Last thing to do at Uluru was to watch the sunrise. Diane had another lie-in while I fussed around in the dark trying to avoid making too much noise. There were few people on the coach. Sunrise at Uluru was losing out to a lazy morning and a relaxed breakfast. Still, we few were resolved. Uluru has a reputation for being photogenic in the early morning.
We drove out to the sunrise viewing area. I kid you not, there is a place dedicated to watching the sunrise at Ulura. A series of wooden walkways arranged at strategically different hights on top of a small mound. People from many other groups were already there. By the time the sun poked above the horizon, I think there were a good hundred sightseers.
We all held our breath and then nothing happened. It really was a big disappointment. I am not sure what I was expecting but there should at least have been a few colours. Something to give a sense of drama, meaning and purpose to such an early morning. Perhaps, some days, the scene is glorious and Uluru glows resplendently in the first touches of the morning light. The sun is a fiercely burning massive fusion reaction 1.3 million times larger than the earth but today it was looking timorous and unassuming. The sky got lighter. Sunlight reached the rock. It was really nothing special at all. The small crowd dissipated as everyone headed off for breakfast.
Diane was up by the time I got back. We had a pleasant breakfast, packed and then joined the bus for the trip back to Alice Springs.
A few hours driving got us to a service station for lunch. After falafel and salad, we wandered out the back to see the emus. In many ways this was the highlight of the day. There were a dozen or so birds running around in a large paddock. Emus always seem a bit comical to me. They generally look a bit scruffy, have the most ludicrous expressions and gaze at you with large, staring eyes. This particular group of birds included an amorous couple who gave us a demonstration of how to make little emus.
Mid-afternoon we were back at the Alice Springs train station. Here we checked-in and were allocated a cabin for the rest of the journey to Adelaide. Formalities concluded, bags sorted and cabin located, we joined a coach to be taken for our evening meal. Tonight was another outdoor session, this time at the original Alice Springs telegram station. A historic location where the first bush telegram in central Australia was set up. Everything else came later. The town, the cattle stations, the road, the railway and everything else followed afterwards. The station was built next to a freshwater spring. Later in the year, the spring dried up and was revealed to actually be a seasonal river. None the less, the name, Alice Springs, stuck. Today, the buildings are a small museum which we explored before food was served.
We enjoyed the food as darkness fell. Wine was plentiful and a band helped to liven up the proceedings. It was not late when we were taken back to the train. This suited me well because I had been up since before sunrise. Back in our little cabin, the bunk beds had been set up. I dozed off just after the train started moving. The clacking of the wheels and motion of the carriage lulled me to sleep.
