There comes a point in travel when you let the budget be damned. For
me, that point comes at the Qantas ticket counter after a day delay
from L. A. and a 17-hour flight when faced with the prospect of
headaches finding a 6-hour bus from Alice Springs to Ayer's Rock.
This bullet comes in the form of a ~$270 AUD ($200 USD) ticket, and it
bites but gets me directly to Ayer's Rock.
But things would be too easy if I could find my buddies immediately.
Not seeing them at the campsite, I drop my bag and pick up a bike
rental. It's shitty and without suspension, but it gets me to Ayer's
Rock and into appreciating the outback. Not only is the climb to the
top of the rock closed, but there's a $5,000 AUD fine if I'm caught
attempting it. That hurts more than the prospect of a fall.
I bike the ~9 km around Uluru, aka Ayer's Rock. I can't express how
cool this large stone is; it's really something one must experience to
appreciate. Basically, it's the second-coolest thing I've ever seen
(after the Taj Mahal). I've wanted to visit Australia since I
realized that there were different countries, and the outback's always
seemed particularly exotic. As I bike away from the world's
second-largest natural monolith (what's the biggest?) through dark red
soil interspersed with plants I've never seen before, I'm so content
that I literally have tears in my eyes.
It's been ~40 km by the time I get back to the campsite, and lo and
behold: I find the tools. I must be maturing: seeing old people
nearby, I change the "fuckers" in "I've been looking for you fuckers
all day" to "guys." It's good to see them (= Mud, Erik, Riad, and
Mike), and we kill the rest of the night catching up and drinking
beer. 6 quick and I'm out for the night.