Day 6 - WHAT a DAY

"Happy Father's Day to all the Dads on board. You will notice the landscape outside has changed dramatically- we will be arriving at our next stop in Three hours."

DH just grinned and went back to his Gourmet Breakfast and Coffee.

(I must admit, Perfectly brewed coffee - with coffee Art on a moving train takes talent.)

What Adventures await us today?

Alice Springs. 

The sign says it all - 

The Heart. The Soul, The Centre.

 Geographically - 

it's in the Middle of Australia.  

Although it was always planned to have the train line run from Adelaide to Darwin, it terminated at Alice Springs until the line was finally completed in 2004

And it is here the Train, and our fellow travellers stop to explore for the day.

We however, have Different Plans!
We have opted for the Optional Extra excursion -

And it is here I climbed aboard the smallest Aircraft I have ever been in.

And on a Perfect, Clear, beautiful day (with our Pilot taking Selfies) we flew over the Red Centre of Our Country to see .....

A Rock.

There are many rocks in the Outback but this is - THE Rock, (formerly known as Ayers Rock).

We came to see Uluru.

Should I mention at this point - Our Kids knew NOTHING about this?

One Hour by Air - Five by Road and a LOT more should you decide to walk back....

Uluru is not as close to Alice as people think it is.

It is also Big- Very Very Big.

The only photo I have to give some sense of scale is one I took of the tourists ignoring the request to not climb the rock.

Tiny specks, hundreds of feet scarring this massive monolith

You will not be allowed to climb Uluru after 26th October 2019 

It is an Ancient Sacred Place

Dreamtime stories for every crack and crevice

(Can you see the Giant Serpent in the Rocks?) 

30,000 year old rock paintings

We turned our backs on Uluru, and I think I would like to return (although, maybe not in a Cessna next time).

One day I would like to see the Sunrise over this majestic place

But - our Day is not over just yet!

We were to rejoin our fellow travellers at "The Old Telegraph Station" for Dinner under the Stars

Send an Instagram photo to the Kids of their Dad riding a Camel....

and wait for their reaction

We enjoyed an astronomy lesson under a Perfect night sky

And I tried my hand at some Astrophotography
(I need a lot more practice)

And danced the rest of the night away to Bush Band tunes that left us all singing along

It truly was an awesome day.