4-Days Brisbane, Uluru (Ayers Rock), and Cairns

Map of Australia

            Wednesday, 6 Mar 2019 – Our ship docked at Brisbane at 8:00 AM.  We had booked a 4-day overland excursion, “Magical Uluru:  Ayers Rock,” starting today.  Anja, our tour guide to the Blue Mountains a couple of days ago, had told us that she would also be our tour guide to Uluru.  After breakfast, we finished our packing and met our tour group in Martinis Bar a little before our 9:45 AM meeting time.  With our luggage in tow, one of the ship’s Destination Services staff escorted us off the ship and through customs before handing us over to our tour guide.  Anja promised to stay with us every step of the tour until we returned to the ship in Cairns.

Although there were only 15 passengers in the group, plus Anja, we boarded a full-sized bus, so we had a choice of seats.  First, we embarked on a short city tour to see Brisbane’s highlights enroute to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.

Brisbane is the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland and is the country's third largest city.  The original settlement began as a penal colony, and during World War II, served as the South West Pacific Headquarters for General Douglas MacArthur.  It was only after the war that it gained prominence as an important urban center.  As we traveled alongside the curving banks of the Brisbane River, Anja pointed out sights such as the Parliament House, the Treasury Building, City Hall, and the Old Customs House.   We rode past the South Bank Parklands and Cultural Centre.  This is adjacent to the location where the 1988 World Expo was held.  Today, the center houses the State's Art Gallery, Performing Arts Complex, and a museum and library, bearing witness to Brisbane's vibrant cultural community.   As we rode through Queenlands Botanic Gardens, Anja pointed out the many unique plants and trees that are indigenous to the area.  We made a brief stop at Mount Coot-tha Summit Lookout, where we had excellent views of Brisbane’s skyline below.

The highlight of our Brisbane tour was our visit to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, the world's largest koala sanctuary, where one has the opportunity to get close to over 130 free roaming koalas.  The sanctuary is also home to kangaroos, wallabies, sheep dogs and other animals such as the emu, Tasmanian devil, wombat, dingo and kookaburra.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

We first walked to an outdoor restaurant, where we enjoyed Australian Barbeque, which in the US would have been called grilled steaks and chicken.   Afterwards, a park ranger led the tour group on a walking tour of the sanctuary.  Since we didn’t feel up to a long walk in the heat (especially Sally, who had not slept much the previous night), we sat in an air-conditioned restaurant with Donna, who uses a walker.   There, we shared a table with Flora and Phil (also from the ship), who were visiting the sanctuary on their own.  Later, we met the rest of the group at a koala “petting” area where we took a photo with Sally holding a koala (because Jesse didn’t want to hold it!).

After leaving the sanctuary, we continued our city tour until we reached the W Hotel Brisbane.   Although there were three separate registration counters in the lobby, where we stood in line, the process was not fast!  After that, we took the elevator to our room on the 12th floor.  When we opened the door at 3:45 PM, the curtains opened automatically to reveal a breathtaking view of the skyscrapers, river, and bridge below.  The room was luxurious.  As Sally immediately lay down for a nap, Jesse played with the TV remote control.  A few minutes later, our luggage was delivered to our room.

We had prearranged for our good friends, Gail and Jim, to meet us at the hotel at 5:00 PM.  We first met them in San Francisco in 2012, a couple of days prior to our 27-day cruise from San Francisco to Sydney.  Although we did not share their dinner table on the ship (in those days we were still doing assigned seating), we met most afternoons for tea.  Later, during our 28-day cruise around Australia in 2014, we spent an afternoon with them after they picked us up from the Brisbane cruise port.  Then in 2015, we cruised with them again from London to New York.  Of course, between times, we have kept in touch by e-mail.

Gail and Jim arrived at the hotel at 5:00 PM and were ushered to our room.  They were really impressed with the hotel – and with the view from our room.  Apparently, the hotel is quite new, because neither of them had ever heard of it.   We had decided it would be easiest to have dinner at the hotel restaurant together.  The two of us were scheduled for a tour-inclusive dinner at the restaurant at 6:30 PM, and had already discussed the possibility of Gail and Jim joining us with Anja and the hotel staff.  Until about 6:15, we four sat in our hotel room, enjoying talking, and then took the elevator to the restaurant on the 3rd floor.

Dinner with Gail & Jim

The “Three Blue Ducks” restaurant is very modern.  A “glass wall” had been retracted so that the restaurant was open to the outside air and an unobstructed view of the Brisbane nightline.  Most of the group was already seated at a long table.  After some discussion, Anja convinced the head waiter that it would be fine if we sat at a table for four with our friends, while they purchased their meals separately.  Great minds must think alike, because we all ordered the “fish of the day.”  The inclusive dinner also included a salad, side dishes, and crème Brulé for dessert.  We shared the side dishes with Jim and Gail.  Then, the dessert servings were so large that we gave one of them to Gail and Jim to share!  We enjoyed conversation until 9:30 PM, when Gail and Jim decided it was time for them to start their 1-hour drive to their night’s destination.  Although Sally was asleep by 10:00 PM, Jesse was up for another hour searching for the charger cable for his camera.

Thursday, 7 Mar 2019 – We awoke to our alarm at 3:00 AM and made it to the lobby for our 4:15 AM meeting time.   Then we checked out of the hotel; picked up our breakfast boxes; and boarded our bus for the Brisbane airport.  Our flights were with Virgin Australian Airlines.  Anja checked us all in at the airport; then we stood in line to check our luggage.  After going through security, we sat and waited for our 6:00 AM, 1-hour-and-10-minute flight back to Sydney.  It was only then that we realized that we were not seated together.  Sally was not very happy.  However, our tour group was seated in the same section of the plane;   Jesse was assigned to a window seat, and Sally was assigned to an aisle seat two rows behind him.  Once we boarded, Jesse noticed that Bryan, who was traveling alone, was sitting in the middle seat next to him.  Bryan graciously agreed to exchange seats with Sally, which made Sally very happy!

Upon arrival at Sydney, we set our watches back one hour.  While waiting for our 4-hour flight to Ayers Rock, Sally noticed a JB Hi Fi camera store located near the women’s restroom.  Thus, Jesse was able to purchase a new camera charger cable for $19.95 AUD, or about $15.00 USD.  Again, we were not seated together.  This time, Anja took care of rearranging our seats - which, again, made Sally happy.

Our 9:55 AM flight departed about 10 or 15 minutes late; however, this time, we were served orange juice and blueberry muffins.  During the flight, Sally tried napping (unsuccessfully), while Jesse tried reading some of the “Game of Thrones” book that he brought along.  When the plane landed, we had to descend stairs from the plane to the tarmac, and were immediately attacked by flies.  As we rushed into the terminal, we fanned the swarming flies from our faces.  One of our suitcases was the last one to be loaded on the conveyor belt, so after attaching the hotel room tags that had been given to us, we were the last passengers to load the tour bus (with a 16-person capacity).  The only seats left were in the front next to the driver, which turned out to be the most preferred seats.  A couple of the other passengers assured us that we would be rotating the front seats from then on!

The drive to “Longitude 131°” (the resort where we would be staying) was about a half-hour drive.  Although the driver narrated the drive, the microphone was not working; therefore, we were the only passengers able to hear him.  Upon arrival, we were led to the Dune House, where we were served champagne, given a brief overview of the facilities and the schedule, and completed our registration.  The Dune House included a well-stocked self-service open bar for the guests, although the Australian Ginger Beer that Jesse liked was not available.  Then we were individually escorted to our luxury tents.  The accommodations met all the requirements of a luxury hotel room; however, the roof was made of canvas, which apparently classified the sleeping place as a “tent.”  The controls to remotely open and close the window shades were easily accessed from the bed, as well as the light controls.  A large balcony or patio could be accessed through sliding doors.  From our window, we could view Ayers Rock.  The tent was stocked with complementary snacks, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages, as well complementary head nets.  The only thing missing was a TV!  (Poor Jesse!)  Our luggage had already been delivered to our tent.

For lunch, we returned to the Dune House, where we sat with Ted & JoAnne from California.  They are both widowed and met online 2.5 years ago; they are not married.  After lunch we returned to our tent and Sally, who was feeling sleep-deprived, immediately lay down for a 1-hour nap, while Jesse placed the camera on charge and did a little reading.

Uluru (Ayers Rock)

After donning our head nets, we met our tour group in the Dune House at 4:45 PM.  The head nets really worked well, except occasionally a fly might manage to get inside the net!  These flies here don’t bite like some flies and are considered to be “clean,” but are still extremely annoying.  As with most species, only the females annoy us.  The females seek out humans because they are starving for protein, which they need to make eggs.  The sweat on our bodies and the moisture around our eyes, noses, and mouths are an excellent source of the needed protein.  These flies seem to especially like our eyes; if they have the opportunity, they have been known to crawl under the eyelids!

Uluru Climbing Area

Raul and Marilyn took their turn in the front seats this time.  Michael was our driver and guide for the afternoon’s Mala Walk and Kantju Gorge tour.  He talked as he drove us to the entrance of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.  As we drove around Uluru, Michael pointed out various details of the huge rock.   Our first stop was at the entrance to the “climbing” area.  Michael pointed out the chain handrails far up on the rock that had been installed to assist climbers.  Climbing the rock has always been considered disrespectful to the Mala people, but the climbers did it anyway.  However, climbing is now highly discouraged in accordance with the wishes of the native people and will be totally banned starting in October, 2019.  There have been 37 deaths due directly to the climb and over 100 other associated deaths due to heart attacks, etc., which also disturb the natives.

The original sediments that formed Uluru and its sister, Kata Tjuta,  were horizontal layers of sand and gravel, known as the “bedding planes,” which were welded together as rock over millions of years.  The rock is incredibly hard.  Later, a mountain-building event, known as Alice Springs Orogeny, created great folds in the earth that pushed down and folded the rocks that became today’s Uluru and Kat Tjuta.  The deformation flipped the sediments on their side so the originally horizontal layers of sand and gravel, known as the 'bedding planes', are now vertical.  It’s interesting that one side of Uluru is about 50 million years older than the other.  (The Mala people have their own beliefs about the creation of Uluru and Kata Tjuta, and consider our geological explanation just a “story.”)

Uluru at Twilight

Then our bus continued on and parked near the entrance of the Mala Walk.  As we walked along the path, we made brief stops at several points of interest, while Michael described the sites and their history and legends in detail.  We were allowed to take photos, except in the “sensitive” areas where they are prohibited by the Mala people.  (Those areas looked like other areas to us, but apparently those sites have special, ritual meanings to them.)  Eventually, we reached the twilight viewing area at Kantju Gorge.  This was the perfect location to capture the changing lights reflected over the famed rock’s many faces, as the sun slipped below the vast desert horizon.  There, the tour staff served us drinks and canapés as Uluru revealed its glorious colors.  Amazingly, as the sun went down, the birds started to chirp and the flies all but disappeared.

            Afterwards, we took a short walk back to our tour bus, which lucky for us, one of the tour staff had moved closer to our current location.  On the trip back to Longitude 131°, Mark and Odene (from Los Angeles) took their turn in the front seats, as Michael continued his talk.  It was about 7:00 PM when we got back.  Some of the passengers stayed in the Dune House for dinner, but we went back to our tent to clean up a little first.

            At dinner, we sat with Raul and Marilyn.  They are originally from the Philippines, but live in the Washington, DC, area.  They both spoke very softly, especially Marilyn, so it was very difficult (sometimes impossible) for Sally to hear them.  From them, we learned that passengers can invite family and friends to visit them on board while the ship is in port.  Marilyn’s sister had come aboard in Miami.  (They started this cruise before we did.)  Of course, this must all be arranged in advance, with applicable paperwork.  They had also taken a Crystal Cruise above northern Canada, which we had seen advertised.  They have been married for 48 years.  We got back to our tent at 9:30 PM and were in bed by 10:30 PM.

Friday, 8 Mar 2019 – At 5:30 AM we received a wakeup call.  At breakfast in the Dune House, we sat with Russ and Denise from California.  They met at Virginia Tech and have been married for 28 years.  They both retired from the computer field and were obviously the youngest members of our tour group.

Kata Tjuta

At 6:45 AM, we met back at the Dune House for our morning tour.  Our tour guide was Caroline.  After she boarded the driver’s seat, Jesse led the group in a chorus of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.”  Our first stop was a photo opportunity for Kata Tjuta at sunrise to admire the mystical red domes from afar.  Sally stayed on the bus, saving her strength, while Jesse made the short walk to the observation platform.  There was also a camera crew visiting the site for a travel magazine.

Next, we climbed out of our bus and began a walk through rock-walled Walpa Gorge, while Caroline shared expert commentary detailing the region’s natural history.  She told us that we would be returning on the same route, so if anyone was unable to complete the walk, they could stop at any time.  The walk started out on a level, sandy path, which soon became a slope on a rocky surface, with stones, large and small, making each step potentially dangerous.  We stepped carefully, watching our feet to avoid falling or twisting an ankle.  Although we made it much of the way up that first slope, probably about halfway through the entire walk, Jesse suggested that we stop at that point and return to the base of the hill.  There, we stopped on a large wooden bench to rest.  Mark soon joined us; he was having trouble with an ankle.  Mark and his wife, Odene, live in Los Angeles, although Mark was born in Montreal.  After his father suffered a bad fall in the snow, the first thing he told his wife after waking up from a coma was “We’re moving to California.”  And they moved!  Mark is a retired health care lawyer.  He and Odene have been married for 25 years.  After a few minutes, we made our way back to level ground, while Mark waited for Odene to return.  We sat under a “roofed” area and waited for the rest of the group.  Bryan was the first one back.  Bryan is from Ft. Meyers, Florida, and likes to hike.

After everyone had made it back, we re-boarded the tour bus and rode to the Cultural Centre where we spent 45 minutes browsing the informative, interactive displays that provide insight into the spiritual and cultural meanings of Uluru and Kata Tjuta.  We watched most of a short film.  Although we had expected it to be about the culture of the native people, it was specifically about meetings set up to return control of Uluru to the natives – and not very interesting.  However, two or three souvenir shops and restaurants were found at the center.  We made some small purchases.  No photos were allowed of either the interior or the exterior of the center.  We then re-boarded the bus for our 30-minute drive back to Longitude 131°, arriving at 11:30 AM.  As we were leaving the bus, Jesse led the group in another chorus of “Sweet Caroline.”

Since we had about a half hour before lunch was to be served, the two of us decided to try out the swimming pool.  Beside the pool, towels were provided, as well as a refrigerator with water, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages.  Although the water was unheated and felt very cold at first (because the outside temperature falls at night), once we got in, it was fine.  Since the pool was kidney-shaped, swimming laps was difficult, let alone the back stroke.  We both kept running into the sides!  We swam for about 30 minutes, and then went to lunch, where we sat with Anja, Ted, and Donna.  Although the table was set for four, the waiter added another chair and place setting to seat the five of us.  After lunch, we returned to our tent.  There, Jesse sat an alarm to make sure that we wouldn’t be late for our evening excursion; then Sally napped for two hours, and Jesse for one.

Anja's Uluru Tour Group

            At 5:45 PM, the bus took us out again to see the famous Uluru sunset.  This time, our tour guides were Eric and Sam.  (There were two buses, but the tour guides worked together.)  We drove back to the park, and then walked to the twilight viewing area, where we could take in the sunset over Uluru.  We were told that this was the perfect location to capture the changing lights reflected over the famed rock’s many faces, as the sun slipped below the vast desert horizon.  This place was not as close to the rock as on the previous evening.  The tour staff served us drinks and canapés.  And, again, most people stood, but Sally had her folding stool that Jesse always carries over his shoulder for her.  Mark complained to the staff that no seats were available; however, at that point, nothing could be done.  Anja wanted us to take a group photo there; however, Ann and Donna, and others, had decided to stay at the entrance under the shade, where wooden benches (with backs) were available.  So Anja asked everyone to go back down the hill to take the group photo.  Needless to say, after the photo, we decided to join Ann and Donna in the shade!  (The site chosen to view the sunset could have been much better!)

Field of Light

            Our next stop was the “Field of Light,“ Bruce Munro’s internationally acclaimed art phenomenon.  First, we were escorted to the entrance of the field and given instructions.  He said the walk should take no more than 10 minutes.  Those wishing to take a shorter walk should only take the right turns; those wishing to take the longer walk should always take the left turns.  As we wandered through the installation, it appeared to bloom and sway as darkness descended over Australia’s spiritual heartland.  The solar-powered exhibition lights up the outback in a spectacular fashion, with over 50,000 lights.  The exhibition was scheduled to close a couple of years ago, but the date keeps getting extended.  Our departure from the installation was delayed by a few minutes, because a couple of the people from the other tour bus got lost in the field.

            Our bus then returned us to Longitude 131° for a starlight dinner at Table 131° among the dunes.  While listening to the mesmerizing night sounds of the desert, we feasted on four delicious courses matched with the finest Australian wines.  (However, Sally remarked that it was too dark to see our food!)  We sat at a table with Jennie from Albuquerque, Russ & Denise, Mark & Odene, and Linda from Seattle.  During dinner, we shared some interesting stories and jokes.  After dinner, Longitude’s resident astronomer treated us to tales of the southerly constellations.  He used a laser to point out the various constellations.  After the presentation, we were escorted on the short walk back to our tents.  A few of the guests joined Donna with her walker on a multi-passenger golf cart that took her back to her tent.  Sally complained to Jesse that more of us should have been driven back; it was almost 10:30 PM as we walked through the darkness beside Anja, who used the flashlight from her cell phone to light the way.  Since Anja, had never seen the inside of one of the tents, we invited her in to see ours.  She was very impressed!  Anja was staying at an alternate location, not quite as nice.

            For this last night, we had been encouraged to sleep outside under the stars.  The lounge on our balcony had been made up with a sleeping bag.  There was a gas fire going and a tray with two carafes of wine, one carafe of Bailey’s Irish Cream, and a small container of popcorn.  However, we were too exhausted for any of that nonsense; therefore, we put out the fire, closed the blinds, took showers, drank the Bailey’s, and went to sleep in our comfortable, indoor, king-sized bed!

Saturday, 9 Mar 2019 – As far as we know, Jeannie was the only one who slept outside.  Although we were sure that Bryan would since he is such an outdoorsman, he told us he hadn’t slept outside since he stopped drinking!  We had scheduled a 5:30 AM wakeup call and made it to breakfast at 6:00 AM.  We sat at a table with Jennie and Bryan, although Bryan was soon finished and left the table.  We had the buffet breakfast again rather than waiting for an order.   Afterwards, we went back to our tent and finished getting ready.  After we had our luggage ready for pickup by the 7:15 AM deadline, we returned to the Dune House to check out.

At 7:45 AM we left Longitude 131° for the 10-minute drive to the airport.  Anja checked us all in at the airport; then we stood in line to check our luggage.  Although we were seated separately again, Anja had our seats changed.  This time we were on Qantas Airlines.  After going through security, we sat and waited for our 9:45 AM flight to Alice Springs.  Anja had arranged transportation (disability) carts for us, Donna, and Ann.  So we were first to board the plane.  [After seeing how Sally was dragging herself (being exhausted) back to our tent at 10:30 PM the previous evening, Anja apparently had decided that she might need some extra help.  Donna was using a walker; she definitely needed the cart, but Sally probably not yet!]

Anyway, the flight this time was only 30 minutes.  Even at that, the flight attendants did serve us bottled water.  We were told to wait until last to leave the plane; however, after descending the stairs from the plane, this cart had room for only three passengers; therefore, Jesse walked to the terminal, which turned out to be quite a long walk.  Inside, we sat near a TV and waited for about an hour for our next flight.  Again, at 10:55 AM, we were the first to board the plane.  This time, the cart was larger, so that all four of us rode to the plane, which again was quite a distance.  We sat on the very last row of the plane with no window and next to the restroom, which was fine with us.  A young woman then boarded, sitting in the window seat.  However, before we took off, she was offered a better seat, which turned out to be in the business class!  We were supposed to be served a meal on this flight, but the flight attendants were 20 meals short, so those in the back of the plane got snacks and beverages.  Jesse drank a beer with his snack. 

Meeting Our Ship in Cairns

The flight to Cairns was about 2 hours and 10 minutes, but we set our watches forward by 30 minutes, so that we arrived in Cairns at 1:55 PM.  After picking up our luggage, we said our goodbyes to Anja, and boarded the bus to the ship.  Anja would be flying back to Sydney shortly, and did not have enough time to accompany us all the way to the ship.  Jesse snapped photos as we rode through Cairns, and the driver pointed out a few of the sights.  At about 2:40 PM we re-boarded the ship, but were told that we needed to return to the cruise terminal at 3:00 PM to process through immigration.  This gave us just enough time to change into cooler and more comfortable clothes because it was very hot outside.  Jesse stood in line for immigration for about 20 minutes, while Sally waited first on a ledge, and then in a chair provided by the ship.  Afterward, Sally napped for an hour or more.  By then Jesse realized that he had picked up Jeannie’s cold!

At dinner on the ship again, we sat with Henry and Pamela.  We had thought they were from California, near Marie and Ken, but it turns out that they are from Vancouver.  Remarkably, they had also just returned from Ayers Rock; they had taken a private tour, leaving the ship in Sydney and returning like we did in Cairns, although they had spent the night in Cairns.  We compared cost, and theirs was a little less, but not by much.  They had to purchase all of their own meals, which turned out to be quite expensive.  Being too tired for dancing, we retired for the night at 10:35 PM.