Photo: Outback station stop
June 19, 1978 Five of us had to get up early because our bus was leaving at 8 AM. Although the walk to the bus depot was a fair distance, the rigid resident manager would not allow us to leave before 7 AM. As the bus carried us north into the Outback, the grasslands were replaced by bare topsoil, native brush and spare trees. Eventually the road pavement abruptly ended and the road became a wide, shallow trench of red soil. At times the road was very rough. The driver would dodge all over the road looking for the smoothest dirt.
Because of the continuous shaking it was impossible to read, sleep or rest. On either side of the road all types of debris were scattered. Tires and even cars hung in trees. It used to be that if you broke down in the Outback it was all over for your car and likely you as well.
The towns, hundreds of miles apart, consisted of only a few people. In one small town an old prospector rode a bicycle which pulled his home, a small mobile tent. In the middle of nowhere the driver delivered a daily newspaper to a grateful road grader.
Map of Ayers Rock
June 20, 1978 At mid-morning we pulled into a 24,000 square mile station (ranch). The station people sold biscuits (cookies), coffee, tea, sandwiches, and cakes. Some of us changed buses at this point. Our new bus driver, Dennis, talked nonstop for the next 200 miles. The majority of the bus passengers were pensioners. Three of us had been in the Adelaide hostel, Ken from Oregon, Jan from England, and me. We arrived at Ayers Rock late in the afternoon, checked into the Inland Motel and then went and saw the sunset. I took photos from “Sunset Strip”, a wide spot in the road a few miles from the Rock where people in buses, cars, and vans gather to watch the Rock change color.
Postcard of Ayers Rock
June 21, 1978 Everyone got up early to see the sunrise on the Rock. The bus then took us back to the motel for breakfast. Before lunch the bus driver took us for a spin around the Rock and to the Olga’s, a similar formation about 18 miles away. Although it had been 10 days since it had rained, the road still held some very large puddles. Earlier on the trip Dennis had told us the best way to travel on wet roads was down the middle. On the way back from the Olgas Dennis drove the bus down the middle of a very large puddle. The right side of the bus tilted as it sank deeper and deeper into the puddle. Dennis finally stopped when the water almost reached window level. He was able to back out.
In the afternoon we saw slides, a fertility cave in the Rock, and Maggie Springs. The younger tour members climbed the Rock. Though I had a cold, I managed the difficult climb in about 30 minutes. In certain places, we were able to hold on to chains strung on the Rock. The record for climbing it, held by a New Zealander, was 12 minutes. In the evening we were shown an excellent slide show.
Photo: Outback desert
Photo: The Olgas
Photo: Dingo at motel kitchen door
Photo: Top of Ayers Rock
Photo: Top of Ayers Rock, Olgas in distance
Photo: Top of Ayers Rock
Photo: Jan on top of Ayers Rock
Photo: Steep slope is path up Ayers Rock
Photo: Aboriginal painting on Ayers Rock
Photo: Maggie Springs at Ayers Rock
Photo: The Brain on Ayers Rock
Photo: Holes in Ayers Rock
Photo: The Bell Cave on Ayers Rock
Photo: Ralph on Ayers Rock
June 22, 1978 In the morning I went on a 10 mile jog around the Rock. About 2/3 of the way, I heard a noise. Turning around, I saw a dingo dog following me. Eventually the curious animal lost interest and left.
In the afternoon I walked around the Rock observing up close all the formations, paintings, and caves that have special aboriginal interest. At the start near Maggie Springs, the tall grass made me nervous about the possibility of stepping on a venomous snake. People I met on the way, in shorts and bare footed, told me to make a lot of noise to let the snakes I was near. I was trailed part of the way by another dingo. By the time I got back to the motel I had a few hundred flies on my back. If I brushed them away, they would swarm in a cloud and then settle back on my back.
The bus left for Alice Springs at 9:30 PM. Sometime in the night, the bus stopped in the remote Outback for a billie tea. The bus driver prepared the tea over a fire along side the road for all the passengers.
Area Map
