Friday 6th November  

After a McDonalds breakfast, we caught the bus to the airport and boarded our plane. On board we heard a bulletin of news and the weather forecast. Our hearts sank when we heard that thunderstorms were expected at Ayres Rock.

When we got to the resort we kept looking at the sky where big fluffy clouds moved around the sky in fairly strong winds. It was very hot and humid (approx. 30 degrees Celsius) and felt like a storm was in the air.  We asked at reception if the Sounds of Silence dinner excursion would still go ahead (An outdoor barbecue in the middle of the dessert).  If it rained, as we thought, the answer was no.  Our hearts sank. We plan a whole year ahead for what must be considered a pretty safe bet as far as the weather is concerned, considering we're in one of the hottest places on earth and the day we arrive it decided to threaten to ruin our plans.   We decided to crash out by the pool for a couple of hours whilst we waited for a decision on whether the Sound of Silence Dinner would go ahead.

We were amazed to see flocks of pink cockatoos roosting freely in the trees above and around us.  Our worries for the evening heightened when we felt what was the start of the rain preceding the thunder storms.

  But then to our surprise the clouds started moving away and after checking with the information desk, it was confirmed that our evening would go ahead. Wow!  What a change in our attitudes, especially Keith who was feeling very disappointed that the weather was going to ruin everything that we had been looking forward to on our trip to Ayres Rock. 

  A coach picked us up and dropped us in the middle fo the outback, where we were greeted with a glass of Champaign and the sound of the Didgereedoo. We asked if we could have a go and did.  This started a craze of everybody queuing for a go too.  We were then shown to our tables, set out in a clearing near a large BBQ and as the sun went down, enjoyed a very different and unusual dinner.  On the menu was such delights as ostrich sausages, crocodile and kangaroo as well as chicken and lamb for the slightly screemish!  Of course, Keith tried the lot and Jacqui played safe with the chicken and lamb.  After the meal we were treated to a talk on astrology and had the opportunity to look through a large telescope at the stars which included the Moon, Saturn and Jupiter.  Shortly afterwards our coach arrived to take us back to our hotel.