To keep the parents happy, here are some photos of the new furniture, and some Doves who have decided to make themselves at home.  They're so friendly, they'll eat from my hand.

 

 

 

 

Well, as you are about to find out, or probably already know, I'm in Alice Springs with work.  I'm here with another Graduate Software Engineer who comes from the same project, and we've managed to score ourselves a pretty good pad.

 

What am I working on?  Well I can't really tell you much, its the nature of the work.  For everything you didn't want to know about the project, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jindalee_over-the-horizon_radar

 

There isn't much to do up here on the weekend, other than going and throwing cars at rocks.  Off to the west of Alice Springs, is the West McDonnell Ranges, a colllection of ranges, that seem to keep going on forever.

We headed out there the first weekend we were here just for something to do. There are a large number of 'Gaps' and chasms that cut through the range.  These Gaps are havens for life, and are formed by rivers and creeks.

 

On the third weekend (just gone), I decided to head south to see the Big Rock myself.  Ayres Rock (Uluru) is massive and extremely impressive.  The photos and postcards that you see in the stores don't do the rock justice.

I got there quite early in the morning at about 8, after leaving Alice Springs at about 4 in the morning.  The drive is 440ks, and there isn't much to see.  Along the way, I came across a wrecked camry (recent model).  The driver had obviously swerved for something, or taken a brief nap.  Didn't get any photos, I was busy checking for life.  There was nothing to see, so I'd assumed they'd already been picked up.

 

Once I got to the Rock, I decided that I would start the climb as soon as, at least while it was fairly cool.  The first part is rather steep, and you rely heavily on the grip of your shoes.  There is a chain/handrail that runs up the ridge, which you end up holding on for dear life.  It's amazing that health and safety haven't shut the place down.  It would be a difficult thing to do, as I'm sure that people would ignore them anyway.

 

The view from the top is amazing.  You can see heaps of horizon everywhere and not a lot else.  There is the Olgas (Kata Tjuta), the Ayres Rock's ugly sister.

 

My intital concerns about the heat weren't needed.  Once I got to the top, and as I moved across to the peak, I was nearly blown off.  The winds were very strong, and worse still, very cold, which is a roblem when you're only wearing a Polo shirt (and jeans).

 

After getting to the top, there is only one thing that you can really do, and thats start climbing down.  It's definately easier on the legs than climbing up, but your feet definately aren't appreciative afterwards.  I decided that it would be a good idea to find some fuel before I continued exploring, so I decinded to go to Yulara, the local township.  The only problem was that it was no where to be found.  After a bit of frustrated searching, I decided to go to the Resort, which I found to be Yulara.  Gotta love the signage.

 

Checkout the Photos, they paint more words than I can be bothered typing.