Wednesday – April 2, 2025
Some things in life are worth waiting for. Sunrise at Uluru is definitely one of them! Today’s featured photo was taken a few minutes after the sun began to illuminate Uluru. You will notice there are no rain clouds. As a matter of fact there are no clouds of any type. The sky was clear and the sun had no obstructions to light up Uluru and Kata Tjuṯa for us this morning.
Today we are going to be busy. It started with an early call to the bus so we could drive to a special viewing area and watch sunrise on Uluru (and Kata Tjuṯa). I don’t remember the exact time and the meta data on my photos show it was 10:40 pm on 4/1/2025 (I forgot to update the time zone on the camera). Let’s say it was after 5:00 am and before 6:00 am. On the way to the special sunrise viewing area we stopped at the sunset area we had visited a couple times to get a silhouette of Uluru. Then off we went to our destination – South of the rock so we could see shadows as the sun rose (you don’t actually see the sun rise over Uluru – just the changes in the color of the rock as the sun reveals itself).
Not to our surprise, others had decided they would like to view the sunrise. The viewing area had an upper and lower area. From past experience Sandra suggested the lower viewing area because it was likely to be less crowded. She was correct. Kelsey, Jan and I found a good spot, set up the iPhone for a time-lapse video and off I went looking for the “perfect” viewpoint. I found a couple I liked that yielded good visibility of Uluru and Kata Tjuṯa (19 miles to the West). It was cool (we all had jackets) but there was little wind and no clouds to be seen in any direction. That meant NO RAIN!!!
It is amazing to me how the human eye can detect minute changes in light and color that are not accurately reflected in digital or film captures. Such was the case this morning. You can see blue and pink begin to show near the horizon of the photos but the “real thing” was much more dramatic. We never actually saw the sun breach the Eastern horizon but we could see the effect on those 1,000 plus high rocks at Uluru and Kata Tjuṯa. In my opinion, Kata Tjuṯa was the first to show the red of the sun. As you look through today’s media, you’ll see Kata Tjuṯa in shadow with blue and pink in the sky. 3 photos later the rock has red and shadows and the sky has turned yellow/orange. The same was true of Uluru but delayed by a minute or so.
The other thing that was noticeable was the sun as it lit the grasses directly in front of us. They turned from washed-out tan to yellow and green with shadows of their own. As you watch the time-lapse you’ll see the shadows of the people behind the camera as they mover back and forth shading the grasses. I enjoy sunrises because they raise expectations for the day. There are many places from which I have watched as the sun rose and Uluru will remain as one of my favorite (all time favorite is still Moraine Lake in Canada).
We traveled back to Sails for a buffet breakfast. The main dining area at this hotel is very good. Following that we needed to check out and wait an hour or so for our ride to the airport. Jan decided to spend that time by the pool and while there was able to watch a couple geckoes playing on the tiles under the tables. Since we had our own bus, we could beat the rush of others who were planning to leave today – which is what we did. Reached the airport with our group of 11 before the bus filled with over 40 and we were able to clear check in and security relatively quickly.
Our flight today from Uluru to Sydney should allow us to view Uluru and Kata Tjuṯa since the air was clear. The flight did not disappoint. I was able to get one final photo as we sped Southeast.
Depending on the length of the flight and class of service, Jetstar gives the passengers a credit toward snacks and beverages you can select from a pamphlet in the pocket of the seat in front of you. For this flight our credit was $10 (AUS). I wasn’t interested in food or drink so gave my credits to Jan. She chose a couple small bags of the same popcorn we had bought at the grocery store on Kangaroo Island 12 days ago. I slept.
Felix was hoping to make the production of Richard V at the Sydney Opera House when we landed but it was going to be tight given the time of day. Between Sandra and Giulio they arranged for a cab and got him off the plane before the other passengers. He made the show and enjoyed it thoroughly. The rest of the group did the “normal” airport stuff – picked up luggage, found our transport to the city and rode in 5 o’clock traffic to the Four Seasons Hotel.
Our arrival at the hotel was not long after a large group from San Francisco had arrived for a convention. As we were trying to get elevators to the lobby, each elevator that opened on our arrival floor was packed with people from that group. Eventually we made our way to the lobby and registered. We walked to the elevator to go to our room on the 6th floor and a woman from the reception desk joined us. She said that we had 2 rooms – one for Jan and I and one for Kelsey (617 and 616). The rooms had a nice view toward the Opera House, Harbor Bridge and street below. You’ll find a panorama in the media which shows this. In our room was a gift bag for each of us from the travel agency that had arranged our tour over the last 7 days. Included in each bag was chocolate “gold” in the form of a package of original Tim Tams.
Next on the group’s agenda was a dinner within walking distance of the hotel. I didn’t feel well at all and opted to stay in the room and try to stay warm and stop coughing. Kelsey and Jan joined the others (less Felix who was at the Opera House) and they walked to 6HEAD. The restaurant has a view over the wharf to the Opera House. Seating tonight was outside under an awning. You can find the bill of fare and photos of some of the items Jan and Kelsey ate. One of the most interesting was from the Sweet Endings group – raspberry yoghurt & matcha. Jan said it was very tasty. Following dinner the group walked back to the hotel and took a few photos along the way. Those included the Harbor Bridge, 3-masted schooner, Opera House, MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art Australia) hotel exterior and hotel lobby. While they were away at dinner I had set up my iPhone to take a time-lapse of activity as seen through our window.
Tomorrow was going to be another busy day (sort of) so we went to sleep (or tried to) fairly early.
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