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After a 3:00 a.m. wake-up we were met by the AAT Kings Tour Bus to whisk us off to Kata Tajuta and The Valley of the Winds. Ya'll probably know that Alice Springs is in the middle of the Australian Outback and is a central starting point for any activity you want to do in this area. Like Texas, it can sometimes be a far piece to get from one place to another. We drove for approximately 2 hours before we arrived at Kata Tajuta.
Everyone is pretty familiar with photos Uluru (Ayers Rock) when they see them, but Kata Tajuta is visually close to Uluru, but a completely different geological rock formation.
Both sites are culturally and spiritually important to the Aboriginal people and since they are on land still controlled by the Aboriginees, visiting the National Park comes with rules. There are several areas that are so important to the Aboriginal people spiritually that they won't even let them be photographed!
The formations are huge, and beautiful. They look very different during each part of the day as light changes and highlights the variations in the rock, the caves that you cannot see when the sun is shining directly on it and of course, water (or rain) gives it a completely different look.
We particularly enjoyed the cultural stories from our tour guide, looking for wildlife that may be there and of course just being in awe of this magnificient rock! We took so many photos of a rock - yes, a rock, but such a beautiful one!
After our tour through The Valley of the Winds, we watched the sun set on Kata Tajuta. It was a very special thing to witness. Shortly after sunset we were taken to a remote spot for a late-nite BBQ and star gazing. The BBQ was a nice meal where we were able to sample Kangaroo and Camel meat. We passed on the Camel, but the Kangaroo was OK according to Joe. Nancy hated it - it was more mental than the taste, but she still didn't like it.
Once dinner and drinks were over the tour crew said it was time for "Lights Out"! What a spectacular treat - utterly amazing and fantastic. We were so far away from any public lighting, and we were also luck that there was not a cloud in the sky - which made for particularly awesome star gazing. We saw the Astrological formation of Scorpio, Nancy's sign - which made the evening even more special. We soaked the sight into our memories and hope you all get to make it to this special place someday to witness this incredible event that has happened night after night, day after day, year after year since the beginning of time.
Everyone is pretty familiar with photos Uluru (Ayers Rock) when they see them, but Kata Tajuta is visually close to Uluru, but a completely different geological rock formation.
Both sites are culturally and spiritually important to the Aboriginal people and since they are on land still controlled by the Aboriginees, visiting the National Park comes with rules. There are several areas that are so important to the Aboriginal people spiritually that they won't even let them be photographed!
The formations are huge, and beautiful. They look very different during each part of the day as light changes and highlights the variations in the rock, the caves that you cannot see when the sun is shining directly on it and of course, water (or rain) gives it a completely different look.
We particularly enjoyed the cultural stories from our tour guide, looking for wildlife that may be there and of course just being in awe of this magnificient rock! We took so many photos of a rock - yes, a rock, but such a beautiful one!
After our tour through The Valley of the Winds, we watched the sun set on Kata Tajuta. It was a very special thing to witness. Shortly after sunset we were taken to a remote spot for a late-nite BBQ and star gazing. The BBQ was a nice meal where we were able to sample Kangaroo and Camel meat. We passed on the Camel, but the Kangaroo was OK according to Joe. Nancy hated it - it was more mental than the taste, but she still didn't like it.
Once dinner and drinks were over the tour crew said it was time for "Lights Out"! What a spectacular treat - utterly amazing and fantastic. We were so far away from any public lighting, and we were also luck that there was not a cloud in the sky - which made for particularly awesome star gazing. We saw the Astrological formation of Scorpio, Nancy's sign - which made the evening even more special. We soaked the sight into our memories and hope you all get to make it to this special place someday to witness this incredible event that has happened night after night, day after day, year after year since the beginning of time.
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