Saturday, May 31, 2014

 

Copter Over Kata Tjuta

40 Km west of Uluru are the spectacular domes of Kata Tjuta, which are also called The Olgas. They are actually part of the same sandstone bed as Uluru. The rock goes deep underground and breaks the surface at Uluru and the Olgas. Instead of one big Rock, Kata Tjuta is eroded into many separate rock domes. You can drive there from Uluru, but can only walk in a few controlled areas; the rest is sacred ground to the Anangu people. We decided to see it the easy way, from the air. Our helicopter took us to both Uluru and Kata Tjuta, and I have to say that this is something that everyone should do. From the ground you don't get the impression of the size of these sites. Because of the rain of previous months, the creek beds draining the Olgas were really green. The contrast with the red of the rocks and the brown of the desert scrub made a picture that this small bear will remember for a long time.

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Thursday, May 29, 2014

 

It's A Long Way To The Top

The highest I have ever been without flying is the summit of Mauna Kea, the world's highest mountain (measured base to summit, the base is deep below the ocean). At 13,800 ft the summit is nearly 10 times higher than the observation deck of the Burj Khalifa. In fact, it is so high that people often have trouble breathing up there and have to be taken down the mountain to recover. Unless you have a licensed guide you can't go to the summit, it is too dangerous. Here are some pictures of the top part of the summit road. You can see that it is unsealed, just graded rock. A small bear to help look out for sharp rocks and gullies is a big help to the guide. The scenery on the summit road is spectacular. No plants or animals, just multi-coloured volcanic rock. In the top right photo you can see the road twisting up to the summit where the telescopes are. The bottom left shows some of the many cinder cones that cover the mountain, and that most of the clouds are below us. If you look carefully you can see one of the telescopes of the Millimeter Array. The bottom right proves that we made it! The telescopes in the background belong to many different combines of countries, and include Gemini North, a 'scope that Australia shares time on. I am very proud of making it to the summit, not many small bears ever get there.

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Thursday, May 22, 2014

 

Rotors Over The Rock

The best way to see Uluru is from a helicopter. From the ground you can see only one side at a time; from the air you really get the impact of the size of the monolith. I guess these photos speak for themselves. I will just point out that the region had just had the best rain for 35 years, so the country is far greener than normal. You can see the Rock is surrounded by a green ring where the runoff from the rock has led to more growth. In the bottom right photo you can see the remains of the old airstrip. This was in use from 1959 until the new airport was built at Yulara in 1984. In the background of this photo you can also see the old Ayres Rock resort area. When Yulara was established in the 1980s, all tourist activities were moved there and the old tourist area was handed back to the traditional owners, who call it Mutitjulu.

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Dubai High Tea

It's time that I showed some more photos from our 2012 Dubai trip. There are literally hundreds of them, but don't worry, I won't post all of them. The highest I have ever been in a building is on the observation deck of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The Burj is spectacular no matter what the time. By day it towers over the rest of Dubai and by night it is lit up, at times with laser light shows or fireworks as well. You can have a really High Tea in the At.Mosphere restaurant (hey, I spelled it right! First time ever!) on the 122nd floor, 442 metres above ground; that's high. From the windows you can see new suburbs being built. By now they will be completed. On our first stay in Dubai in 2007 this whole area was a construction site, no completed buildings including the Burj. They really build fast in Dubai.There are two buildings that I want to point out. Note the bendy green one in the bottom left photo. It is wider at the top than it is at the bottom. The other building is in the photo with Mum. If you follow the direction that my foot if pointing, you can see the Al Manzil hotel, the best hotel I've ever stayed in. Oh yes, the high tea is pretty good too.

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Tuesday, May 13, 2014

 

Uluru Essentials

There are a few things that are essential when you visit Uluru. First, and most importantly, you always need to have plenty of water with you. Even in winter, it gets very hot in the Red Centre. Midday temperatures are mostly over 30 degrees C (87 deg F) and the humidity is extremely low, so you have to keep hydrated. It is also very much better if you have a car. Of course there are bus tours from all of the resorts, but it really is much better to be able to get to places and stay there as long as you like at whatever time you like. We hired a car from Yulara township and had absolutely no crowds at some of the lookouts and starts of walking tracks. As you can see, we also had a fantastically competent navigator (me!). See me checking that the photographer (Dad) is getting a good shot of the car and the Rock? The road goes right around the rock, quite close in places, so you will see some close-up images soon. There is another thing that most people class as essential after they have been outside for a few minutes. That is the great Australian fly-net. Our bush flies are persistent little critters and can drive you mad crawling around your face. The fly-net is the solution. It may not look like a great fashion accessory, but it does free your hands up for using cameras and catching small bears. Dad says that the nets are actually ecological equipment, designed to save the millions of flies that would otherwise be breathed in or swallowed by tourists. He may be right, but of course small bears are not bothered by flies at all.

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Wednesday, May 07, 2014

 

Signs of Bora Bora

Vaitape, capital of Bora Bora, is a laid-back sort of town. No high rise buildings; the church towers are the tallest things. Every shop seems to be selling pearls, pareaus or souvenirs. Sometimes all of these in the same shop. The shops tend to be small and pokey. Actually I like investigating shops like that, you never know what strange curios may hide in far corner shelves. But it is the signs that I get a giggle from. Not so much the top one, it is a large map of the island that is located on the main wharf, just near where the local tours leave from. That's Mum standing there with me. She had been very sick on the ship and was enjoying a shore break. The bottom photo is a shop that sold just about everything a tourist could want. Just look at the sign above the entry (click on it for a bigger image). Not the Three Wise Monkeys; in Polynesia it is the Three Wise Tikis. The wooden statues by the posts are interesting examples of Pacific art as well. The multi-coloured things are pareaus, Tahitian sarongs. They are usually wearable works of art with beautiful colours and patterns. Yes, Mum bought several back with her and is having trouble deciding which ones to keep and which ones to give as presents to friends. No small bear sized ones of course.

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Thursday, May 01, 2014

 

Colours of the Rock

If you experience sunset at Uluru you will never forget it. To see that huge rock change colour from a firey red to a sombre purple in a matter of 20 minutes or so is absolutely mind-boggling. These pictures are just two of the dozens that the Oldies took. There is a large car park where these pix were taken from and at sunset it is absolutely jam-packed with all sorts of vehicles and all sorts of people wielding cameras and video equipment. The thing that impressed this small bear was that even though there were hundreds of people watching there was nearly no noise (from people or wildlife). An amazing spectacle. Pictures come nowhere close to doing it justice. Definitely one of those things that should be on everyone's "bucket list".

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More Pix of Papeete

I guess that I can't complain about no variety in my life. Last November I was in the middle of the biggest ocean on Earth and last week I was in the centre of Australia. So, having gazillions of photos to show you, here's a couple of Papeete, capital of Tahiti. The top one was taken from the top deck of "Celebrity Millenium" at the wharf. It shows some of the town centre and private yachts. If you look closely you can see the red spire of Notre Dame Cathedral, and a houseboat that looks like a voyaging canoe. The mountain in the background is Orohena, 2,240m high. For most of the day we were there it had orographic cloud streaming from the summit. As I mentioned before, the traffic at any time of day is horrendous. It took us 10 minutes to cross this road between the port and the town, pedestrians evidently come cheap there. However, we had a great time exploring Papeete and it's mix of ancient and modern architecture.




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