Uluru / Kata Tjuta / Yulara

I drove the car and caravan for the first time on this trip.  I did the leg between Kings Canyon and the turn off on Lasseter Hwy(Red Centre Way).  A total of 170km's ....lol.....not bad out of 15,000km's.  The driving was okay until behind me a big road train with far to many trailers caught me.  It was a little scary letting him pass.  My knuckles turned white holding onto the steering wheel and I spent most of my time surveying the mirrors to make sure I gave him plenty of room.  Ah but the experience to say that I have driven is far more important.  Mind you I get told off for being the back seat driver.  I think Nigel can take that one on now.  'Slow down, keep your revs lower than 2, watch the side of the road, don't brake so hard.'  That was just to name a few.  Maybe it was because he wouldn't let me do any more than 90kph.  That made it difficulty.  I am Fangio. LOL

Nigel took the driving over again and I promptly had a snooze.  The driving took more out of me than expected. During the times between snoozing we saw our first camels on the side of the road.  Unfortunately they were both dead.  They had come to grief with a car and camper trailer.  We also saw Mt Connor appear out of no where and it is amazing how big she is.  Mt Connor dominates the sky line and she was quite beautiful.  Our journey continued to on to Yulara where we final got our first glimpse of 'The Rock'.  Wow she was amazing from a distance, I couldn't wait to see her up close.  We finally set up  and then took a drive to the national park where we set up camp at the the sunset photo parking area at Uluru.  We watched her for nearly two hours show many changing faces.  Well I watched her for two hours and everyone else took turns of having time in the car, eating nibbles or just laying on the seat watching the sky.  I fell in love with the rock that night.  She was so pretty and I couldn't wait to explore the rest of her.

The next day I started off with sunrise photos at the park from the lookout point.  We then all went into the park again and drove to the base of Uluru to do a guided ranger talk with an aboriginal elder and ranger.  I have no photos of him as he would not allow us to take them.  The entire time he spoke his aboriginal dialect and the ranger then interpreted it for us.  They were very interesting and the kids, Nigel and I really enjoyed the Mala Walk.  We found out lots about the sacred parts of the rock, where they have men's business and women's business, we saw tools and visited an ancient rock art site.  They really are one with the land the aboriginal people.  They use every part of it to benefit themselves but still nurture the animals, plants, earth and water.  Our guide did give us their reasons behind why they do not want us to climb the rock also.  I found it a little wishy washy the reason behind it and it certainly hasn't stopped the droves of people that visit the rock to climb.  If the kids had not been with us and Nigel and I had the right shoes on we would have attempted the climb also I imagine.  But instead we took the kids to Chicken Point.  That is the lowest point on Uluru before the chains begin.  So we can say that we did climb Uluru.  Just not all the way.

Shrouded in clouds

The rock climb

Mala cave

Rock art in men business area (school blackboard)

Women's business cave.

Amazing rock formations carved over millions of years.

How does this happen?

This is like a huge wave cut out of the
side of Uluru

Me and the kids starting the rock climb

Looking down from chicken point

Nigel and the kid at the top of chicken
point  just under the chains.

Safely down again

The Rock climb from the side

That afternoon we spent time in the cultural centre where again photos were not allowed to be taken. So I have nothing to share with you as the stories are also sacred and only the Anangu People are allowed to tell them.  So they only way you can find out about it is to visit the place.  Not that that's a bad thing.  We then drove out to Kata Tjuta (The Olgas).  We were there for the sunset.  It was a little cloudy so we only got to see the best of her for just a short while.  Still amazing though.

I got up at 5.30am to make my way around to the sunrise point at Uluru.  It was a gorgeous morning and there were hundreds of people with me watching the sunrise also.  She was pretty in the morning also but I think sunset really is the amazing time of the day for her.

About 20 minutes prior to sunrise

Sun has risen.  Uluru and Kata Tjuta in background.

We spent the rest of the day at Kata Tjuta where we walked to the first lookout on the Valley of the Winds.  The circuit walk was pretty demanding so we decided just to enjoy the view from this point.  We then went to the Walpa Gorge.  The walk was pretty and the kids enjoyed the echo factor again which was to Nigel's annoyance...so very funny really.  Every time he told them to stop one of them would cooo-eeee behind him.  I suppose I was stirring the pot also because I kept on egging them on.

Valley of the Winds

Walpa Gorge

Our last evening in Uluru we drove around to the sunrise point to take photos of Uluru and Kata Tjuta in silhouette.  It had been an enjoyable couple of days and it is definitely a place I would like to visit again.

  

Back to Alice Springs again.  This time not a flyby but a stay to see the sights.

Kings Canyon

Wow what a long days drive.  We decided not to stop at Mt E as the kids were travelling well and the roads were quiet so we continued to drive.  While drive we encountered a herd of brumbies.  This was the first time we had seen wild horse and I was so excited to see them that I forgot to get the camera out...how silly of me.  Hopefully I will see some more over the coming days and be able to get that amazing shot.

We organised our site and then set up only to be told by Mrs Peabody that the dingo are dangerous and that we need to keep the children close at hand...oh and the shoes because they are related to Imelda Marcos.

The dingos got my baby....... don't forget the other two....lol.

Ah they are just as timid of us as we are of them...they wont come near us.  Well they did and they certainly weren't as timid as they should be but they are hungry buggers we even saw one break into a tent and help itself to a can of tuna.  She was a little hungry by the looks of her.

Went and watched our first sunset at the Canyon with about 50 others.  Very quiet and personal wouldn't you say.

We took several walks around Kings Canyon including the river walk and Kathleen Springs walk and the Resort Rim Walk.  The only one we did not do was the Kings Canyon Rim Walk which takes 3-4 hours.  We felt the kids would not cope with the length and my heart would not cope with the boisterous boys behaviour on a 260metre sheer cliff face unfenced edge.  Not on your nelly.  That will be something we will do next time we visit.  Which hopefully wont be toooooo far into the future.

One very stupid tourist!

The river walk was amazing and was full of many interesting things to look at and take pictures of.  The kids discovered echo and coooo----eeeeee skills in the canyon and gave it a read hot go at bouncing any sound possible back at them.  I can still say I kicked butt and had my cooo---eeeee last for ages.  The kids were impressed but not poor Nigel he was mortified at the noise we were all making.

The rim walk begins at the same spot as the river walk so we ventured up the steps of the escarpment to take a look at the view out of the canyon.  It was amazing but my heart was bouncing out of my chest with fear and I needed to get off those steps before I fell head first down them.  I never realised how much I dislike heights until coming away on this trip and standing at many a lookout and only just being able to look outwards and not downwards.  Oh what a woose I have become as I get older.

Our walk around Kathleen Springs coincided with the Ranger doing a cleaning check of the track so we had our own personal tour guide telling us about plants and animals as we came across them. I was a lovely way to start our day but we were heading to Uluru next so it was time to get back on the road.