Ayers Rock (Now 9 ½ hrs ahead)

Arrived at Urulu (Ayers rock) 10am, temp already 39 and heading for 43 today - combine that with a strong hot wind and it was like stepping into a fan oven. As soon as we got to our hotel we noticed the deluge of flies! …… so much so that some guests had taken to wearing face/hat nets - not a good look! Uluru can be found just 10 mins from its tiny airport and exists of a cluster of small hotels and a town square which although small appeared to have all the necessary outlets. Surrounding this small town is ….dessert!

The dessert is barren but what vegetation there is unusually green at the moment as they have had heavy unseasonal rainfall over the past couple of months (January and Februarys rainfall was equal to the total annual average) and this was the reasoning for the swarms of flies - yuk!.

Had booked for a "Sounds of Silence dinner" that evening which meant travelling closer to the rock in the middle of the desert so that we could view the effect of the sunset on the rock after which a stargazer would guide us through the constellations of the southern hemisphere - the most obvious being the southern cross.

As we approached we noticed a gathering of clouds and what appeared to be rain falling in the distance. We were reassured as the guide explained this to be 'Virga rain'; rain that evaporated before reaching the ground due to the heat of the dessert. Great view of the rock but cloud continued to increase until it obliterated the sunset so no chance of seeing the rock light up… ah well!

As we finished our main course the 'Virga' theory went out the window as the rain fell and as they were clearly unprepared for rain many of us ended up with napkins on our heads(very classy!) until we took refuge in the coach - should have kept the plastic ponchos! Went back to finish off our meal and listen to the stargazer as he took us through the invisible night sky - still very interesting though and his saving grace was just as he finished when the clouds parted just enough to show off the southern star!

Had a lie in next day and decided to go the town square to book another sunset tour to make up for last night and whilst there joined a talk given by a local aborigine who regaled us with tales about hunting methods, weaponry and survival in the outback - really interesting sitting beside other guests in their hat nets!!

Spent the rest of the day chilling at the poolside and then returned in the evening for the sunset. We had no real expectation that we would see anything this time either, as once again the clouds were coming in and there was an incredible lightening display in the distance. However this time we were much closer to the rock (2km as opposed to 25km) and there was a constant supply of drinks and nibbles to compensate. As sunset approached it looked like we might be disappointed but just as the sun went down the light reflected across the sky in its amazing phenomenon and lit the rock up for a stunning 3-4 mins - Absolutely brilliant and so worth persevering for.

Off to Melbourne tomorrow.