Traveling with Ray Owens

Another early morning. We were off at 5:15 to experience the sunrise at a different spot than we experienced the sunset. This was necessary because the sunsets in the west and rises in the east. This is true even though we are in the southern hemisphere in order to see the effect of the setting and rising sun on the appearance of the rock known as Ayer’s rock or Uluru. It is a giant sandstone structure that is more underground than above. It has been a large part of the indigenous people’s story, who have lived in this area many thousands of years. Or if you ask the indigenous people how long their cultures go back in time they are likely to tell you that they have been here since the beginning of time.

After the sun came up at 6:14 we returned to the hotel and had breakfast. After breakfast we boarded our couch and our driver and guide took us around Ulura and we were regaled with the stories from the aboriginal people the link below is pretty much the same story that Andrew told us.

Information about the rock.

1. It is a part of a ginormous sand stone rock. The natural color of the sandstone is a light beige color (also known as the color of sandstone).

2. The sandstone is not pure. There is a fair amount of iron. Thus when it rains it rusts. Thus it appears a deep red color (also known as rust color)

3. Sandstone is one of the most porous rocks and thus when it rains (fyi this part of Australia is not a desert the annual average rainfall is just a little too much to qualify for desert status. It is an arid land.)

4. We were taken to the watering hole on the eastern side of the rock. There was a trickle of water coming out of the rock. The pool is not always full of water but it is a fairly reliable source of water for people and animals.

5. Climbing Ulura was permanently banned October 26, 2019. The main reason was the objection of the aboriginal people. The rock is important to the Yankunytjatjara, Pitjantjatjara and Anangu people who have lived here since the beginning of time. The rock itself is not sacred. Rather it is the stories of the people that are forever linked with Uluru.

https://www.kateowengallery.com/page/rainbow-serpent…

We visited the cultural center of the community. They asked us to not take photos or videos of the center nor the contents so I did not. There was a short video of how the people learned to gather and prepare food from the very harsh places where they live.

This evening for dinner we were driven a ways outside of town to the fields of lights. This is a field of lights .. duhh (50,000) stuck on sticks in mostly random patterns. I confess that I did not catch nor understand the significance.

They did feed us a meal on tables with tablecloths sitting in the red sand. The food was some foods that I would not have ordered including kangaroo. Several grilled or sautéed vegetables but they were served cold. There was a generous supply of beer, sparkling wine and soft drinks.

After the sun set we had a star talk guy come and point out some of the constellations visible in the southern hemisphere. He did this with a powerful laser where he could easily point to various stars. My favorite thing to see was the southern cross. I had just been listening to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and their hit aptly named Southern Cross. You should listen to the song.

Frank told me of a cool star app that lets you identify any star or planet that you point at with your camera.

It has been a dream come true to get to visit this part of the world. We have seen two sunsets and one sunrise. My plan is not to see the sunrise tomorrow.

We are flying to Sydney tomorrow. It will be nice to get out of the heat, it was 109 today and arrive in a high of 73 degrees in Sydney.

It has been a good but long day.