On Wednesday, September 24, 2003, we moved on to the Red Centre to visit Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kata Tjuta (the Olgas Mountains), and then Alice Springs. We stayed in the Outback through Sunday, September 28.
Uluru tempted us through the bus windows as we drove from the airport to the Ayers Rock Resort |  Uluru can be seen in the distance behind the Desert Gardens Hotel |
But our first stop that afternoon was the rock formation known as Kata Tjuta |
At the base of Kata Tjuta, ready for a hike inside |
 The views from within the shadows of the red rocks were magnificent |
Thanks to a slip, I came away with a souvenir of my climb |
The view from the top— or at least, as close to the top as we were allowed to get |
 After our climb, we watch the changing colors of Kata Tjuta at sunset |
Night falls in the desert |
If you squint, you can make out the length of our predawn camel caravan, shot from camelback |
 As the sun starts to peer over the horizon, we head through the desert |
Irene and Scott ride a ship of the desert |
Uluru as seen from camel back in the morning sun |
 Within the shadowy folds of Uluru, a waterfall feeds a pool |
A heart-shaped marking near the top of Uluru |
Aboriginal art beneath an overhang at Uluru |
 Behind Scott and Irene, a string of climbers go up Uluru— |
—though as many signs indicate, the Aboriginals would prefer that we did not risk our lives on their sacred site |
The many memorial plaques— |
—along the base of Uluru— |
—help prove their point (We chose not to climb.) |
On to Alice Springs, center of the universe |
The place where the waters of Alice Springs first sprung turns out to be bone dry |
A useful warning at the Alice Springs Reptile Centre |
Our hot-air balloon inflates in the pre-dawn light on the outskirts of Alice Springs |
The balloons are almost ready to take to the sky |
As we rise into the air, the bus that brought us shrinks below |
The sky brightens in the distance behind Irene as we float through the sky |
You're supposed to look up at hot-air balloons, not down—right? |
Scott enjoys the hour-long flight and trusts that the pilot knows what he's doing |
Though we saw kangaroos below, the only wildlife that stood still long enough to be photographed was this lone cow |
Far below, our chase vehicle struggled to keep up |
Back on solid ground, as the hot-air balloon collapsed, we wondered—we went up in the air in that? |