Uluru
Uluru or Ayers Rock is a place that should be on everyone’s bucket list.
The first thing that hits you as you sight the rock when getting off the plane is how big it is. Then you realise you are still 30km away from it.
After a nice quiet flight to Ayers Rock Airport we are taken by bus to the Yulara resort complex.
All the different accommodation options are all owned by the one company and are situated around a small loop road of about 400 mtrs diameter.
We have opted for a basic hotel style room at the Outback Pioneer Hotel & Lodge. Here you can stay in either a hotel style room or a shared hostel style room with on site cooking facilities.
After getting in and having a late lunch we only had an hour or so to kill before being picked up for Uluru sunset viewing & Sounds of Silence dinner followed by the Field of Light viewing.
The food, for a dinner held in the middle of nowhere, was excellent. Unfortunately it was a cloudy night as part of the nights’ entertainment was an astronomer with a laser talking about the stars & constellations above.
The Field of Light whilst being quite a spectacular presentation was very difficult to photograph as we were not permitted to go back up to the higher vantage points we were at for the sunset viewing.
Next morning we were up bright & early for a 5:30am pick up to get in position for the Uluru sunrise viewing followed by a trip out to the Olgas or as they are now known, Kata Tjuta.
A beautiful morning with a few clouds to add contrast & catch the early orange rays of light to contrast against the rock.
After the sunrise viewing we were taken out to Kata Tjuta for a bit of a walk through it.
Later in the day we decided that as we had the time we should book in for a helicopter flight over Uluru & Kata Tjuta.
It was a great experience except for the fact that Brian was demoted to the back seat as he is the heavier of the two!
The following morning Brian headed out to the airport to pick up a hire car so we could drive to Kings Canyon which is 325kms off to the west.
Before leaving we took the opportunity to spend a few more hours out at the rock to have a wander & take a few shots from different positions as we had only been out there for the sunset & sunrise tours. We were a bit disappointed that we didn’t have time to walk the circumference of Uluru.
You can still walk up the rock till October 2019. Having originally thought we would walk up the rock we were quite happy not to do so even if we did have the time.
Once being here you can understand how Uluru has had a spiritual effect over the indigenous people over the centuries.
On the way we got a closer look at Mt. Conner which you can see in the far distance in the helicopter shot of Uluru.
Whereas Uluru, which is 3.6km long, 2.4km wide & 348 mtrs high, Mt. Conner 3km long, 1.2km wide & 300 mtrs high.
In older times travelers have been fooled into thinking they have seen Uluru when in fact they have seen Mt. Conner.
On the way we stopped at Kings Creek Station and had to try the camel burgers which were really good.
We arrived at the Kings Canyon Resort late in the day and we were told that across the way there is a bit of a lookout to watch the sunset over the McDonnell Ranges where drinks will also be served. Didn’t have to ask us twice.
That night after dinner Brian wanted to try his hand at astral photography (photographing the night skies) as there would be no light pollution this far out & he had never tried it before. Very happy with first time results.
The following day we rose relatively early as we wanted to do the Kings Canyon rim walk early in the day before it got hotter.
The rim walk is a 6km loop, which doesn’t sound that far but was much more difficult than a level 6 km walk. The start of the walk ascends quite steeply & you spend the first 20 odd minutes going up which gets the legs & blood pumping. From there the walk takes you around the cliff tops, giving scenic views across the landscape for many miles, through the “Garden of Eden” which is a rockhole surrounded by rare plants.
The walk took us just over 2 hours & a healthy appetite was worked up & sated by pretty good hamburgers back at the Kings Canyon pub.
After lunch we decided to do another walk at Kathleen Springs. Signs along the track tell stories of Aboriginal Culture and the recent cattle industry. It leads to a spring-fed waterhole at the head of Kathleen Gorge. This is a cool moist place to sit and enjoy the area’s tranquility.
That night we wandered over to the pub which had a chef’s BBQ & a singer over at the quaintly named Thirsty Dingo Bar.
Amazingly whilst we were sitting there a thristy dingo wandered in!
The following day was a drive back to Ayers Rock airport for the flight home.
Like a lot of travel in Australia, it is expensive to go out there.
Having said that, it’s a good bet that we will return again one day.
Maguire Travel 