Back on teh bus, this time headed for Uluru - used to be called Ayers Rock. George and I saw a huge flat topped mesa mountain from the bus window and thought it was Uluru - but it was Mount Connor. It's on private land so we didn't get close to it. Shrotly after that we stopped for morning tea at King's Cross Station - where George and I had a short camel ride. While it was walking it wasn't too bad, just sort of a rocking motion, but when it ran it was bump, bump, bump - sure glad I didn't have to travel on camel back from Adelaide to Alcie Springe! It wasd fun anyway. They were originally brought to Australia by the Afghans to transport materials to Alice for the building of the telegraph line. Then they got turned loose and now there are herds of wild camels all over the interior.
Our hotel for the next two nights is the Lost Camel - sa very unusual colour scheme - orange, purple and green. Then I realized that the orange is for the sand, the purple is the colour of the mountains at dawn and dusk, and the green is for the trees. Our room was unusual too - the bed was freestanding in the centre of the room. It had a bookcase-style headboard, and behind that was the sink. Beyond that, agains the outside wall of the motel were two rooms - one contained the toilet - and the other room was the shower. These two rooms contained the only windows for the unit! So you had to be sure to close the drapes when using the facilities as the room overlooked the main driveway into the motel! Leaving the drapes open would subject people to Not A Pretty Sight!
Int he afternoon we visited Kata Tjuta - a formation of 36 rock domes - a huge land mass, with many interesting shapes to the rocks, and some rock paintings as well. We explored a little while and then went to Uluru - where we watched the sun go down while sipping wine and nibbling on cheese, crackers, veggies and dip.
OUR ITINERARY **NEW, REVISED AND UP TO DATE**
- If we're going to be in your city and you want to get together for a cup of coffee, leave a message at our hotel, or send me an email ahead of time at shakos@sympatico.ca - we'll try to rendezvous with you. That would be great fun!
- Sat. Oct. 20 - Arrive in Christchurch, New Zealand and stay at the Copthorne Central Hotel, phone 03 379 5880.
- Mon. Oct. 22 - TranzAlpine Train ride to Franz Josef, staying at the Franz Josef Glacier Hotel, phone 03 752 0729.
- Tues. Oct. 23 - Queenstown, staying at the Novotel Gardens, phone 03 442 7750.
- Thurs. Oct. 25 - Te Anau, staying at the Village Inn, phone 03-249 7911.
- Fri. Oct. 26 - Dunedin, staying at the Dunedin City Hotel, phone 03 470 1470. Hope to meet Chris Davies for coffee while we're there.
- Sat. Oct. 27 - Mount Cook National Park, staying at The Hermitage Hotel, phone 03 435 1809.
- Sun. Oct. 28 - Back at the Copthorne Central Hotel in Christchurch, phone 03 379 5580 till Oct. 30th. We'll then take the ferry to the North Island and stay with Beulah from Oct. 30th, till November 5th.
- Mon. Nov. 5 - Pick up a car for a self-drive tour to Auckland. (Biting my nails as you guys drive on the wrong side of the road - giggle). Stay at the Lakeland Resort, Taupo, phone 07 378 3893 on the 5th, and at the Heritage Rotorua on the 6th and 7th, phone 07 348 1189.
- Thurs. Nov. 8 - Arrive in Auckland and stay with Lizzie and her husband John. I've promised to teach an ink and oil rouging design for Lizzie while I'm there.
- Mon. Nov. 12 - It's all over but the curtain calls. Fly from Auckland back to Los Angeles, where we will stay a week with my aunt. A good chance to shake off some of the jet lag.
- Sun. Nov. 18 - Back in Canada. All good things have to come to an end. The memories, however, will last a lifetime.
Friday, October 12, 2007
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