Alice Springs - Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park

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Monday 10th January

We've arrived at Alice springs!
Once our bags were taken off the train we headed to our shuttle bus that then took us to the Alice Springs Lodge hostel.
Its baking hot by the way!! We reckon about 36oC and upwards, its almost unbearable standing for too long exposed to the sunshine. We were warned!
When we arrived at our hostel all the dorms are fully booked and we get our reservation upgraed to a twin room for the price of the dorm. Its a blessing in disguise as we have our own fridge and two air con units in the room.

The usual unpacking of bags before showering followed and we then set off together into the town of Alice Springs fully covered from head to toe with factor 30 sunblock!

Alice Springs has a population of 27,481 people, which makes up 12 percent of the Northerb territory's population. Theres lots of aboriginal people hanging around and by god they sure do smell! No offense to them but we were holding our breaths when they pass as they are that bad.

Not much too see up the town but we've stocked up with foodstuff from the local supermarket and head for home.

Once back at the hostel Jill retires to her usual resting place by the swimming pool whereas I did my usual lying in bed reading.
The Alice Lodge hostel is a great wee place. There's free breakfast in the morning as well as free tea and coffee all day. They even have a free food fridge where people have leftt their leftover food before moving on as Alice Springs is sometimes the last stop before leaving Oz for some backpackers.

We are being picked up on Wednesday morning for our Ayres rock tour so we must check into the office Tuesday to let them know we're here.
Dinner was served under a brilliant star filled sky and we waddled off to bed early doors as we are feeling the effects of the broken sleep on the long train journey. Theres lots of insects buzzing around outside due to the above average wet weather which produces more insect eating spiders and lizards and its not long before we have an unwelcome visitor in our room!
A large huntsman spider decided to move my rucksack out the way and then shift my bed aside before he could go to sleep in the corner....😊
Being an expert in spider bites I kindly asked him to leave or face death by trainer. Well we felt bad killing him as he looked a beauty. He's about 3 inches wide and has very nice markings and most importantly not poisonous. We shooed him out and quickly shut the door. That enough excitement for one night thank you very much!

Tuesday 11th January

Last nights good sleep was made even better by the fact we had our free breakfast of cereal, toast and tea before wandering off into town. Its a five minute walk from here into town which is just perfect in this heat. We arrived at the rock tour office and checked in and are told that we will be picked up outside our hostel at 6am sharp!! Oh dear!
Another scorching hot day and another day of doing nothing! We are fully fit for tomorrows adventure and by the sounds of it we will be hiking about 25km over the next three days.
We've packed our big bags and got them safely secured into the long stay cupboard in the hostel. After dinner we watch TV and took a sensible early night as the alarm is set for 5am!

Wednesday 12th January

Its like dawn of the dead as we stumble about with half shut eyes at 5.30am and we just about finished our breakkie when the bus appeared at our door to pick us all up. Theres about another 8 from our hostel doing the tour and we pick another 12 up from various other hostels around Alice Springs on route to the road out of town.

We are introduced to Dave who was to be our tour guide and bus driver for the next three days. Dave is from sydney and 24 years old.
Dave gets us up to the front of the 22 seater bus one at a time to introduce ourselves. Over the micorphone we have to say our names, where we're from, our favorite plave in the world, travel tip for that area, our superpower(if we could have any one what would it be) and finally decribe our first and last kiss! Talk about an introduction!
I was about the fourth one up and it went pretty smoothly as did Jills. It was a good way to break the ice with fellow passengers and it passed a good hour of travelling.
We each wrote our names in blue pen on the bus windows where we were sat so people could remember each others names better which is a geat idea. We have six Germans, four Swedish, two Taiwanese, two Japanese and three Belgians, one English girl and one Italian. A fair mix we all agree!

Our first stop was a quck twenty minute stop at a camel farm where we met some racing camels. Some people took a ride on the camels but we've been there done that in Egypt and learned our lesson harshly in the process.

We are coasting along on a very straight road called the Lasseter Highway which is the only road to Ayres rock from Alice springs and is about 460km in total taking us about 5 hours by bus.
We stopped off at Curtain Springs which was a petrol station stroke shop located slap bak in the middle of the outback. There's a few wild emu's wandering about in the forecourt which was cool to watch.
Once fuelled up we hit the road and stopped a short distance later and got out and we thought we had arrived at Ayres rock only to be told we were looking at Fool Uluru which is actually called Mount Conner. Its nicknamed Fool Uluru as it looks very much like Ayres rock from afar but its not. In fact its bigger than Ayres rock but has not much feature to it and isnt as impressive as the real thing. We'll soon find out.
We had a stretch of the legs in a lay by here and admired the views of the plains. We passed some wild Camels trekking across the bush as well as the odd snake slithering across the road. Its not far until we enter the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park where we will begin our first hike.

Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park is UNESCO World Heritage-listed. The park covers 2010 square kilometres and includes the features it is named after - Uluru / Ayers Rock and, 40 kilometres to its west, Kata Tjuta / Mount Olga.

After another hour of driving, there, out of nowhere we see Ayres Rock! Wow, even from this afar it looks amazing. Its not long before we are meandering on the outback road around and past the rock until we stop at the Mala car park to begin our base walk. Exciting stuff!
Dave gives us a little bit of history and information on the rock before asking us to kindly adhere to the no camera signs that are dotted along the base of the rock. There are lots of sacred sites along Uluru and its forbidden to take photos as its Aboriginal Law and they own this land.

The world-renowned sandstone formation stands 348 metres high (863 m ft above sea level) with most of its bulk below the ground, and measures 9.4 km in circumference.
Its estimated to be around 600 million years old.

We start the 10.8 Kilometre hike and work our way around the rock admiring the many different rock formations and vegetation that's in abundance in and around the walkways. Its a lot grener that i thought it would be but this is due to the high rainfall recently.

At certain points you can walk on the rock and even enter some of the wave like caves which are mind baffling as the rocks look like a giant tidal wave about to crash down. Theres also a couple of spring water pools at the foot of the higher rock which has discoloured the rock black in places as algae has built up over the years.
We reach our first stop on foot 3km from our starting position and here we refill our water bottles while Dave explains some features to watch out for as we begin our next 3km leg around to the next car park and water stop. Its important to drink at least 1 litre of water a hour out here as its scorching hot and dehydration is a killer. Its around 38oC today and although the water tastes funny out the taps, your glad of it. We are all split up now and Jill and I are way out in front and reached the next water stop first wishing we'd taken the bus round!

The final leg around the base towards our starting point takes another hour and its taken roughly 3 to 4 hours to complete the base walk. It is heavy going due to heat but not impossible as the paths are flat all the way around with plenty of shaded areas to hide under. Theres lots of beautiful rocks, holes, cave and markings along the way as you can see from the photos.

Once we have completed the walk we board the bus and drive to the view point car park to watch the sun setting which was pretty cool although we didnt get the promised changing of colours as much as we would have liked. Dave cooked us a roadside meal of chicken noodles and we all had a couple of beers until it got very dark and time to return to the camp site for the night.

Our beds for the nights are called swags which are sleeping bags with a mattress built into it so basically you climb in and zip yourself up and that you for the night!
I was expecting tents but no, none.
Theres no nice soft grassy patches to sleep on here so its the bare ground for us and we gingerly got into our swag's and zipped up for the night at around 9pm! I wonder how many bites we'll get tonight?
Within 2 hours it started to pour down heavy with rain and most of us dived into the shelter with our swags and all lay under the cover of the metal shack for the night. Its far too hot in the Swag through the night and lo and behold the insects are having a feast!

Thrusday 13h th January

4.30am!! Dave gets us all up and its like day of the dead as we all get our stuff together and get freshened up before boarding the bus to head for the sunrise car par a couple of miles away.
Once at the car park we are treated to a lovley sunrise over the Rock which was cool as the colours changed slightly on the rock as the sun got higher and also the distant redness of the morning skies were awesome.
My right hand has swollen up to three times the size of the other and it looks like a spider has come back to get me as I have a spidey bite on my wrist. Little bugger!

Breakfast consisted of cereals, toast and tea or coffee and we were welcome for it as most of us are pretty rough as we've all had two very early starts on the trot with a rubbish sleep in a swag inbetween.

We head for Kata Tjuta / Mount Olga which is not far away and is of the same rock as Ayres only different in the fact its made up of lots of smaller rocks whereas Ayres is one big rock.
Kata Tjuta, (Kata Joota), and also known as Mount Olga (The Olgas), are a group of large domed rock formations or bornhardts. The 36 domes, cover an area of 21.68 km2 and are composed of conglomerate, a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders of varying rock types including granite and basalt, cemented by sandstone. The highest point, Mount Olga, is 1,066 m (3,497 ft) above sea level, or approximately 546 m above the surrounding plain.

We set off on the long walk through the The Olgas and we each took a 2 litre bottle of water with us as our first water stop is not for at least another hour and a half. We could see Mount Olga towering above us as we walked up some very rough paths and around the Mountain. The rocks are very different here from Ayres as its made up of Pudding rock. If you could imagine a xmas cake mix then that's what it looks like hence the name.
We walked and walked until at last we stopped at a beautiful divide between the large Olga domes.

The scenery is outstanding here as we admire the steep sides of the cliffs along with the green vegetation dotted along the valley floor which outlined our path. That path should take us back around the other side of the Olga's and eventually to the car park where we began.
Dave took great delight and telling us we had only 3km to go and with that we set off again and kept sipping water as we went. You cant help but stop every so often to admire the views and towering domes of rock dotted along the horizon as its gorgeous with the sun shining brightly across the range casting a wide variety of shadows.

We finally made it back and we're totally pooped out and are glad of the aircon in the bus as we are driven to the cultural center museum back at the base of Ayres rock. We spent a couple of hours here and had a late lunch before setting off on a 3 hour drive to our next campsite at Kings Canyon. Most of us slept on the bus when suddenly we stopped for no apparent reason.

Halfway towards Kings Canyon camp site Dave asks us to come with him to go digging for widgety grubs at the side of the road! Dave shows us how to find them in the roots of a certain tree and its not long before most of us are digging for grubs. Myself and two other all succeed in finding a grub each so we return the bus and got the camping stove out, fried them off and had a taste. I couldn't eat them raw, although you can, but cooked they tasted like egg white which makes sense as they are full of protein and very nutritious.

We set off again and stopped near the camp to collect firewood from the side of the roads and plains surrounding us until we had enought to see us through the night.
On arriving at the campsite we are surprised to see the facilities are excellent. They have brand new showers and a swimming pool so its no long before we are in and cooling off in the pool before getting freshened up in time for teatime.
There's a large Preying Mantis keeping an eye on me in the shower area and then as im brushing my teeth ive got a large Huntsman spider looking down on me but its all good and part and parcel of camping the outback.
Apparently I missed a large venomous brown snake slithering through the site,Jill saw it along with Dave and a couple of others and it was meant to be a beauty!

Dave has constructed a camp fire and is cooking our dinner of chilli con carne and rice over some hot embers in a separate hollow in the ground.
We all have a great laugh sitting around the campfire drinking beer and Dave got his little guitar out and starts to sing songs for a hour which was excellent as he is a quite a good singer and his guitar skills are also good. The stars are out in their full glory tonight and its not long before people start dropping off to sleep around the camp fire in their swag bags. I decided to sleep on my swag rather than in it as its warm enough with the fire going which is also helping to keep insects away.

Friday 14th January

Its our last day and we're off to the Kings Canyon and once there we are advised to wear lots of sunblock aswell as carry plenty of water as its easily 40oC this morning and getting warmer.
We are on our way through the Canyon and climbing the rocky steps that takes us higher and higher to the point the views start becoming breathtaking for more reasons than one!
Once up the summit Dave tells us a little bit about the place and we carry on through the rocks and Canyons trying to keep to the shaded areas where possible.
The scenery is awesome up here and the path takes you on a windy adventure through cracks in the rock as well as over some rough boulders which adds to the fun.
We eventually reached Canyon Creek where the Garden of Eden is. Here the vegetation is lush and in abundance due to the constant rain water that sits on the creek floor. We clambered down some steep steps and over the gorge on the bridge and headed for the Creek pool where hopefully we'll get a refreshing swim.
Wow the pool at the end of the walk here is amazing and so hidden away from the beaten track as no one is here yet! It takes very little encouragement to get everyone in for a swim. Its a bit chilly in the water but once your in its actually fine and its a much needed cool down after the long walk through the Canyon Creek.
Dave's got the biscuits and cakes on the go for a snack and its not long before we are heading back up more steps and high above the Canyon and Creek to the point we're now looking back down at the Canyon we've just walked and climbed through.
Its very nice indeed beingup here but its lacking shade so after a quick group photo we hurry on through the Canyon top and downwards to begin our long descent to the valley floor and the car park area. I think we covered another three or four kilometres today and by now the legs are aching along with hot skin which has taken a beating from the sun.

That kind of concluded our tour of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park tour as by the time Dave was half hour down the road towards Alice Springs everyone was fast asleep.

When we got back four hours later to Alice we are itching for a shower and comfy bed.
Back at the Alice Lodge they have upgraded us free of charge to a private twin room again due to the dorms being full. Great! A proper shower and a proper bed here we come!

What a great way to finish off our 8 week tour of Australia. Its been a great experience although it has been very expensive as the Aussies seem to rely on tourist's money and overcharge for practically everything so take note.
We've been to some far out places and wonderful locations around the world so far and Australia gets the thumbs up although I doubt ill come back.
Oz severely lacks its own culture and is slowly becoming the new America with its immigrant problem and its desire to constantly build skyscrapers in the cities. It's a bit samey samey bar a few places and the cities lack any real punch apart from Sydney.
However we've no regrets coming to visit and I would advise others to do so if you haven't already.
Thanks for the memories Oz!! 😊

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