July 4 - 8

Day 94 – July 4 – Curtin Springs -> Yulara

Leaving Curtin Springs we saw five camels in the wild – appropriate because Ben’s camel in Broome was named ‘Connor’ after Mt Connor where he was caught – maybe this was Connor’s family?

We saw our first glimpse of Uluru when we were still 50 km away! The kids were very excited.

We booked into the Yulara campground and then went to the Cultural Centre, and did a lap around the rock. It’s hard to believe the size of it! It looks huge even from a few kilometres away. From a distance the rock looks smooth and symmetrical, but up close you can see all the indentations, pot holes and ridges that make interesting shapes and patterns. Saw lots of people climbing it – it looks so steep! Bruce and Michelle can’t believe they climbed it 14 years ago (before the local indigenous people requested you not to climb). It’s interesting to watch the colours change as sunlight and shadow passes over the rock.

We drove out to Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) – an equally impressive rock formation. We had lunch at the picnic area then commenced the arduous Valley of the Winds walk. We hiked 7.4km in 3 hours amongst the huge domes of conglomerate rock, up steep lookouts with awesome views then back through the valley. By the end of it we were pretty tired. We went back to the same picnic table to watch the sunset over the Olgas but since the sky was completely covered with cloud, the sky only changed from light grey to dark grey. We had bacon and egg rolls while we waited and then two minutes before sunset, the clouds parted and the rocks glowed a beautiful bright orange, long enough to take a couple of photos.

Day 95 – July 5 – Yulara

We woke an hour and a half before dawn to head in to watch sunrise over Uluru but heard raindrops on the roof as the alarm went off in the dark. We continued on regardless and saw the rock emerge from the darkness, but hardly a spectacular sunrise. Erin and Luke had prime viewing position on top of Winnie! Bruce did some running repairs on the bikes in preparation for our 10km ride around Uluru.

When you walk or ride around Uluru you appreciate how huge it is 3.5km long and 10km around the base. We were glad to be riding our bikes as we’re not sure we would have been able to walk that far after yesterday’s hike. It was very cold but thankfully the rain held off. It was such a serene place with very few people doing the walk. We saw a lovely gorge and a waterhole and lots of interesting rock shapes – even some like Wave Rock in WA. The kids had lots of fun racing around on their bikes. It is amazing that the aborigines have lived here for 20,000 years but the only evidence is a few examples of rock art.

Back to the cultural centre to thaw out with hot chocolate and soup. Then we spent the afternoon relaxing in the motorhome in a prime parking position where we could watch Uluru and where the boys could play in the dirt. Sunset was a non-event but we enjoyed the view nonetheless.

Day 96 – July 6 – Yulara -> Kings Canyon

We attempted to see the sunrise again this morning but yet again we were provided with grey skies completely covered in cloud. Oh well! We had one last look at the waterhole and a drive around Uluru. On the first day the kids were saying ‘Wow!’ and ‘Amazing!’ but today we could hardly get them to look up from their books.

We stocked up on food at the expensive Yulara supermarket then drove out to Kings Canyon. Lovely views of cliffs and escarpments greeted us. We stayed in an unpowered site at Kings Canyon Resort. Still freezing! About 3 degrees C overnight. Brrrrrrrr….

Day 97 – July 7 – Kings Canyon

We treated ourselves to a sleep-in after the last 2 pre-dawn wake-up calls. We then went into Kings Canyon and did the 6km Rim walk. It was freezing and cloudy the whole day so we kept our jumpers and beanies on. We made it up the steep ascent at the beginning then enjoyed a leisurely 4 hour stroll through the beehive domes at the top and down to the waterhole at the Garden of Eden, then back across the top with amazing views of the sheer cliff face.

To celebrate the end of our planned sightseeing activities we treated ourselves to a yummy dinner of pizza and burgers in the Bistro. We overheard someone say that on Tuesday Yulara had a maximum of 6 degrees C. No wonder we felt cold!

Day 98 – July 8 – Kings Canyon -> NT / SA Border

Still overcast and cold. We did 2 small walks this morning, the Kings Creek walk and Kathleen Springs walk, both in the same national park as Kings Canyon. Both leisurely strolls around creek beds and beneath red cliffs. Very pretty.

We sadly said good bye to the last of the national parks and headed south, staying at a rest stop on the NT / SA border.