One of the things that you should do when you visit Uluru is to take one of the outback dinner tours. We did the "Sounds of Silence" one. This first takes you out to a dune where you have a good view of sunset on Uluru while being served champagne and nibbles. My less-than-couth Dad saluted the Rock in true Aussie style. After sunset you move down to a flat area at the base of the dune for dinner. This gives you a chance to try "bush tucker". If you are not game to try kangaroo, camel, emu or crocodile and sauces and condiments made from native plants, there is plenty of "ordinary" food as well. Some people didn't use the tour bus, they arrived from Yulara by camel. There was also a couple of cute but unwelcome guests, local dingoes who were hoping for scraps. It is not a good idea to feed dingoes. They become real pests around camping and picnic areas and in some parts of Australia where people have been feeding them they have caused serious injuries and some deaths when people didn't feed them quickly. Don't Feed Dingoes! During dinner some of the local people entertained with traditional dances. The highlight for the Oldies came after dinner was finished. The lamps were turned off and a "star talker" pointed out some of the interesting things in the sky. Being astronomers, the Oldies didn't learn much from him. However, they were blown away by the sky ablaze with stars. Central Australian skies are brilliant to the naked eye, even if they are too unstable for large telescopes. With binoculars and small telescopes they are truly mind-blowing. This dinner under the stars is one more for your bucket list.
Labels: astronomy, Central Australia, Uluru
# posted by Bart Bear @ 11:42 am
