ROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEX

25 April 2006, 10:36 PM

In the rainbow thread I was referring to a trip we made to Australia back in 97/98 where we saw a triple rainbow over Uluru (a.k.a. Ayres Rock). Took me a while to get the pics uploaded, so as promised here is the shot I was referring to:

Well, unfortunately you can't see the very faint third rainbow arc section that was to the right of the other two (sometimes I can almost convince myself it's there coming down in the middle of the rock.....but not sure). Rainbows are very hard to get on film (35mm SLR I was using at the time) but I can assure you that there was a third arc to the right of second. Each one was a bit fainter than the last, so the third one was quite faint even to look at. Sorry about that.......

So, Uluru is a native (aboriginal) word for the place widely known as Ayres Rock. The local native population in the area was given the land some years ago, and although they don't force the issue, would prefer that you didn't climb the rock out of respect. That being said, there was a group of natives not necessarily from the same area in olden times where they would climb the rock as part of paying respect for the place. We didn't know any of this until we got there (of course) so then had to make the decision to climb or not. It was not made lightly, and we decided to climb it - as did most others who were physically able to.

So, my wife and I decided to climb it and started out clibming the traditional path that the aboriginies have climbed for centuries. There is a spot known as "Chicken Rock" that is an outcropping of the rock that forms this huge item in the desert, and it is a good distance away rom the bottom of "the chain." The chain is what you use to pull yourself up the rock, as in some areas it is very, very steep (at least for a non rock climber such as myself).

My wife had the video camera, and the snacks, and I carried the water and still camera. That was good thing, since there is a bit of a leap of faith to leave chicken rock and move the the bottom of the cahin. I am not the best at heights, although I am better than I used to be. This was somewhat intimidating to me, so I made a push to quickly move to the bottom of the chain, with my wife right behind me. Well, at least that's what I thought.

She couldn't move from the rock, and I wasn't going to go back to help because I then wondered if I would be able to make that move again to the bottom of the chain. So I told her "come now or I'm leaving." She said "see you in a while." LOL!

Here is the bottom of the climb. On the left you can see the chicken rock outcropping that moves up to the middle of the picture, with a bunch of people there making ther decisions........further up the photo is the bottom of the chain. You can see a couple of people between the tip of the rock and the chain. I think that this gap between the chicken rock and the chain is done intentionally, because if you can't handle making that part of the trip, you sure as hell won't handle the rest!

So began the trek. Now, several people die doing this every year, and they close the climb if the temperatures are above something like 38 C. It wasn't that hot on the day I did it, but for me it was a physically demanding task still. I think most die of heart attacks, but on occasion they die from falling. Up until near the time we were there, they had plaques installed commemorating those that died each year, but had stopped the process at some point. The tour guide made sure that everyone who was thinking of climbing went over to see those plaques before going up the rock the next day........

I was climbing with the group from our tour bus, and made a point of sticking with one fellow who was struggling a bit. I could have left him behind, but he started out in front of me and I wasn't going to let go of the chain to pass him. Then after a while he seemed to be breathing very hard, so I suggested we stop and take a breather. I snapped this photo looking down the chain (it does not show how steep this is at all I can assure you) and all the time was going over CPR steps in my head in case the guy I was with "carked it" as the Aussies would say.......

You can see the tour busses at the bottom.....

Here we are moving along the path after the chain. They marked it with the same kind of pattern used for lanes on a highway......

At times I felt like I was walking a tightrope. There were places where if you slipped, you would slide down the rock a fair ways........I'm sure that would not be a nice experience to say the least. This rock was very rough in texture, and if you slid very far it would chew you up!

We had to move down one side and up the other of a steep valley. It wasn't easy......I was glad I had hiking boots on for this section, and some that wore running shoes didn't have much ankle support as they tried to come down this face and not slip! Again, hard to get a feel for how steep this really is.....

Finally the top! Took this photo of the monument they have at the top. I had someone take a photo of me with the landscape in the background, but even on auto it turned out crappy.

If you choose not to upset the natives, and simply walk around Uluru, it's about a 9 km trail that we did by bus the next day (and my my wife did while I was climbing the rock). I snapped a few photos of the area (at least those that were not sacred to the locals):

This formation on the side of the rock is known as "the brain" for obvious reasons.......

The rock provides an amazing backdrop for some of the ragged looking trees in the area. This part of Australia is where the term "red earth" is something you will never forget after being there.

This is a nice photo I took on a trek to the nearby Olgas formation on another day. Just love the colours in this shot.

I found this sign a bit funny.......

No swimming.......hmmmmm.......wouldn't that require something called "water"? LOL! I'm sure at some point this is full during the wet season, and when we were in Alice Springs we saw many places where the river beds were dry when we were there, but had high water marks 2 to 3 meters high.

Anyway, I'm obviously no photographer like some here, but every once in a while you get lucky if you shoot enough pics, and even those that aren't spectacular bring back memories of a great trip.

For those who don't know, my Australian wife and I live here in my home land of Canada, and we make fairly regular trips back to see her family. Even though she doesn't see them for 5 years at a time, you can only spend so much time with family, so we also take a side trip (or 2) each time back, and this was one of those. 7 days on a bus with strangers is sometimes way better than spending it with your family.......

Thanks for looking.

padi56 · 25 April 2006, 11:36 PM

Great set of Pictures Al, you are fortunate to live in a beautiful country, and visit another.

Rockrolex · 26 April 2006, 03:26 AM

Great pics, Al. We're hoping to get there next year - I'm just afraid of getting hijacked by a BKL on our way there, though.

How long did it take to climb to the top of The Rock?

JJ Irani · 26 April 2006, 04:11 AM

Exciting pics as always, Al!!

26 April 2006, 05:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rockrolex

Great pics, Al. We're hoping to get there next year - I'm just afraid of getting hijacked by a BKL on our way there, though.

How long did it take to climb to the top of The Rock?

I think the total trip was something like 4-5 hours, with time spent gawking, of course. It was nice to have a nap that afternoon I can tell you!

C.J. · 26 April 2006, 06:02 AM

Incredible scenery, Al

I hope to see it in person some day soon

Mark · 26 April 2006, 06:06 AM

Nice pictures there ! Maybe a future vacation before I get as old as JJ.

mailman · 26 April 2006, 07:36 AM

Great pics Al

JJ Irani · 26 April 2006, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rev

Nice pictures there ! Maybe a future vacation before I get as old as JJ.

You're only as old as you feel, Mark....and, trust me, I do feel young....even at 59!!

26 April 2006, 10:41 PM

JJ, that gif is so 1999.

JJ Irani · 27 April 2006, 04:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atomic

JJ, that gif is so 1999.

Yeah...but I still love it. My grand-daughter literallly stood by me for a whole minute watching those 3 fellas dance and was laughing her guts out!!

27 April 2006, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

Yeah...but I still love it. My grand-daughter literallly stood by me for a whole minute watching those 3 fellas dance and was laughing her guts out!!

You sure she was laughing at those three fellas dancing?

Kids are more perceptive than most adults, these days.

mailman · 27 April 2006, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atomic

JJ, that gif is so 1999.

And Ally Mc Beal

27 April 2006, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mailman

And Ally Mc Beal

Ahh yes... I miss my weekly dose of Juicy Lucy!

25 April 2006, 10:36 PM	#1
---- Guest Posts: n/a	Uluru Rainbow Pic In the rainbow thread I was referring to a trip we made to Australia back in 97/98 where we saw a triple rainbow over Uluru (a.k.a. Ayres Rock). Took me a while to get the pics uploaded, so as promised here is the shot I was referring to: Well, unfortunately you can't see the very faint third rainbow arc section that was to the right of the other two (sometimes I can almost convince myself it's there coming down in the middle of the rock.....but not sure). Rainbows are very hard to get on film (35mm SLR I was using at the time) but I can assure you that there was a third arc to the right of second. Each one was a bit fainter than the last, so the third one was quite faint even to look at. Sorry about that....... So, Uluru is a native (aboriginal) word for the place widely known as Ayres Rock. The local native population in the area was given the land some years ago, and although they don't force the issue, would prefer that you didn't climb the rock out of respect. That being said, there was a group of natives not necessarily from the same area in olden times where they would climb the rock as part of paying respect for the place. We didn't know any of this until we got there (of course) so then had to make the decision to climb or not. It was not made lightly, and we decided to climb it - as did most others who were physically able to. So, my wife and I decided to climb it and started out clibming the traditional path that the aboriginies have climbed for centuries. There is a spot known as "Chicken Rock" that is an outcropping of the rock that forms this huge item in the desert, and it is a good distance away rom the bottom of "the chain." The chain is what you use to pull yourself up the rock, as in some areas it is very, very steep (at least for a non rock climber such as myself). My wife had the video camera, and the snacks, and I carried the water and still camera. That was good thing, since there is a bit of a leap of faith to leave chicken rock and move the the bottom of the cahin. I am not the best at heights, although I am better than I used to be. This was somewhat intimidating to me, so I made a push to quickly move to the bottom of the chain, with my wife right behind me. Well, at least that's what I thought. She couldn't move from the rock, and I wasn't going to go back to help because I then wondered if I would be able to make that move again to the bottom of the chain. So I told her "come now or I'm leaving." She said "see you in a while." LOL! Here is the bottom of the climb. On the left you can see the chicken rock outcropping that moves up to the middle of the picture, with a bunch of people there making ther decisions........further up the photo is the bottom of the chain. You can see a couple of people between the tip of the rock and the chain. I think that this gap between the chicken rock and the chain is done intentionally, because if you can't handle making that part of the trip, you sure as hell won't handle the rest! So began the trek. Now, several people die doing this every year, and they close the climb if the temperatures are above something like 38 C. It wasn't that hot on the day I did it, but for me it was a physically demanding task still. I think most die of heart attacks, but on occasion they die from falling. Up until near the time we were there, they had plaques installed commemorating those that died each year, but had stopped the process at some point. The tour guide made sure that everyone who was thinking of climbing went over to see those plaques before going up the rock the next day........ I was climbing with the group from our tour bus, and made a point of sticking with one fellow who was struggling a bit. I could have left him behind, but he started out in front of me and I wasn't going to let go of the chain to pass him. Then after a while he seemed to be breathing very hard, so I suggested we stop and take a breather. I snapped this photo looking down the chain (it does not show how steep this is at all I can assure you) and all the time was going over CPR steps in my head in case the guy I was with "carked it" as the Aussies would say....... You can see the tour busses at the bottom..... Here we are moving along the path after the chain. They marked it with the same kind of pattern used for lanes on a highway...... At times I felt like I was walking a tightrope. There were places where if you slipped, you would slide down the rock a fair ways........I'm sure that would not be a nice experience to say the least. This rock was very rough in texture, and if you slid very far it would chew you up! We had to move down one side and up the other of a steep valley. It wasn't easy......I was glad I had hiking boots on for this section, and some that wore running shoes didn't have much ankle support as they tried to come down this face and not slip! Again, hard to get a feel for how steep this really is..... Finally the top! Took this photo of the monument they have at the top. I had someone take a photo of me with the landscape in the background, but even on auto it turned out crappy. If you choose not to upset the natives, and simply walk around Uluru, it's about a 9 km trail that we did by bus the next day (and my my wife did while I was climbing the rock). I snapped a few photos of the area (at least those that were not sacred to the locals): This formation on the side of the rock is known as "the brain" for obvious reasons....... The rock provides an amazing backdrop for some of the ragged looking trees in the area. This part of Australia is where the term "red earth" is something you will never forget after being there. This is a nice photo I took on a trek to the nearby Olgas formation on another day. Just love the colours in this shot. I found this sign a bit funny....... No swimming.......hmmmmm.......wouldn't that require something called "water"? LOL! I'm sure at some point this is full during the wet season, and when we were in Alice Springs we saw many places where the river beds were dry when we were there, but had high water marks 2 to 3 meters high. Anyway, I'm obviously no photographer like some here, but every once in a while you get lucky if you shoot enough pics, and even those that aren't spectacular bring back memories of a great trip. For those who don't know, my Australian wife and I live here in my home land of Canada, and we make fairly regular trips back to see her family. Even though she doesn't see them for 5 years at a time, you can only spend so much time with family, so we also take a side trip (or 2) each time back, and this was one of those. 7 days on a bus with strangers is sometimes way better than spending it with your family....... Thanks for looking.

25 April 2006, 11:36 PM	#2
padi56 "TRF" Life Patron Join Date: Jun 2005 Real Name: Peter Location: Llanfairpwllgwyng Watch: ing you. Posts: 53,064	Great set of Pictures Al, you are fortunate to live in a beautiful country, and visit another. __________________ ICom Pro3 All posts are my own opinion and my opinion only. "The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop. Now is the only time you actually own the time, Place no faith in time, for the clock may soon be still for ever." Good Judgement comes from experience,experience comes from Bad Judgement,.Buy quality, cry once; buy cheap, cry again and again. www.mc0yad.club Second in command CEO and left handed watch winder

26 April 2006, 03:26 AM	#3
Rockrolex TRF Moderator & 2024 SubLV41 Patron Join Date: May 2005 Real Name: God Location: Washington, D.C. Watch: What do you think? Posts: 37,970	Great pics, Al. We're hoping to get there next year - I'm just afraid of getting hijacked by a BKL on our way there, though. How long did it take to climb to the top of The Rock? __________________ Despite the high cost of living, it's still very popular. *Tosser Cabinet Member* Official Member: 'Perpetual 30' Vegas International GTG 2016 Official Member "WIS-CON" Las Vegas International GTG 2017 Official Member "WIS-CON" Las Vegas International GTG 2018 Official Member "WIS-CON" Las Vegas International GTG 2019

26 April 2006, 04:11 AM	#4
JJ Irani Fondly Remembered Join Date: May 2005 Real Name: JJ Location: Auckland, NZ Watch: ALL SOLD!! Posts: 74,319	Exciting pics as always, Al!! __________________ Words fail me in expressing my utmost thanks to ALL of you for this wonderful support during my hour of need!! I firmly believe that my time on planet earth is NOT yet up!! I shall fight this to the very end.......and WIN!!

26 April 2006, 06:02 AM	#6
C.J. "TRF" Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: * Posts: 10,196	Incredible scenery, Al I hope to see it in person some day soon __________________ Me? I'm still looking for Kokomo. I just hope that damn golfer isn't there

26 April 2006, 06:06 AM	#7
Mark TRF Founder Join Date: Nov 2004 Real Name: Mark Location: Florida Watch: PAM 187 / SS LV Posts: 719	Nice pictures there ! Maybe a future vacation before I get as old as JJ.

26 April 2006, 07:36 AM	#8
mailman TRF Moderator & SubLV41 2024 Patron Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: . Watch: 126610LN Posts: 35,510	Great pics Al

26 April 2006, 10:41 PM	#10
Atomic Guest Posts: n/a	JJ, that gif is so 1999.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)