Tag: NT

And so it comes to pass, that I find myself at the start of my third and final trip of these summer holidays. This is a rather special one too. Some of you may remember, “Cracking Cairns” with the Clam from 2023? Well, this year, we have levelled up and all the four sisters are in on this one. We are ticking off a long held item from all our bucket lists: Uluṟu, Northern Territory.

Fun fact: The area is dual-named Uluru/Ayers Rock, recognising the duality of its identity and history. It is also the first dual-named place in the Northern Territory.

After a super early start (4am 🥱) and ‘though most of the day was spent in transit, the hour and a half time difference meant we were able to enjoy the latter part of the day in the Ayers Rock Resort.

We arrived around 12:30pm and checked out the Town Centre while we waited for our room to be ready. There were some great little boutique shops and as warned, we ooh’ed and ahh’ed at the outrageous prices in the local IGA supermarket. Some examples were:

• $8 for 2L of milk
• $7.14 for a bag of CC chips
• $9 for 250ml yoghurt

On the whole though, we thought the prices weren’t all that unreasonable given the isolated location.

The temperatures are scorching here; 40-42oC is forecast for our entire trip, with overnight lows of a barmy 28oC. Luckily the rooms are very comfortable and air conditioned.

Once we checked in, we took a divine swim in the resort pool. A couple of hours were whiled away, swimming, sunning, reading, repeat. We chatted and organised our itinerary for the next four days and generally, relaxed under the vast blue skies of the Australian outback.

Around 6pm we jumped on the free shuttle bus and headed out to some of the lookouts highlighting the main attractions – Uluṟu and Kata Tjuṯa. Despite the sun setting, it was still a steamy 40.6oC which made the easy hiking feel less than! I never knew my eyelids could sweat! 😆 While we will definitely get a closer look over the next few days with visits into the National Park, it gave us a nice taste test.

After our walking/exploring, we had a yummy dinner and local brew (much earned) at the Outback Hotel and Lodge. We then meandered back to our accommodation and hit the hay, ready for another early start tomorrow.

…So why ‘Palya’ and not ‘Uluṟu’ for the title of this Summer Series? I hear you ask.

Well, the traditional owners of Uluṟu- Kata Tjuta National Park, the Anangu (arn-ahng-oo), greet each other by saying ‘palya.’ This word can mean hello, welcome, thank you, understood, ok and goodbye. Greeting those you meet with a friendly ‘palya,’ is a simple way to show respect for the local Indigenous Culture. It is our intent that this will be first and foremost in our sister trip, to this very special area.

Another bonus for this trip, is that I will include a favourite picture from each sister, to give our own perspectives on the experiences we are sharing… I hope you enjoy!

Our favourite photos today are: