After my walk I was picked up and driven to the viewing area. Now during the day it was a comfortable temperature, approximately 65 or 70. However, as the sun goes down in the desert it gets very, very cold. Luckily I had just enough clothing with me to keep warm for the fifteen minutes I was outside watching the sunset. It was a perfect sunset too, as a full moon rose over Ayer’s Rock as the sun went down and the rock changed color. I might not have mentioned this above, but the reason why Ayer’s Rock is so famous is because it does appear to change colors during sunset and sunrise. During the day it appears bright red/orange because the sandstone has rusted of the years, and then as the sun disappears the rock darkens and the sky around it changes interesting colors too.
After the sun had set I rushed back into the heated van and drove back to the resort. At the resort I bought some snacks at the market, as I found out that breakfast was $19! Then I grabbed a burger and fries for dinner from the small kitchen eatery at my ‘hotel.’ By then it was about nine o’clock and at the Ayer’s Rock resort, where everyone gets up before sunrise, that is about bedtime. I went to sleep and got a great night’s sleep, waking up at five o’clock the next morning. And as it is cold at night, it is even colder in the morning.
I was ready to go for the 6:15 AM shuttle to Ayer’s Rock for the sunrise. The park does not open until an hour before sunrise, which was at 7:25 AM, so by the time we arrived at the viewing area the moon had already gone down behind the Rock. Nevertheless it was still a beautiful sunrise as the Rock brightened up again and delivered a great show. After the sunrise was over the shuttle dropped me off at the main parking lot again and I walked every trail that was available. Mostly this included walking around Ayer’s Rock; approximately a 10 km walk. You are able climb Ayers’ Rock, though it is somewhat dangerous and highly discouraged; mostly for spiritual reasons. The aboriginals that occupied the area around Ayer’s Rock and The Olgas see them both as very spiritual places and very important. Therefore they do not like it when people climb Ayer’s Rock, and in fact they prohibit entry into and photography of many very spiritually important parts of Ayer’s Rock. I was trying to decide whether to climb the Rock or not, because despite the requests not too, thousands of visitors do it each year. It is a very controversial subject, as many Australians and tourist do not see anything wrong with climbing it. I almost was one of them, because I had decided to climb it in the end. However, the weather made the decision for me, because the climb was closed the whole time I was there for high winds at the summit.
In light of the climb being closed I had run out of things to do at the Rock and so I caught an earlier shuttle back to my ‘hotel’ and rested for about an hour before catching the 2:30 PM shuttle to The Olgas for a walk through a large gorge that is part of the formation. On the way the shuttle stopped a viewing platform that allows you to see both The Olgas and Ayer’s Rock from a distance. The walk through the gorge was not anything spectacular, really just walking between two huge rocks. However, my opinion could be biased as I was extremely hungry by this point and struggling to continue hiking. I made it in and out and after the walk was done the shuttle took us to see the sunset at Ayer’s Rock again. I had initially thought that I would be seeing the sunset at The Olgas, but because the park closes an hour after sunset it is not possible to view the sunset and drive out of the park in time if you are at The Olgas. So I got to see the sunset again on Ayer’s Rock. It was very nice again, although there was no full moon this time.
After the sunset was done it was back to the resort at which point I immediately got dinner. After dinner I did some reading for my exams next week and waited to call my father for his birthday and for the Australia v. Japan soccer game to come on. Unfortunately, the game was on late and so I could not stay up to watch the whole thing as I had to get up at five o’clock the next morning to be ready to check out and to take the sunrise shuttle The Olgas. Not only did I get to see the sunrise from the viewing platform that allows you to see both The Olgas and Ayer’s Rock, but then I went on to walk through what is called The Valley of the Winds. It is a trail that goes through part of The Olgas and allows you to look out over these vast, lush valleys that are in the middle of the desert and surrounded by huge rock domes. The walk is about 9 km, but the first 2 km were possibly the windiest place I have ever walked through. They certainly got the name right, because the wind almost took me off my feet at some points. As well, it was freezing cold, because it was already about -2 degrees Celsius (approx. 28 degrees Fahrenheit) and then the 20-30 mph winds made it feel much colder. However, once I got past the windy part and the sun started to come out, it warmed up to a pleasant walking temperature. And the view and walk was well worth the early morning and the cold.
Immediately after I was done with the walk and the shuttle came to pick me up, I had to rush to the airport. The shuttle dropped the other people on board back at the resort at 11:25 AM and my flight left the airport at 12:05 PM. So I did not have much time, but the driver said she would drive me straight there and she did. As I got out of the van I heard my name being paged over the loud speakers and I rushed to the desk to check in. Since it is such a small airport it was not a problem that I was late and I even had about ten minutes to sit and relax before boarding.
The flight back to Sydney was fine and I arrived safely back at St. John’s around four o’clock. After getting a much needed shower and relaxing, I was able to catch up with my friends that are still around and watch a movie before getting some sleep. On Wednesday I took care of a few things I had left to do and said good bye to a good American friend who was going home the next day, Thursday. Also, at night, I took the liberty of going out with a few friends and getting some drinks in celebration of my 21st birthday (in Australia). And now tonight it will be my birthday in both the US and Australia so I will celebrate that tonight. I have already gotten cards very several people and my mother has out done herself by not only sending several packages, but including a baked cake in one (still haven’t tried it yet, but it isn’t a brick yet so I have hope). After my few days of celebration and relaxation I will begin to finally study for my three exams that are next week. Then, after my last exam on Wednesday, I have a little less than a week before I leave for Asia (June 27).
Well that is about all that has been going on. Below you will find some pictures from my trip and other things. I do have to apologize though for the pictures from Ayer’s Rock, the ones that I post now might not be my best as I took about a thousand pictures while I was there and I don’t have the time to go through them all at the moment and pick out the very best. But the ones I put up will give you a sense of the place at least.
Best wishes to everyone and I hope that this finds you all well and enjoying the beginning of summer.
Love,
Jon
The Swan Bell Tower in Perth
View of downtown Perth from the top of the Swan Bell Tower.
Sunset in Perth.
Perth from across Swan Bay.
The 'DNA' Tower in Kings Park.
A view from the top of the 'DNA' Tower, part of King's Park.
The Supreme Court of Western Australia and its gardens.
Cottesloe Beach and the Indian Ocean.
Ayers Rock
Beginning of the first sunset.
(below)
A view of the horizon over the resort from atop a sand dune.
Sunrise (below)
