may 7-8, 1999

We had a solid plan. We would drive to the rock, watch the sunset behind the rock, and the next morning climb the rock, and watch the sunrise. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, and saw the awe inspiring sight, we abandoned all plans, threw our boots on, and started the climb up the steep red face. As we clung to the chain and started our ascent, memories of Nepal and Everest began to rush to our toes and heels. We were reminded thoroughly, that we had spent a lot more time sitting than walking during the last four weeks, when our calves and thighs, cramped and grimaced. At the top of the chain, Mike collapsed in an out of shape lump as Jeff kept walking (a mistake his thighs would be feeling well into Sydney). After another brief stint of walking, we were up on the flat plateau, looking out at the vast, sandy, red, stretching forever, desert. We could seemingly see the curvature of the earth and if we squinted just right could actually make out our own backs! To the west, we watched the sun slowly dropping beside the Olga Mountains, which appeared to have popped up from the sand, out of nowhere. The clear, blue, cloudless sky turned from a deep blue, to a bright pink, to purple, and then to red, as the rock we were on seemed to glow more red before our eyes. We backed down the chain, in a repelling style, and found our car easily because in the once crammed, packed in, parking lot, only one car remained, good ole'Jimmy-Jo-Bob Lova.

Because our swollen feet and nasty blisters prevented a second, sunrise view of the aboriginal holy site from atop, we opted to take a walk around the base. The views of its ancient caverns, and sloping mounds of red rock shed more insight on the magnitude of this incredible place. The photos cannot capture the size and beauty of this place, but Ayers rock will be one of the highlights of Australia.