WE’RE IN AYERS ROCK

SUNDAY 27TH JULY   -  We left Alice Springs and drove for 350 kilometres and reached Curtin Springs Rest Area late in the afternoon.  We had the entire space to ourselves, not sure why, except that there wasn’t a toilet in the rest area, and Curtin Springs Roadhouse wasn’t too far away (obviously a better option for an overnight stay).  We gathered up as much wood as we could find and had a great roaring camp fire in the evening all to ourselves and cranked up U2 songs really loudly.

MONDAY 28TH JULY   -   We left our isolated overnight stop and drove for 110 kilometres until we came into Ayers Rock Resort with cabin, camping and caravan accommodation. There was a special offer on “pay for 3, stay for 4 nights” deal, so we took advantage of the special offer.  It was a very big park with a shuttle bus operating every 15 minutes to take guests into town, around the resort or to the camel farm not too far away.  It was a very well organised resort and the office was open until 9pm every night for arrivals and tour bookings.

As soon as we had set up, we walked up to the Naminga Lookout close to the caravan park for our first glimpse of Uluru.  It looked terrific.  We couldn’t wait to get up close and personal with the rock the next day. 

We also walked to the Imalunga Lookout a short distance from Ayers Rock Resort, which gave us another great view of Uluru.

We walked into the town square for the afternoon free performance by four young talented aboriginal dancers.  We really enjoyed their 30 minute performance.  They got some of the audience up to join in some of the dances also.

We were quite surprised by how many free activities there were in the town square daily:  boomerang and spear throwing , aboriginal painting displays and bush yarns and equipment.

The town square was a busy place with a big IGA supermarket, newsagent, craft and gift shops and a few cafes and restaurants.  

TUESDAY 29TH JULY   -  We drove to the Mala car park for the 10am free guided tour of the Mala Walk around part of the base of Uluru. As we got closer and closer to Uluru we were amazed at the beauty and majesty of The Rock and the many colourful facets and shapes of the rock.  It was completely different close up to what we had anticipated.  It was full of downward ridges and holey craters on the rock face.  It was a different very coarse texture to what we’d imagined and a mixture of ochres, greys and black stripes.  It wasn’t as smooth or solid as you would envisage it to be.  There were lots of bits of rocks jutting out everywhere.  It was a massive monolith.   

Our guide was very informative and told us much of the history of the Anangu people the traditional owners of Uluru.  He told us much about their culture, beliefs, how they hunted and what foods they lived on, also about the medicines available in the bush.  We learnt so much about them and had a greater respect for their family values and how they survived.  We saw many caves at the foot of the rock that were traditional learning caves for young men prior to their initiation into manhood.  We saw the women’s cave for secret business and another shelter cave.  We were surprised at just how many caves there were around the rock.  There were also a few waterholes.

Uluru was created over 600 million years ago.  The aboriginal people have lived in the area for the last 10,000 years.  It originally sat at the bottom of the ocean.

The dimensions of The Rock are:

862.5 metres above sea level

348 metres high (1,141 feet)

3.6 kilometres long (2.2 miles)

1.9 kilometres wide

9.4 kilometres around the base (to walk)

Covers 3.33 square kilometres

2.5 kilometres still underground

The climbing track is a steep 1.6 kilometre hike

The valleys, ridges, caves and unusual shapes were caused by erosion over millions of years.

Richard went for a bike ride around the base of Uluru which took him about an hour or more as he kept stopping for close up photos.

We went to The Sounds of Silence Dinner Under the Stars.  We were picked up at the resort at 5pm by coach and taken out to the viewing platform overlooking Uluru and The Olgas (Kata-Tjuta) to watch the sunset, sipping champagne and eating canapés.  It was the start of a totally magical experience.  When the sun had set, we walked down the hill to our outback dining room with tables set with crisp white tablecloths.  There was an outdoor heater besides each table and subdued lighting.  The wine waiter made sure our glasses never became empty. Each table had 10 diners and we were on a table with an Italian couple on honeymoon, 2 female friends on holiday and another couple from the caravan park.  We had such a fun night.  We were served a pumpkin ravioli entrée with a spicy beef broth, then helped ourselves to a terrific bush inspired buffet, with kangaroo, crocodile, barramundi and quandong a bush type peach.  Dessert was a great selection of goodies in the buffet also, followed by port, coffee and more wine.   A didgeridoo played whilst we were eating.  Then we had a guided tour of the night sky with the resident Star Talker helping us to locate the Southern Cross, signs of the zodiac and the Milky Way.  We couldn’t all make out everything he was trying to show us, but the stars were so clear and bright that it really didn’t matter.  At 9.30 we were picked up and brought back to our hotels. All in all, it was a fantastic experience and well worth the money.

THURSDAY 31ST JULY   -   We went to the other iconic rock formation at Ayers Rock – The Olgas or Kata-Tjuta, in Uluru Kata- Tjuta National Park.  They were absolutely amazing also but so different to Ayers Rock. There were 36 large domed rock formations made of granite, sandstone and basalt.  They cover an area of 21.68 square kilometres.  The highest point Mt. Olga is 3,497 feet above sea level.  The Olgas means “many heads”.  It is a sacred indigenous site.  They were mainly dark brown in colour with burnt orange craters in places.  They also had horizontal and vertical stripes of deeper browns and blacks running through them.  We walked to Walpa Gorge, a beautiful walk between 2 of the rocks.  The colours were stunning with the sun glistening over them.  We also walked up to Valley of the Winds offering further superb views. Unlike Ayers Rock, you can’t drive or walk right around the base of The Olgas. 

We’ve had a fantastic time at Ayers Rock.  We didn’t really know what to expect and it wasn’t really high on our bucket list of things to do.  We just figured we had driven so far into Northern Territory that we may as well check the area out.  The facilities at Ayers Rock were really well thought out and there were free shuttle buses to take you to the tourist destinations.   A lot were within a 10 minute walk. It was a small place, with plenty to do.  Everything survives and depends on tourism.  We can’t recommend it highly enough to anyone wanting an outback Australian experience and we’re very glad we made the effort to come here. 

TRIVIA:   From the start of Stage 3 of this trip 28^th April:

Petrol                                $4,416

Accommodation              $2,518

Nights Free Camped        11 (got to improve on that)

Mileage                             12,117 

ADELAIDE 1978                                              N.T 2014

 

I forgot to put these 2 photos in the last blog.

NEXT WEEK:  We will be going to Kings Canyon for 2 nights, then on to Coober Pedy.