Whilst in England we booked our outback tour through STA Travel so this is something that has been planned and we've been looking forward to for a long time. We chose to go on a 2 day Uluru and Kata-Tjuta Camping Safari. We were picked up yesterday morning at 6.30 from the hostel and we joined the 11 other people that were on our tour. Uluru is situated 440km south-west (ish) of Alice Springs so we were in for quite a drive. After a stop at a camel farm and a couple of roadhouses on the long straight desert roads we arrived at the permanent campsite at 'Yulara', the Ayers Rock Resort. From a distance we could see the mighty Uluru and the impressive Kata-Tjuta and we couldn't wait to get closer and have a proper look. (If you don't know Kata-Tjuta, it used to be called the 'Olgas', have a look on the net, its really something special).
We didn't have to wait long as after lunch we jumped back in our 4WD coach and drove the 50km to Kata-Tjuta. Kata-Tjuta means 'many heads' in the local language and we could see why, we got some great views of the 32 domed rocks as we drove around to a parking spot.
From here we walked into the Walpa Gorge, formed between the largest dome, Mt. Olga and a neighbouring dome. We walked this with our tour guide, Nick, who gave us some informative little talks along the way about how it was formed, wildlife and aboriginal beliefs. It was a beautiful day with the temperature sitting at around 27C in the sun but dropping dramatically in the shade. This massive heat change is one of the reasons for the massive erosion, the rocks crack after such strains over long periods, eventually forming the incredible shapes and formations we see today. It was really great to be in amongst the huge rocks, all around you are just massive red walks and then looking out and seeing nothing but arid land as far as the eye could see was really strange. After coming out from the middle of the rocks we retreated to a lookout point to see the whole formation together. We left here at about 5.15pm and made our way to the Uluru sunset lookout point.
Here, some nibbles and wine were laid out for us ready to watch the amazing changing colour
display on the massive rock. What we saw is difficult to put into words but it was an incredible sight. The colour changing from an ochre brown through to a red then bright orange. The sort of sight that most have seen in pictures but now having seen it for myself, those pictures don't do it justice! It was an incredible feeling to stand and watch something so famous across the world for myself. Once the sun had set and it actually got dark we went back to Yulara and had a BBQ under the stars and around the campfire. After a few glasses of wine and a really long chat with our tour guide (we've made ourselves a friend there!) it was definitely time for bed!!
This morning we were off to get close up to Uluru and see the sun rise. We were leaving camp at 6.20am so had to get up at around 5am (again!!) to make sure that everything was ready and we were all fed and watered. We had three options this morning;
1. Climb the rock
2. Watch the sunrise from the dedicated viewing area
3. Walk around the entire base of Uluru whilst the sun comes up.
We decided to go for option 3 and started the 8km walk at 7am. The sun rose at 7.20am and was absolutely spectacular. This was much better than sunset, partly because we were now so close to the rock, but also the way we went from darkness with stars, the moon and a big black rock to
the brightest, most vivid orange imaginable in the space of just a few minutes. Once again, a very difficult thing to put into words, especially for someone so inarticulate as me, but in a word incredible. We continued our walk and loved it, we got to see that it isn't smooth at all, there are so many different features and different types of rock. We got to see that it is also nowhere near the uniform shape that we had imagined. There are massive gulleys and valleys present, it's not just round. We eventually completed our walk at 9am at the start of the climb. We took the decision not to climb as the Anangu (the local traditional owners) request that people don't. This site is sacred to them (and I can now really see why) and only certain initiated men are meant to climb and even then only on very special occasions. Over 35 people have died and many more have been injured on the climb yet people still do it. I think this is incredibly disrespectful. If you went to someones home and they asked you to take your shoes off before you came in you'd do it straight away as it is they're home, they're the boss and it's just polite. It is the same situation here. The Anangu own the rock officially (it was handed back by the government in the 80's), they ask people not to climb it yet some still do. After a few more stories about aboriginal beliefs of how the landscape was formed and a final short walk with Nick we headed to the cultural centre (which was really interesting) and then back to camp.
From here we had a 6 hour trip back to Alice but it went very quickly and easily. It is a shame that our trip here was so short but we did and saw everything we wanted to and had the best time. Also, our beds were comfy, all our food was sorted for us and it was brilliantly organised and guided by Nick. I'm glad we paid a little extra and went on a proper tour than a cheap, budget backpacker one. We didn't have to worry about anything but enjoying the amazing experience of exploring Uluru and Kata-Tjuta.
We didn't have to wait long as after lunch we jumped back in our 4WD coach and drove the 50km to Kata-Tjuta. Kata-Tjuta means 'many heads' in the local language and we could see why, we got some great views of the 32 domed rocks as we drove around to a parking spot.
From here we walked into the Walpa Gorge, formed between the largest dome, Mt. Olga and a neighbouring dome. We walked this with our tour guide, Nick, who gave us some informative little talks along the way about how it was formed, wildlife and aboriginal beliefs. It was a beautiful day with the temperature sitting at around 27C in the sun but dropping dramatically in the shade. This massive heat change is one of the reasons for the massive erosion, the rocks crack after such strains over long periods, eventually forming the incredible shapes and formations we see today. It was really great to be in amongst the huge rocks, all around you are just massive red walks and then looking out and seeing nothing but arid land as far as the eye could see was really strange. After coming out from the middle of the rocks we retreated to a lookout point to see the whole formation together. We left here at about 5.15pm and made our way to the Uluru sunset lookout point.Here, some nibbles and wine were laid out for us ready to watch the amazing changing colour
display on the massive rock. What we saw is difficult to put into words but it was an incredible sight. The colour changing from an ochre brown through to a red then bright orange. The sort of sight that most have seen in pictures but now having seen it for myself, those pictures don't do it justice! It was an incredible feeling to stand and watch something so famous across the world for myself. Once the sun had set and it actually got dark we went back to Yulara and had a BBQ under the stars and around the campfire. After a few glasses of wine and a really long chat with our tour guide (we've made ourselves a friend there!) it was definitely time for bed!!This morning we were off to get close up to Uluru and see the sun rise. We were leaving camp at 6.20am so had to get up at around 5am (again!!) to make sure that everything was ready and we were all fed and watered. We had three options this morning;
1. Climb the rock
2. Watch the sunrise from the dedicated viewing area
3. Walk around the entire base of Uluru whilst the sun comes up.
We decided to go for option 3 and started the 8km walk at 7am. The sun rose at 7.20am and was absolutely spectacular. This was much better than sunset, partly because we were now so close to the rock, but also the way we went from darkness with stars, the moon and a big black rock to
the brightest, most vivid orange imaginable in the space of just a few minutes. Once again, a very difficult thing to put into words, especially for someone so inarticulate as me, but in a word incredible. We continued our walk and loved it, we got to see that it isn't smooth at all, there are so many different features and different types of rock. We got to see that it is also nowhere near the uniform shape that we had imagined. There are massive gulleys and valleys present, it's not just round. We eventually completed our walk at 9am at the start of the climb. We took the decision not to climb as the Anangu (the local traditional owners) request that people don't. This site is sacred to them (and I can now really see why) and only certain initiated men are meant to climb and even then only on very special occasions. Over 35 people have died and many more have been injured on the climb yet people still do it. I think this is incredibly disrespectful. If you went to someones home and they asked you to take your shoes off before you came in you'd do it straight away as it is they're home, they're the boss and it's just polite. It is the same situation here. The Anangu own the rock officially (it was handed back by the government in the 80's), they ask people not to climb it yet some still do. After a few more stories about aboriginal beliefs of how the landscape was formed and a final short walk with Nick we headed to the cultural centre (which was really interesting) and then back to camp.From here we had a 6 hour trip back to Alice but it went very quickly and easily. It is a shame that our trip here was so short but we did and saw everything we wanted to and had the best time. Also, our beds were comfy, all our food was sorted for us and it was brilliantly organised and guided by Nick. I'm glad we paid a little extra and went on a proper tour than a cheap, budget backpacker one. We didn't have to worry about anything but enjoying the amazing experience of exploring Uluru and Kata-Tjuta.
1 comment:
Sounds breathtaking - v jealous. One of my real ambitions.
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