A Town Called Alice (Springs)

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As you can imagine with 14 people, all with their own agendas, trying to get a consensus on how the trip to Uluru was going to happen caused a lot of discussion. In the end 3 people decided not to go as they had been before, 4 of us opted for the organised tour, and the remaining 7 hired a car and made their own way (including an overnight camp at Curtain Springs as the hire conditions didn't allow for night driving).

So - an early start for us with a 5.45 pickup and then a tour round the town doing other pickups from hostels and hotels before setting off. Nice comfortable air conditioned coach and a stop at Curtain Springs Roadhouse for a large buffet breakfast, before our first sightseeing stop to view Mount Connor. Now you would be forgiven for thinking that this is Uluru when the giant red rock appears in sight, but when you get to the real sight you can understand the difference. 550 million years ago the top of it was at ground level, so erosion has changed the landscape beyond comprehension. Another stop at Yulara which is the town nearest to the National Park to pick up some more passengers (and lunch) and for a driver change, before heading into the park itself.

First stop in the park was at Kata Tjuta (commonly known as the Olgas) which literally means 'many heads'. Mount Olga is the largest of these 36 domes and we had the chance to walk between 2 of them. Because of the torrential rainfall that has occurred during January (twice the annual rainfall in just one month) it is much greener that it would normally be and there are water pools and you can see where the rain has cascaded down some of the gorges.

From there we visited the Cultural Centre and then to Uluru itself. We did two walks and saw some cave paintings and heard some of the myths and legends behind this amazing sight.

Finally to the sunset viewing area where we were treated to a champagne barbecue while we watched the changing colours of the great rock before heading back to Alice Springs - back in the tents at about 1.30 am.

We were so lucky with the knowledgeable drivers, and their running commentary about the area, that although expensive, it was definitely the way to see Ayres Rock.

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