Sunrise base walk and onwards to Kings Creek

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Entry by Jules

Tuesday 16/12/08

I had a reasonable amount of sleep, although I did have to get up to nip to the loo at 1am. I was pretty surprised I managed to force myself into the short walk across the campsite to the toilet block given my imagination of being attacked by all manner of creepy crawlies, snakes, dingos etc etc. Nonetheless I made it and even succeeded in my task through the haze of moths swarming around the lights and the array of beetles scuttling around the floor.

I was woken at 4am by Mark banging on our tents; Rich was woken by the dingos howling at 3am. As it was still dark we benefitted from another view of the stars across the sky, including the southern cross, as well as the almost full moon high in the sky (the moon didn't appear until about 10pm the previous night and stays high in the sky until mid morning).

After breakfast we headed on the bus to Uluru for our sunrise base walk. Not all the group walked the entire base of the monolith but myself, Rich and Louise were determined not to miss out on this experience. Up close Uluru is not smooth as it appears on many of the well known images we have seen previously; it comprises many undulations, indentations, caves, crevises and holes, all of which represent a different meaning to the Anangu people and a range of stories, or dreamings, are associated with the various parts of the rock.

Throughout the walk, as the sun rose, it was incredible to see the various colours of the sandstone created from the combination of sunlight, shadowing and the rocks surface. Parts of the walk were through wooded glades giving the area a very tranquil feel. This combined with our relatively lone walk around the base emphasised the spiritual nature of the place. The tribe which live around Uluru are called the Mala. During the last section of the base walk Mark guided us through the various caves and sacred spots to the Mala, explaining the dreamings which the tribe associate with each part.


Following a quick visit to the Cultural Centre in the National Park we returned to base camp for lunch, shower (accompanied by a black and white bird, similar to a magpie but much nicer, singing on the rafters of the shower block building) and pack up before heading off to our next campsite at Kings Creek Station. En route we passed Mount Conner, another rock feature just 2 metres lower than Uluru but not so famous as it comprises more than one rock type. It is often mistaken by tourists as Uluru but is actually very different as it is a table top mountain (formed in a u-shape which is not obvious from the highway).

It is worth mentioning here that many of the features in this area have largely been named by the various explorers which have discovered them. Such names are not necessarily those of the explorers themselves but often of the names of the owners of the companies which they worked on behalf.

As we left Lasseters Highway to head in a more northerly direction it was clear to see the change in the landscape from flat, fairly barren planes to more undulations and rolling hills to a harsher environment characterised by steep sided ranges and ridgelines.

Upon arrival at Kings Creek Station we were all in need of some relaxation time and certainly a trip to the shower block. We decided to take a short dip in the pool at the campsite first. This was a bit of a risk as the water was murky from the sulphur water taken from the local borehole and comprises a variety of creatures including water beetles (and apparently others in the pool fished out a dead frog before we arrived).

That evening the group prepared dinner comprising two chicken dishes cooked in pots on the burning coals in the camp fire, a pumpkin and potato stew and a damper. A damper is a type of bread which has a scone-like texture and taste but is truly amazing after a long day walking in the heat. We ate our fill of the meal before sitting around the camp fire and again looking at the millions of stars in the nights sky.

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