NQ100: Day 14 - Yulara

Good morning Yulara!

Thank heaven for a good night's sleep! It was a cold one though, and so when I heard Shane rustling around getting ready to go out to take some sunrise shots at Uluru - the photographer in me shrunk back under the sheets trying to be inconspicuous so I respected her wishes and rolled over and went back to sleep. Well for a little while at least. Once awake I couldn't stay in bed and got up. I was going to wander off and take a few photos of my own around the camp but not being able to find the spare keys to lock the van I assumed they were with Shane and only climbed to the top of the hill behind our site to take my morning shot.

As it turned out the keys were hanging on a hook in the van - just above the level of my search..... Never mind. As the morning progressed Kitty and I had some visitors. The visitors were actually the source of another one of our "conversations" - the classification of birds. In our house there are five classifications of birds:

Budgies - this classification covers everything from Sparrows to Eagles - though in fairness to Eagles they are probably generally referred to as Big Ass Budgies,
Pidgees - which most commonly includes pigeons but in this case also includes doves,
Duckies - which includes ducks and swans,
Pellingtons - pelicans of course - or their more official name of Pellingtonious Waterfaceplantus for their somewhat unorthodox landing abilities, and
Bush Chooks - Emus.

Our Pidgee visitors this morning enjoyed a few bread crumbs and were shortly joined by many of their cousins. I may regret that feeding frenzy tomorrow.

Unfortunately our Miss Kitty wasn't quite herself this morning. She was being very needy and sleepy this morning so we just kept an eye on her until she was back to her usual happy self before heading out for a little while to take some photos.

There is something amazingly special about Uluru that I felt when we visited 3 years ago and I felt again this year. It's tangible in a way that I've not felt for any other location. It's more than the massive footprint it occupies, it is more than the amazing colours. I can understand on a very small scale the significance it has to the indigenous people in the area. It is probably for that reason that I'm conflicted about the ongoing desire of people to climb it despite the official requests for people not to. Even on the paperwork you are given as you enter the National Park - it asks that you don't climb. It makes me sad to read the arguments of people that they have a right to climb it. Shane and I were talking about it yesterday and I said to him it's a bit like someone inviting you to their home and then you go and jump up and down on their bed like a trampoline. Anyway we enjoyed our afternoon driving and walking around Uluru, and I am really looking forward to tomorrow night when we go to see the Field of Lights.

Back at camp we took the walk to the lookout to watch the sun set but to be honest the view of the rock was less than impressive even though the sunset itself was pretty.