4am - woken by a small child screaming
5am - woken by an alarm clock

I woke first and pretty promptly got the girls dressed in their sleep. Alex summed things up, I am sleepy, It's stupid o'clock. We all agreed ! In any case by 5:45am we were ready at reception, checked out with our bags awaiting collection, miracles do happen ! I had managed a quick shower which briefly turned me into Tigger but I very quickly became more like Eeyore. Anyway the bus arrived and we climbed on board to be greeted by the same driver, Lee, as yesterday. Elizabeth sat on my knee again. The drive took us close to the base of Uluru and the driver explained there are a number of sacred sites which you are not allowed to photograph. The first stop was the sunset viewing area which allowed us to see the sunrise from behind Uluru, spectacular and in my opinion well worth the stop. We then drove to the sunrise area and had a chance to take some pictures of the colour changes on the rock and more importantly grab a coffee and some breakfast. The girls had cereal standing up at the table much to everyone's amusement. Elizabeth was really keen on the cereal and was most upset when she thought we were away without her having the very last bits. What was nice was the guide took the time to talk to the girls and try and make friends with them.

When the sun was up the Guide spent some time talking about the geology and filling time so we could allow the other groups to leave so we would miss the worst of the crowds at the other areas. Our first stop was the climb site which was open. On the way the guide told some of the creation stories, they do not refer to them as dreamtime as they are not a dream. One tale is that Uluru used to be soft mud and one day two boys played on it and their fingers formed the gorges on one side. When we reached there Alex and I went to the toilet and joined the guide later. They do offer the climb as part of the tour but they really do discourage you from doing it. The climb looks pretty intense and you can see where the feet have worn away the red leaving a silver trail. Alex and I missed the spiel but we already had decided not to climb because of the dangers involved and because the local Aboriginals do not want you to as it is a sacred site. Noone in our group did the climb.

Brain dump of facts

1952 First tourists. The trip took 2.5 days in and the same out with 2 days at the rock. You had to carry everything in with you.

Only recently they realised the Aboriginals do not like people climbing.

Old Ayres Rock airport is really close to the rock and the resort was converted into housing and given to the local Aboriginals. The old campsite was pretty much on top of the sunrise area.

Anyway we moved on via the rod which allowed us to see the other side of the rock which is very different from the postcard one. It is no less impressive but because it has more sacred sites professional photographers are not allowed to take that side.

We went to the waterhole which is really lush and the hole itself is an impressive 2.5m, it is not classified as permanent as it has been recorded dry three times in the last 50 years. It had a number of interesting area including a living cave with plums and figs outside it; a young mans area to observe animal activity heading to the waterhole and a mans cave. The method of hunting was to only kill what they needed and hopefully in a way which meant the animals did not twig what was going on.

After this we drove to the cultural centre which was small and had some interesting information there. I think they could do more with it though. We bought a painting as our souvenir from the arts shop. 60% is taken by the shop and 40% to the artist, it sounds like a swizz but the shop cover the cost of materials and getting it to the shop over the outback roads. Anyway as soon as I tried to pay there was a huge queue and I held everyone up in the bus.

Back to the resort at about 10 and we hopped off at the town square and mooched around a little before we had lunch at the deli. I took Elizabeth for a nappy change and nearly had a gecko fall on my head. We then made our way back to the hotel to pick up our bags and the airport shuttle.

On the plane Alex slept and Elizabeth was fine but spilt her juice which landed on the lady behinds bag. I had not realised this as I thought I had captured it all in serviettes. She was pretty off with me when I apologised and offered wipes. Arrived in Cairns about 5:20pm and the room shortly after that. The room is pretty odd as it is two linked rooms so the doors lock between them if we do not wedge them open.

Out for a meal and a walk in Cairns along the esplanade which reminds me of Spain.