Day 116 –119 18th – 21st July; Uluru

All excited this morning as we load up ready for our trip to that icon in the centre of Australia; Uluru. We travel south for some 200 k’s and have lunch at the roadhouse where we turn right to follow the Lasseter Highway westward out towards “the Rock”. The Red Centre is precisely that, although I must admit that I was expecting the vegetation to be a lot sparser than it was. Mt. Connor came into view after about an hour and a half. This is another monolith and is quite often mistaken at first glance for Uluru. However it is actually about twice the size of Uluru and quite impressive in its own right.
The landscape as we get closer to our destination gradually becomes more sandy, but there is still plenty of vegetation in the form of grasses and spinifex as well as desert she oaks amidst low desert hills of sand. It is quite beautiful to drive through and observe. Even though you are travelling through the centre of the country the amount of traffic that this road carries is quite amazing and it seems that every couple of minutes you are passing a couple of cars, most of which have a caravan behind them and a couple of grey heads in the front passenger seat.
The kids were all beside themselves when Uluru was first spotted in the distance through the desert landscape.
We had booked three nights at the Voyages Yulara Resort and were allotted quite a private campsite at the end of one of the campground streets. This was right next to a walkway, which led to a viewing platform in the sand dunes, where we could view the rock, and the Olgas at any time of the day.
We settled in quickly and promptly made our way through the dunes for drinks at sunset. The temp was quite balmy so we were able to wear shorts and shirts. Just fantastic!!!
Day 117: Saturday
The morn was bright and sunny when we awoke. However the wind picked up to the point that the rock was closed to climbing, but we hadn’t really planned to climb it anyway. We had decided that we were going to walk around the base, a distance of 9.4 km.
As we drove towards the rock after entering the National Park the rock came in to view properly. Everyone was immediately struck by the starkness of this monolith. It looks as though it has just been “plonked” in the middle of the desert by some unknown force, so abruptly does it rise from the surrounding plain. You just have this urge to keep taking photos of it to try and capture its “essence” Amazing!!!
The wind had really picked up by the time we reached the base of the rock. However all the troops were up for a walk to explore it, so off we took.
The base walk was an excellent way to get a feel for the size of Uluru and also explore and observe all the facets that make up the rock. Liv and Rube did it in their stride and were fascinated by the information presented at the various information posts that are located at various point around the trail. Jas and Daisy did really well. Jas walked all the way around with out help while Daisy was carried at intervals, but still walked the majority of the way. Needless to say by the time we finished the circumnavigation they were well and truly ready for a rest back at camp. The wind had picked up to point that I had real fears that our camper canvas may well have been ripped off the base of the trailer!
Day 118: Sunday
Next day dawned sunny but the temp had dropped appreciably and the wind was coming from the southwest and was cold. A visit to the beautiful Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) was on the cards. We decided to undertake part of the Valley of the Winds walk, but opted to walk only 5.6 km instead of the 7.5 km loop. These are another amazing formation and seem to compliment Uluru perfectly. The domes rise so starkly from the valleys beside them where there are beautiful ghost gums, and River Red Gums that are able to grow as a result of the rainwater that becomes trapped in pools nearby.
The Olgas fascinated jasmine. She loved walking through the valley even though there was an icy wind.
After turning around for the walk back to the car we found a rock face protected from the wind, on which to shelter. We all basked in the sun whilst we ate our snacks and had a drink and watched the bird life around us. A truly beautiful place.
Day 119 Monday
The temperature had steadily dropped during the time we were at the rock and this day actually started off overcast with a light drizzle at times. The rock was shrouded in cloud and couldn’t be seen at all until about 7.45 am. However then the cloud began to lift and we were treated to the rock in another mood!
We were due to leave today so we sadly packed up, but before we left had one last trip into the N.P. to visit the Cultural Centre at the base of Uluru. Here we learned a bit, more about the spiritual significance of the rock for the Aboriginal people, the bush tucker and art of the area. There were also local aboriginals at the centre who were painting authentic art that would then be sold at the art gallery shop with in the centre.
After hot chocolates, (of course), we very reluctantly bade farewell to “The Rock” and headed off towards Kings Canyon (307 km).