It's time to let your spirit fly free. Welcome to Uluru National Park, located in the Northern Territory of Australia, in the center of the continent, and according to Mark, who rode 3 days on a bus to get here, it's just about as "middle of nowhere" as you can get. But hey, 650,000 visitors make the trek out here every year, so they must be doing something right.

Originally established as Ayers Rock/Mount Olga National Park in 1958, the park was renamed in 1977. In 1985, the land was officially returned to its traditional owners, the region's Aborigines. The Aborigines then leased the area to the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service. Uluru has been an important focus of the spiritual life of the region's Aborigines for thousands of years. Aboriginal rock paintings cover the walls of many of the caves of Uluru.

The park has two main geological features-the monolith Uluru, previously called Ayers Rock, and a grouping of rock domes known as Kata Tjuta, or the Olga Rocks. Uluru here is considered the largest monolith in the world; rising about 1143 ft from the desert. Made of arkosic sandstone, Uluru is said to be cool to see at sunset, when its color appears to change from red to purple.

The beans enjoyed the view and the opportunity to hang out with their Aboriginal mates, and were especially glad that they weren't carried off by a pack of wild dingoes.