Uluru

Our next destination, Uluru (Ayres Rock in white man’s talk), was one we were all really excited about getting to. We broke our trip with an overnight stay at a road side rest stop on the SA-NT border (a welcome free night’s accommodation!!). Seeing Uluru for the first time is one of those genuine “wow” moments. Driving along the Lasseter Highway, it appeared before us as we rounded some sand dunes and although it was still quite some distance away, you could tell it was big.

After setting up camp at the Yulara Resort Campgrounds (the only place to stay within 100km of the National Park), we set off to watch the famous spectacle that is sunset over Uluru. It was truly magical to see the colours change and the Rock glow with a shimmering luminescence as the sun went down.

The next day (Thursday 9th), we joined a guided walk lead by one of the Park Rangers. The Mala Walk took us a short way around the base of Uluru and we were given a very brief insight into the aboriginal history of Uluru’s creation and aboriginal life as it was and how it is today – both the good and the not so good. In respect of the Anangu’s (traditional owner’s) wishes, we did not climb Uluru. We have heard that a new management plan for the National Park has been released for public comment and the big news is that it is proposing to close the climb – good on ‘em I reckon!!


Friday we were up before dawn to see the sunrise at the region’s other famous landmark – Kata Tjuta (formally known as the Olgas). It was a very cold morning and although not as spectacular as the sunset on Uluru, it was still a beautiful sight. After that we tackled the 7.4km Valley of the Winds Walk. The walk took us into the interior of Kata Tjuta and provided some stunning views of the steep sided dome formations. We kept the kids moving by agreeing to a lolly stop every 10 minutes. It’s a good thing they can’t judge time very well or else we would have run out of jelly babies!! Taking just over 3 hours to finish the walk, we couldn’t believe we were passing people who were starting it, during the hottest part of the day!! That afternoon we all took nanna naps to recharge our batteries.

After some more washing and van cleaning (we are there still finding dust!!) we spent our last day at Yulara visiting the Cultural Centre, taking a drive right around the Rock and a final short walk to the Mutitjulu Waterhole – the only permanent waterhole at Uluru. Surprisingly there was a small amount of water still trickling off the Rock into the waterhole. We had a Happy Hour dinner at the sunset viewing area watching the free spectacle of nature doing its thing again. Tomorrow we pack up and move on to Kings Canyon.