Adelaide

The start of Rundle Mall

Adelaide's Central Market

Bargain Bananas 

Adelaide was a surprising little gem during our trip.  We had two nights here, one before our Kangaroo Island trip and one after.  Personally, I wish we had at least two or three more days here.  I was pretty impressed with the city and everything they had to offer.  There were a lot of side trips that one could do, but we didn't have time.  There seemed to be quite a few places to interact with koalas which was my favorite part of this whole trip.

The one thing that I absolutely love is shopping.  Adelaide had fabulous shopping!  However, the fact that stores close early really caused me a bit of a heartache because I had to squeeze in as many stores as possible in about two hours.  I managed to find the cutest stuffed koala and some wood Christmas ornaments at the Australian Geographic (I think that is what it was called) store.  Otherwise, I didn't do too much damage here which was a shame.

One of our favorite things to do in every city we visit is to visit a local market or two.  Some cities don't have markets or only have them on weekends and we miss them, but we were lucky enough to get to Central Market on one of the days that it was open.  This is a fabulous market and we were surprised that most of the prices were quite reasonable except for the bananas perhaps.  There weren't a lot of prepared foods to buy and sample, but we did get a few things including one of the chocolate crackles pictured above, some bread, and I think my husband had something else.  There were some small cafes inside, but we didn't get a chance to try any as we had to get back to the hotel to get to the airport.  However, we were very pleased with this market and its offerings.  It is definitely worth a trip if you are in town.

Kata Tjuta - Valley of the Winds

We originally signed up to do the Kata Tjuta Valley of the Winds walk and sunset viewing.  Well, the walk is supposed to be 3 hours long and our tour guide decided to do a small detour before we started the walk, so, we only had 1 1/2 hours before we had to get to the sunset viewing point.  Because of the time constraint, they gave us the option to do the Valley of the Winds walk the rest of the way or to go do a shorter less strenuous walk. We took the second option.  About half of our group finished most of the Valley of the Winds walk and many regretted it.  Because they were so short on time, it was very rushed which made it even more strenuous.  I think even the most fit of those in the group really struggled because of the pace, climbs, etc... Since we had been up before 5 AM for our sunrise tour, I was glad we opted for the shorter walk as we were really dragging at this point.

They always tell you to take a liter or two of water with you because of the dry air.  We needed that again and more despite the fact that it was winter.  Again, I could not imagine doing this tour or any of the others in summer because of the flies.  I felt especially sorry for our tour guide that night when he said that they aren't allowed to wear the fly nets when they lead groups in the summer.

The sunset viewing here was nice.  It was very casual as they had little stools you could sit on if you wanted and put out a folding table with some snacks and champagne.  Since I hadn't had anything to eat since about 10 am, the two little glasses of champagne did me in.  I fell asleep on the bus ride back to the hotel and woke up as the people on the bus were doing funny hand motions.  I had no clue what was happening, but I later found out from my husband that the bus driver was teaching everyone the little "dance" to Home Among the Gumtrees by John Williamson.   Let me tell you, it was a site to behold especially since I didn't know what was going on or where I really was at first.  It will be a memory that will stick with me and was a good way to end our visit to Uluru.

The Colors of Uluru - Kata Tjuta at Sunset and Sunrise

Uluru Sunset

Uluru Desert Sky at Sunset

Uluru Desert Sky at Sunset

Uluru Desert Sky at Sunset

Uluru Desert Sky at Sunset

Uluru before Sunrise

Uluru Desert Sky at Sunrise

Uluru Desert Sky at Sunrise

Uluru Sky at Sunrise

Uluru Sunrise

Kata Tjuta at Sunrise

Uluru Sunrise

Uluru at Sunrise

Uluru at Sunrise

Sunrise at Uluru

Uluru-Kata Tjuta -Ayers Rock

Uluru-Kata Tjuta Airport Welcome Sign
Dingoes Anyone?

Sails in the Desert Patio

Sails in the Desert Pool Area

Byproduct of the rainy season the desert was experiencing.

Uluru at Sunset

A Desert Awakening

Upon arriving at the Uluru airport, we were greeted by the lovely sign pictured above warning us about the dingoes.  This would be the first of a few warnings we would receive on our first day.  The thing to know about the Uluru area is that there are very few hotels or places to stay.  There is a cluster of hotels all owned by the same company called Voyages.  We chose to stay at the nicest of the hotels they had to offer according to the website, Sails in the Desert. 

The reviews of Sails in the Desert are very mixed on places like TripAdvisor, but I have to say that we had a pretty good experience.  The lobby and outer areas were very nice and the spa room we had with the hot tub and extra large patio would have been appreciated if we were there to relax.  However, if we had been there in summer, I am not sure we would have even stepped outside because we heard the flies are really quite horrible.  The pool area was very clean and colorful with all the vegetation.  The desert was experiencing one of its wettest winters in years, so, there were flowers blooming everywhere, some that hadn't been seen ever before by the locals according to our guides.  

At the hotel, we received a warning letter in our welcome packet about rodents.  Thankfully, we saw none.  Then in the hotel room on the side table by the bed was a warning about centipedes and how to contact the front office if we saw one.  Again, we were lucky not to see any of these creatures as well.   However, the warnings were a bit unsettling.  One of the families we ate with at the Sounds of Silence dinner told us they hid the warnings from their children so they wouldn't panic. 

There were plenty of restaurants to choose from at the resort.  There is a small shopping area within the resort area with a few restaurants and shops including a grocery store.  We enjoyed a small cafe (Red Rock Deli) that had panini like sandwiches, pastries, ice cream, etc.. for a quick lunch.  This was the best value for food.  One day we tried Geckos's Cafe and that was not nearly as good.  The Tali Bar in the hotel had pretty decent food. We had to eat there one night as nothing else was open as we got back from another tour.

The Sounds of Silence dinner was very nice with plenty of wine, champagne, beer, and sodas to enjoy prior to getting to the actual dinner site.  Unfortunately, the night we had the dinner the sky wasn't as clear as usual, so, the star gazing was pretty limited.  Dinner was decent and my husband along with the little boy at our table really enjoyed the kangaroo.  This was an expensive option to add ($150 per person I think), but it was worth it.  The sunset spot was great and it was nice to meet travelers from other parts of the world.  

The next morning we were up very early to do a day tour including watching the sunrise over Uluru and Kata Tjuta.  Sunrise was more spectacular than the sunset because the monolith turned so many colors within such a short period of time.  Pictures coming soon..

In addition to the sunrise, we also toured around the base of Uluru a little bit and visited the cultural center.  This was a pretty long tour as we had another tour scheduled shortly after, so, there was little break time.  This was not a relaxing few days.  I am just so glad we were there in winter as I could not even begin to imagine being there while having to wear fly nets and it being extremely hot.  Our weather was comfortable, but we still needed so much water on our tours because of the desert.  I just can't imagine that a visit in summer would be remotely pleasant.