The Red Centre

Thorny devil
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On the third leg of the tour, 23 of us from who knows how many nations, travelled through the "red centre" over two days.  The amazing experiences continued:

Seeing a thorny devil, which our tour guide spotted, stopped for, picked up by the tail and displayed for the group.  The most brilliant colored and unusual creature I have ever seen up close.

Visiting Kings Canyon, which included walks around the rim and down to the canyon floor.  Everywhere I looked there were terrific views, which as my guide book suggested, provided a "sense of the peaceful emptiness of the Australian Outback."

King's Canyon, sporting the fly net
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Enjoying a swim in the cold, refreshing pool on the canyon floor.  There was no waterfall here, but the orange/red walls and the similarly colored water were magnificent.  It's hard to understand why only five people in the group took the plunge, given the heat and exertion of the day.

Experiencing the majesty of Uluru (Ayer's Rock).  Our bus rolled in at 5:45 AM, when the rock was a 1,140 foot high shadow.  Later, I saw the rock change color multiple times as the rising sun gradually lit it up.  Then, I walked half the rock's 9.4 km (6 mile) circumference.  In a way, it would be easy to dismiss Australia's most famous icon as overrated.  But I did sense that spirituality that everyone talks about.  I stopped way too many times to snap photos, trying to capture the magic of this place (which can not be captured).

Canyon color
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Exploring Kata-Tjuta (or, the Olgas), another nearby monolith.  Although not nearly as famous as Uluru, it has more significance to the Aboriginal people.  Here, our group did the easy gorge walk, and took in the pretty, but not spectacular views.