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On Saturday morning, we got up at 5am to ensure we could eat breakfast, (as it was included in the price!) and were picked up at 6am from our motel in a 4-wheel drive bus / truck by our very friendly Tour guide / driver, Bernard,(Bernie). You could tell straight away that he was definitely a "morning person" - but he did give us our own 'squishy pillows' which we were to use for the beds at the campsites, but said we could use them in the bus as well if we were tired, so I didn't need to be told twice! As we were the first to be collected, we had the pick of the seats, and much to Tony's delight, he found that the 3rd row had more leg room, so we quickly claimed our space there before setting off to pick up more of our group.
A nice Dutch girl, travelling on her own, was next. She spoke good English, and was a neonatal & paediatric nurse, so we had lots to talk about. Next were an Indian couple from Bangalore, who were also lovely. Before we picked up the next couple, who were the last ones from Alice Springs, as the rest were arriving at Ayers Rock airport in the afternoon, Bernie dropped a bit of a bombshell. This couple, and the other 14 people joining the group later were.........FRENCH! They had booked a French tour, and were supposed to be having a French guide, who had unfortunately let Bernie down at the last minute, so he was now in a very awkward situation! I said I didn't mind helping out with basic French, but didn't think I could cope with being a tour guide!
After a long 6 hour journey, with just a couple of short stops, we reached Ayers Rock airport and braced ourselves for the French invasion. Understandably, there was a bit of an uproar on the bus when Bernie tried to explain, very slowly, that there was no French guide! However, it all turned out well, and the day (and the trip) was saved by a lovely girl called Amelie. She was travelling with her parents, but has been living and working in Australia, so was completely bilingual, not at all confused by Bernie's Australian accent, and happy to act as interpreter and guide - brilliant result!
We arrived at the first camp, were issued with a sleeping-bag-liner and a towel each, and rushed off in pairs to claim one of the 11 identical green army style tents. They did have numbers on, but I didn't think that would be much use for making sure I came back to the right tent after a middle of the night expedition to the toilet block! Not much time to worry about that, as we all had to hastily help Bernie prepare lunch for the group, eat, then clear up and put everything away (among some French grumbles about the lack of after-lunch coffee), before setting off for Uluru.
We walked around the cultural centre, which was very informative about Aboriginal beliefs and culture, and the significance of Uluru. Sadly it also highlighted the great divide between their traditional 'hunter / gatherer' way of life and the way many of them are living in 2012, especially in Alictowhee the ongoing effects of being displaced from their lands, unemployment, alcohol, drugs were particularly evident. We then walked 5 km around part of the base, which was amazing. I always thought it was a bit like an upturned jelly, from a mould - I didn't realise it was so rugged, with caves and overhanging cliffs etc. lovely. When everyone had completed the walk, we drove to a sunset viewing area, along with fleets of other coachloads of tourists, and had a glass of champagne (well, sparkling wine - you couldn't fool the French) as we watched the colours change on the rock face in the evening light, and took lots of photos. Tony found it a very cringeworthy experience, which he said was almost as bad as the Rarotonga cultural extravaganza! Never mind. Back we went to the campsite and helped get supper ready. Bernie announced at the end of the meal that he'd be waking us up at 4.30 in the morning - stunned silence from the English, and when Amelie had translated, there was a loud 'Ooh la la' from the French! ..........Bonne Nuit.
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Patricia Mar22 Really? I liked January's edition way beettr. It would be so cool to have a vault like that outfitted with a collection of whatever you are into. Obviously the Pagani in February's is a killer.