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April 24, 2005
The mounds of Kata Tjuta
(Day 64) We were in the car park at Kata Tjuta, getting ready for our hike.
"Hey Mark, mind if I borrow your sunscreen?" Steve had left his behind at the camp.
"Sure, help yourself."
"Whoa, SPF 45!" he smiled. "There's only one country in the world you can get sunscreen stronger than SPF30. America."
"You can't get that here in Australia?"
"Nope. There's actually no evidence that SPF 45 is any more effective than SPF 30, but I guess you Americans are paranoid about this kind of stuff."
Hey, I'm not paranoid! I just grabbed whatever we had laying around the house!
Kata Tjuta, meaning 'many heads,' is comprised of 36 individual domes. We hiked along the appropriately named Valley of the Winds trail, where the strong breeze not only kept the flies out of our faces, but also provided some relief from the heat. It was still early in the day, but it doesn't take long for the temperatures to rise in the desert. Though it was interesting walking among the valleys, I thought the site was much more impressive when viewed from a distance. There's something really intriguing about the way Kata Tjuta (and Uluru) just sits in the middle of flat, red sand.
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The walk was a little monotonous. dome after dome after done... like a huge collection of shaved heads. By midday we had finished the circuit and headed back to Uluru for lunch. Before leaving, I was able to find an internet kiosk. Expensive, but I only needed a couple minutes to check my email and see if Garuda Indonesia had resolved my plane ticket dispute.
There still was no reply from the office in LA where the inquiry was sent to. But because of the circumstances, the Adelaide office had gone ahead and made the date change. There would be no extra charge, and I had a confirmed flight to Bali on the 29th. The nice thing about traveling in a first world country... everything always works out in the end.
What followed was a long drive down to Kings Creek Station, a cattle ranch that had diversified into the camping business. We unpacked our bags on the first patch of green grass I had seen since arriving in the desert. We had our last dinner together as a group and gathered around the campfire while Steve told us some great stories about his experiences as a tour guide.
The moon was nearly full and so bright that I could've read a book its light. No wonder people enjoy camping in the Outback. Sleeping under the stars never got old.
Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!
Posted by markyiin at April 24, 2005 02:20 AM
Comments
still about 3 days behind. but almost caught up!
mojess: the bright spot was a car i think. would've taken another picture had i noticed it, but i didnt until we had already gone back to camp. i'm sure i included a picture of steve somewhere.. but there will be more!
anna: it's a really sweet gig he's got, he works about 10 days a month, the rest of the time he has off, and i'm sure he gets paid pretty well for it too!
tree: i saw so many animals the first few days.. wild horses, emus, kangaroos. i met quite a few people on this trip, i took pictures of them all, but haven't put any of them up yet.
aves: so many pictures i couldn't weave into the story, so i figured inline images would be a nice way to include them!
matt: i like providing my own transport. more flexible, and it's usually cheaper too. with things like the oz experience, how much you enjoy it will depend on the crowd you get on the bus. if you get some real jerks on the bus, it wont be much fun. also, the oz experience has a reputation for being a party bus, which is not what i'm really looking for.
GEM: i'm with you, i couldnt be a tour guide. it'd be a fun job if you had the right personality for it, but i know myself well enough to know that it's not for me.
Posted by: markyiin at April 24, 2005 02:44 AM
haha, that's an interesting tidbit about sunscreen. i guess i've been brainwashed into thinking SPF 45 is better than SPF 30, and would be willing to pay more for SPF45. maybe it's a marketing gimmick.
Hmmm, I have the faint impression that Nausicaa (another movie by Miyazaki, the one who made Kiki's) has a valley of the winds too... wonder if it's based on this one? That would be interesting that many of these sites are in australia.
http://nausicaa.net/miyazaki/nausicaa/
Posted by: Anna at April 24, 2005 04:15 PM
You're going to Bali on the 29th?!?! I AM SOOOO JEALOUS!!! I was recently telling my friend that right now, I'm not really enticed by Asian countries right now. Maybe once I'm done with the European ones. But if there was one place I'd want to go right now, it'd be Bali. I don't know what it is. I hear it's absolutely gorgeous and I've seen pictures from other people's travels. How long are you staying in Bali? -GEM P.S. - Just when I thought I was caught up (and mind you, I'm at work on my break reading this), when I sign back on for my last break, you have another post up! lol
Posted by: Anonymous at April 25, 2005 02:14 AM
OOOPS. Didn't mean to bust an anonymous. -=oP -GEM
Posted by: GEM at April 25, 2005 02:15 AM
To my best recollection, many scenes from Nausicaa (which means Valley of the Winds) do look alot like Vally of the Winds in Kata Tjuta. That's 2 Miyazaki locations you've visited, Mark! Next thing we know, you're gonna visit the fantastic islands depicted in Porco Rosso (probably the same site as The Beach and many other movies, which was filmed in Thailand).
Posted by: yitao at April 25, 2005 11:16 AM