Uluru, November 6: Kata Tjuta

The second location the Hop On Hop Off offered was a drive 35 km away to Kata Tjuta, another teaching site for the Anangu people. The long drive gave us a chance to get to know our driver. He had a career in law enforcement before becoming a bus driver a decade ago. Last year he made the switch to this company and says it is the best company to work for. He tends to work sixty hour weeks, which is fine because in this area other than making money, there is not much else to do, no place to spend the money. In the off-season he works several long days a week, and earns a six-figure salary. Life is good.

It is easy to misjudge distances when there are vast areas of nothing in-between. When we got on the bus, the driver told us there would be four stops in total. He would wait for us, but not too long because it is not a private tour. The first stop would be 15 minutes at the sunrise viewing area. The second was for the bathroom (they are on short supply). The third is for an hour to allow plenty of time to make a 30-minute round trip hike. The fourth was the sunset viewing area. We'd leave about 10 minutes after sunset for the drive back to the resort.

There were 16 on our bus. At each stop people came back early -- no one wanted to be left behind.  With Don's leg, and my taking pictures, we were often the ones picking up the rear. There were other photographers on the trip. Most seemed about our age, a few were younger. We met a couple from Victoria. They are therapists. They asked how we felt about the election. After giving us a few moments to share our worries, they deftly switched the topic to something soothing to help us calm down. I saw through them, and said so, but appreciated it.

Photos from the first stop. I particularly enjoyed taking pictures of wildflowers.

Stop two was the bathroom, so no interesting pictures were taken.

Stop three was the 30-minute round trip hike to the center of the valley. The hike starts off on smooth ground before changing about halfway to uneven rocks. Some parts were so uneven they earned manmade boardwalks. The hike leads to a viewing area. I'm glad we did the whole hike, but it was a challenge given Don's swollen knee and thigh.

As we walked back to the bus, it started to rain every so lightly, just enough to make me wonder how slippery these rocks become when wet. Fortunately neither one of us fell.

The fourth stop was the most interesting. By this point the rain was off and on. As we walked up we had a magnificent rainbow that might be my favorite picture from the trip (yes, I have said that before). We also saw sideways lightning. Sideways, you ask? Yes, sideways. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are both made out of iron (which is why they look rust red) and attract lightning.

As with Uluru, the magic is in watching the color change from reds to purples.

I'm sure a google search will bring up some amazing pictures. Mine were okay. 

Look at that rainbow!

The sunset was behind us

I filmed the lightning and took a screenshot of a bolt

Back in the bus for the ride back. We watched the lightning off in the distance. 

A long, but fun day. Something we'll probably never see again.

It was our last chance to see the stars without the light pollution prevalent in cities, so I woke early to take a look. 

The next day we were heading back to Sydney for an overnight.