Australia - Part 2

After Melbourne we flew to Alice Springs and immediately did a tour of the town, visiting

 

 the School of the Air 

The Royal Flying Doctor Service

and the Telegraph station.

In the evening we had a barbecue dinner at an outback homestead Earth Sanctuary where the family  have set up a sustainable environment and way of living. Being out in the desert the night sky was amazing - so many stars to see - with no light pollution. 

the next day we drove the 450 km to Uluru.

 A visit to the Rock at sunset - only the sun wasn't playing as it was too cloudy!

 A very early start the next morning - 4.15 - to see the sunrise. This time the sun was a little more obliging and provided some deep purple shadows. A few of the more intrepid on the tour collected a packed breakfast and set out to walk all the way round. Those of us less adventurous headed back to the hotel for a shower and breakfast before heading back to pick up the walkers and do a shorter walk.

This photo shows some of the markings on the rock caused by water erosion. In the evening we had another sunset opportunity but this time at Katja Tjuta after a walk through Walpa Gorge.

 Walpa Gorge

The sun wasn't playing again - lots of cloud!

The following day we had an Aborigine Dot Painting workshop before heading off to Cairns.

All our paintings laid out to dry!  I'm going to have another go at this in my art journal - just waiting for the black gesso to arrive!