Driving back to Uluru, we took our time and stopped at viewing points we missed. The vast outback desert with its red sand and rocks. No wonder this region is simply named the Red Centre.
Mount Connor between the desert and cool cloud formation.
We checked into our hotel in Yulara before sunset. The town is run by one company with several accommodations for all range of budgets. We had a long day so we didn't go check out the sunset. Instead we put Drake to bed early and enjoyed a nice dinner of roast chicken.
The next morning we had another late start but we had a lot of time to do both Uluru and Kata Tjuta (or Mount Olgas). Driving to the Uluru park entrance took less than 10 minutes from Yulara. The park entrance fee was $25 AUD per person which was good for 3 days and both rocks. We had to sign our name on the ticket and ticket had our car plate name, I guess all this to prevent people from reusing them.
We stopped at the cultural centre first to get some background on the region. Then we decided to do the 2.5 hour walk around the base of the rock. It was all flat trail, so we were able to push Drake in his stroller. The rock was larger then life. The climb to get to the top of rock which started at the parking lot was closed due to high wind.
Small part of the base walk was on the side of the highway.
About half of the rock, didn't allow photography due to cultural reasons. There were also about 3 or 4 rest stops along the way which we could fill our bottles with drinking water. Compared to King's Canyon, this was a cake walk. Many say Uluru is a spiritual place. We thought the formation was very unique and beautiful to look at but unfortunately we didn't make much of a spiritual connection. In fact, we were a bit bored about half way through the walk.
Midday in the outback was getting pretty hot. We got back to the car and saw the climb to the top of the rock was open. It looked really steep with just a chain to hold onto. There were a few people making their way up. I heard on the radio that next year the climb will be closed permanently. I have mixed feeling about not climbing it this time.
Kata Tjuta was a totally different rock formation than Uluru. Instead of one piece, it was a cluster of red rocks. It was about a 20 minute drive from Uluru. We were not going to do another long hike today, so when the map said the valley lookout was an 1 hour hike we turned around promptly. Kata Tjuta was just as majestic admired from afar.
By the time we returned to Yulara it was still early. The resort offered free activities like spear and boomerang throwing, Aboriginal art classes, etc. We gathered by the main square and enjoyed an interesting aboriginal dance show that was performed by 3 "white" guys. They claimed to be descendants of various tribes. I took their word for it.
Shortly after 6PM we drove back to Uluru. They had a viewing point especially designated for sunset viewing. There were already hoards of cars parked waiting for the moment. The famous Uluru sunset didn't disappoint. It changed colour which made it looked different minute by minute.
We flew back to Sydney on our fourth day in the afternoon. I thought that was perfect amount of time in Uluru. Most of the flights conveniently coincide with this time frame. If I would to do this over again I would probably land in Uluru and fly out of Alice Spring or vice versa, especially when most car rental only gave out 200km instead of unlimited km. King's Canyon was fairly close to Alice Spring.
View from our flight out of Uluru.
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