The Outback - Uluru and Kata Tjuta

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.

The Outback - King's Canyon

We almost took Uluru out of itinerary since it was so far out of the way but we ultimately decided to fit it in.  All flights to Uluru (Ayers Rock) transit out of Sydney.  Uluru used to be called Ayers Rock and that's the name of our flight destination.  The tiny town of Yulara is the closest town and was about 5 minute drive from the airport.

The flight was 4 hours.  We were seated at the back of the plane with an empty seat so Drake was able to nap quite comfortably.  We were glad we reserved well ahead for a rental car, the rental car companies at the airport were all out of rental cars.  

The dry desert heat hit us right away as soon as we got off the plane.  Definitely a change from the rest of our trip.  We got on our way right away towards King's Canyon first. King's Canyon was about 3 hours from Uluru and it was a good idea to get there before night fall, the animals like Kangaroo liked to cross the road at night and hitting one head on can do a lot of damage to the car.  The car rental companies out here tend to exclude any driving between dusk to dawn for insurance coverage for this very reason.

Driving on the left was really strange for us, Greg drifted to left at times and made me really nervous.  We made it in really good time. The town near King's Canyon only had one resort.  After checking in, we had plenty of time to walk over to the viewing area to watch sunset over the canyon.  We read that the bugs in the area is horrible, I wished a more specific term was used instead.  The bugs were really just the black flies.  We picked up a natural bug repellent lotion in Sydney, it was completely infective against these annoying things. We saw people with nets over their heads.  We thought those things were kind of silly but after five minutes I would've paid anything for one.  I couldn't even enjoy the beautiful sunset.  We ran back to our room and stayed there for the night. Besides beware of the dingo signs were everywhere.

The next morning, we went to fuel up our car at the only gas station (hence, the expensive fuel) in town.  By the way, this gas station was also one of the only 3 gas station along our 3 hour drive.  We also grabbed 3 bug nets.  They were 2 for $15 AUD.  Outrageous considering they were so cheaply made and would've cost 10 cents probably elsewhere but truthfully I think we would've paid more.  BIG HINT for anyone going to the outback, buy the net before your trip!

Last night at check-in, the bulletin board at there said canyon hike should be avoid between 10AM to 4PM.  Well, we didn't get to the canyon parking lot until about 10AM.  We took a 2 litre bottle of water which wasn't smart.  It was a 6km hike which took about 3 hours so we really had to ration ourselves the last 2km.  The hike wasn't too difficult except for the first 15 minutes which was a steep path up the canyon.  Greg and I took turns carrying Drake in the Kelty Kids on our back (our stroller which turned into a backpack).  Around noon, it got pretty hot, probably around 35 Celsius.  Our bug net was awesome, the flies were everywhere and the net kept them out of our faces.  Greg's camera bag had about 100 files on it hitching a ride.  Also our bug lotion actually did work but just on our body and not on our faces and ears.

Despite the hot temperature and flies, the hike was well worth it.  The view into the canyon was breathtaking and rock formation was pretty out of this world.

We also took a little detour to "The Garden of Eden".  It was an oasis complete with a water pond and palm trees in the middle of the canyon.  Again well worth detour to take.   While we took a food break there, another hiker actually jumped into the pond.  He was brave.  I would be really scared of what was in the water, like a snake.  He said the water was really really really cold.  Considering how hot it was, I was really tempted to jump in.  But again... snakes.

The last kilometer Drake became really tired and probably very hot.  He was quite fussy as he attempted to fall asleep between me stepping up and down the rocks so we picked up the pace and rushed back to our air-conditioned car.

In the parking lot, there was a water tap with drinking water.  I have never suck down so much water in one gulp.

It was around 2PM in the afternoon that we started our way back to Uluru.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Uluru