ULURU & KATA TJUTA

You can't have lived in Australia as an expat without visiting the famous Uluru & Kata Tjuata (Ayers Rock & The Olgas).  We had a trip planned to visit central Australia to admire the outback earlier this year however, we had to postpone it due to Tom's shoulder issue and surgery.  

As the year begins to come to a close, we thought we should take the opportunity to head to the hottest part of the country to see the beautiful RED rocks, soil, gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, and how some of the Aboriginal (indigenous) people live.

We had the opportunity to ride camels at sunrise - an activity that we have never done.  There are approximately 500,000 - 700,000 wild dromedary (one hump) camels in Australia.  It is the LARGEST wild camel population in the world.  

We had a wonderful time and the temperature at the center of the Earth was only 37 degrees Celsius....according to the locals quite cool.  We spent the afternoons in the pool where we were able to stay happy and peaceful as the sun roasted us from above.  We are sure thankful for sunscreen, hats, rash-guards and shade.  

We spent our three days in the outback swimming, bush walking around Uluru and through Kata Tjuta, admiring the stars, watching tribal dancing and learning how the Aboriginal people stay alive in a very HARSH environment.  It was a spiritual experience as we once again contemplated Heavenly Father's creations and how incredibly beautiful His handiwork is.  It is a trip worth taking and we would definitely recommend that it is a MUST DO!

This shot was perfect: camels behaving, family members looking and Uluru in the background at sunrise -- Hooray!

All camel saddles are handmade by one gentlemen who has been making them since he was 17 years old for the last 30 years.

The Camel Company found these orphaned camels on the side of the road.  They took them in to get them healthy and then they will return them to a wild camel farm. The girls got to bottle feed them....so fun!

WHAT A BEAUTY!

Fly nets are an ABSOLUTE must.  The flies in the outback are huge and plentiful.  Without a net, you will eat plenty of them in a day. 

The girls are posing with the Putitja Dancers.  Putitja Dancers, which means 'bush dances' in local Pitjantjatjara language, showcases an enigmatic, colorful, and traditional Anangu dance performance.  

A lot of swimming staying cool!

Listening to stories of Aboriginal culture and tradition such as man's weapons used for hunting and women's tools and techniques for gathering bush tucker. (BUSH YARNS)

KATA TJUTA  with our fly nets - lovely  :)

Sisters who can make anything look great!

HARDWORKING CONVICTS

We have lived in Sydney for almost 3 years and there are still places that we have not seen.  Claire has recently been reading our Sydney guide book to make sure that we have not missed anything that is a MUST SEE!  During her reading, she discovered that we have not spent any time on Macquarie Street home to some of the oldest buildings in Sydney.  These sandstone and brick buildings (the NSW State Library, Parliament House, Sydney Hospital, The Mint & Hyde Park Barracks) were built by the convicts and are absolutely breathing taking.  We spent some time admiring their architecture, history and elegance.  We finished the morning inside the Hyde Park Barracks where many of the convicts lived out their sentences.  It has been turned into a museum filled with artifacts that help you to understand just what a challenge it was for some of the early convict settlers of this country.  It was a fascinating museum and the top floor of this three story barracks was complete with a room that held 70 hammocks where the male convicts slept.  These hammocks hung from a very sturdy timber scaffold.  We are quite excited to be able to climb in and try it out.  It was quite tight and we determined that we would not LOVE it long term.  

Many of the convicts worked their guts out in physical labour for years just because they may have stolen a loaf of bread for their starving family.  Times were quite HARSH back then and it was nice to remember just how blessed we are. Human beings are resilient and can do HARD things.  The challenges that we face shape our character and impact generations to come.  Macquarie Street is a MUST SEE - here are some fun photos!

The NSW State Library - I love old libraries and books! 

The Mint 

Sydney Hospital - still in operation and functioning today.
The wild boar to the right stands outside the hospital and you are to rub the nose for LUCK!

Parliament House

Hyde Park Barracks - convicts lived here!

This is what they wore - very fashion forward - :)

My little beautiful immigrant girl - Janie!

This is where the convicts slept! (70 per room in hammocks)

Courtroom where their fates were decided!