We passed some remote cattle stations and a few petrol stations but otherwise there was not much else around. The soil was certainly becoming redder and Trace was keen to bag some of the sand for her collection of “special artefacts” that she has collected throughout our trip. Although they’ve taken up a lot of our space in the caravan, she assured us that we’d look back at them in our house and remember the very special places that we’ve been.
As we drove and the kids watched another movie in the back, we could see in the distance what looked like a very large rock. Neither of us knew exactly whether it was Uluru but it sure looked like it. As we came closer it was obvious that it wasn’t Uluru but Mt Connor, another very large rock but possibly without as much cultural significance as Uluru.
Most people, I think, are unaware that the Yulara village and accommodation you stay in at Uluru is actually about 10km from the rock itself. It has been very well set up for tourists to visit and although the camping area was not the cleanest of places, as we were to find out, the hotels, apartments and restaurants all looked quite nice.
Uluru is considered a sacred site by native Aborigines called the Anangu tribe and they are the traditional land owners. Uluru is estimated to be around 600 million years old and when you walk around the base of this massive sandstone monolith you can certainly feel the spirits of ancestors past.
It stands approximately 348 metres above sea level at the tallest point and in-fact the majority of its mass is actually underground. Although it is not illegal to climb Uluru, out of respect for the traditional owners we chose not to as do a lot of people these days.
The actual base walk around Uluru is about 10km, one which Ruby and Jem weren’t too keen to do, so we settled for some shorter walks which past some waterholes, rock art and sacred sites. Josh and Oscar deciding they would come back at a later date to ride around the base.
Following our walk, we settled in for the afternoon, cranked up the air-conditioning and went for a swim. Unfortunately the camping area was full of school groups and the facilities were crowded with young self-conscious teenagers, including the very small pool.
This massive rock is truly an amazing sight and as we watched the sunset with our children, drinking a beer and eating some nibbles we once again had to pinch ourselves as to how lucky we have been this year to experience all that we have. And, besides the German tourists who were smoking and standing directly in front of our chairs that we had strategically placed at the front of the viewing platform, the night was magical.
After a dinner of Indian food, Jem was sick for some reason and we were up most of the night caring for him. Only later did we discover that Yulara campground had a gastro outbreak. As usual, being the trooper he is, the next day he was ready to go again for the walk around the the Olgas.
Our next day took us out to Kata Tjuta - the Olgas, 25km east of Uluru. The 36 large dome-like formations are composed of conglomerate, a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders and cemented by sandstone. As you walk through the gorge forming rocks you can see how they have been glued together with the sandstone to form these imposing structures.
The day was very hot and after a late start in the morning the kids only felt like attempting the Walpa Gorge walk. Although it was beautiful, it was fairly short so it would have been nice to explore a bit more but with Jem recovering from his night of illness and the heat building we gave the Valley of the Winds a miss. A stop at the Kata Tjuta dune viewing area on the way home provided a beautiful landscape of the Olgas in all their glory and Uluru in the distance.
That afternoon, Josh and Oscar took their bikes back to Uluru and rode the 10km base walk. They both thoroughly enjoyed it, the changing colours, the serenity and the lack of people. Our next day would bring another 305km drive to Kings Canyon.
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