June 7, 2025 - Cairns for an overnight stay
We left the lodge at 10:15 for the drive back to Cairns. We will only be there overnight.
We arrived around noon. Our hotel was just across from the Esplanade, a boardwalk along the shore. Also, across the street in the other direction was a church. Our driver told us to go in and take a look at the stain glass windows. We were not disappointed. One wall was a depiction of the raintree forest reaching the ocean. At either side of the entry way were two windows depicting the wreck of WWII planes and ships. These were the “peace windows”
We left the church walking along the street stopping at various “useless stuff” stores to see if there was any souvenirs we might bring home. But other than a Kangaroo Christmas ornament, not much of interest. We also were looking for a hat or head netting for Howard to were at Uluru, our next destination. We heard the flies were terrible there and the netting was essential. But we had no luck in any of the stores.
We stopped for an ice cream lunch then we walked along the Esplanade past a public pool and some restaurants. Then back to our hotel for an early dinner as we had an early flight the next day.
June 8, 2025 - Travel to Ayers Rock - Uluru
When we checked our bags at the airport, the clerk said it was an “easy” flight, and we would board early, which we did. We arrived around 9:30am. As we were coming in for the landing, I could look out at the landscape and clearly see where the inspiration of much of the art we have seen from aboriginal artists comes from.
After collecting our luggage, we met Kelcy who drove us to the lodge. Our “Tent” was not ready, so we relaxed in the lounge for a while. Cathy had a massage and while she was being attended to, I took a walk in the bush. The loop I took was a mile and half and got back to the lodge in time to meet Cathy after her treatment and go to lunch. After which we went to our accommodation for the next two nights and took a nap.
This evening a group of us were driven to a viewing area to watch the sunset by Uluru. We then went to an art installation, the Field of Lights, where 50,000 solar powered lights were laid out in a field in the desert.
June 9, 2025 - Uluru & Kata Tjuta
The day dawned early. Waking before sunrise for breakfast before driving to the national park and a walk among the rocks of Kata Tjuta. This is a rock formation composed of conglomerate, a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders cemented by a matrix of sandstone. It is not far from the more well-known Uluru. Scientists give the formations here an age of 600 million years. The name means “Many Heads” and is a meeting place for the local aboriginal people.
It was a cool breezy morning in the shadow of this monolithic formation. When seen from a distance, or from the air, you just cannot fathom the immenseness of this geological wonder.
We hiked up the path to a platform at the junction of two of the “heads”. Then we returned the same way to our van for the return to the lodge.
This afternoon we boarded a van with Mikela, a park ranger, for a trip to the base of Uluru. Along the way, Mikela related some of the local lore, stories and myths about the people and places we would visit. She explained that rarely will you see an aboriginal guide as it is forbidden for men to speak of women’s things and women to speak of men’s things, so a aboriginal guide would not be able to give full meaning to the places.
As we walked along, Mikela explained that there are certain places that are sacred where photography was not allowed. We visited the Teaching cave where boys were taught the skills necessary to be men and survive in this harsh environment. We visited the Men’s cave, where, well, men were men. And then the women’s cave where women prepared flour from local seeds and finally we were at the “Old Peoples” Cave.
After exploring the base of Uluru, we returned to the sunset viewing site for more pictures as the moon was full and we could get a picture with the moon over Uluru.
June 10, 2025 - Morning in Uluru then travel to Sydney
We were up early once more for our final day in the desert. This morning, we again journeyed to the park and another view of Uluru. As we would be leaving in the afternoon, there were two potential hikes planned, a 10k walk that would take a couple of hours or a 3k walk. Those doing the shorter walk would be met partway along the hike to get back to the lodge in time for lunch and to get to the airport for their flight. Needless to say, we did the shorter walk.
Mikela again, as we walked along, recounted stories that explain the places. She also pointed out plants and their various uses by the aboriginal peoples.
We walked along a path to a watering hole, the most reliable source in the area. We continued walking along the base in the shade of Uluru. It was a cool morning, but as the sun rose higher in the sky it got warmer, and we were glad to be skipping the longer hike.
We returned to pack and get ready for our flight to Syndey.
We arrived in Syndney around 5:30PM. Our driver said there might be some challenges to get to our hotel as there was a light show event in the harbor and some streets were closed. It did not seem to be too much of an issue as we arrived back at the same hotel we stayed at when we were last here, we had a room just next to the same suite we previously occupied. The site of the harbor all lite up was something! We changed and went out for a final dinner celebration of our great adventure!
June 11, 2025 - Homeward bound
Then after a long flight, we arrived home to a very wonderful and warm welcome!
