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Published: September 2nd 2012
Kings Canyon and Uluru
29
th August 2012 (Mike’s birthday)
We left camp just before 8am. We called into Alice Springs for fuel, and had morning tea at the Finke River. This is the world’s oldest river, 350 million years old. We saw several wedge tailed eagles as we continued. We had lunch at Mt Ebenezer Roadhouse, which now offers no services at all, then continued to Kings Canyon Resort where we are staying. It was a warm day. After setting up camp we watched the sunset on the ranges from a lookout at the resort. It’s a comfortable place to stay, with grass, all the usual camping facilities, rooms, safari tents and a bar venue. We had birthday cake for dessert. Dingoes howled close to camp after dark.
30
th August 2012
The day started cool and windy, not great weather for a walk around the rim of Australia’s deepest canyon! We set out for the Kings Canyon walk just before 9am. Alex was a bit nervous about the heights and cliffs. The walk starts off with a long stretch of rock steps, and the way continues among weathered sandstone domes. There are cycads and other
interesting plants in crevices in the rock, and vegetation in one sheltered area is called the Garden of Eden, as it is very lush. We had morning tea there by a pool. Spinifex pigeons walked right up to our feet. Mike stumbled and rolled his ankle at one point, on a slope, but was able to keep going luckily. A piece came off our camera as he banged it on a rock but it still (mostly) works. The lookouts across to the sheer, smooth cliff faces are very striking. The smoothness of the cliffs is different to others we’ve seen on this trip. Alex gained confidence as the walk continued. While the walk is somewhat challenging, especially the initial ascent, it is stunning scenery and well worth seeing.
We finished the walk just before lunch, which we ate in the nearby picnic area. Mike then rested his ankle for the rest of the day. Kyle and I did the Kings Creek walk, an easy walk leading to a good lookout up to the canyon walls. We saw a rainbow skink.
Aunty Jillian and Uncle Kevan came over to our camper, they did the rim
walk yesterday and are heading to Uluru tomorrow. I saw a tourist feeding two dingoes in the caravan park in the night.
31st August 2012
We packed up and drove south to Yulara, the small tourist town serving Uluru and Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), arriving at around 12:30pm. We went to the visitor's centre, then checked in to the Ayers Rock Resort Campground. We went to the market square shopping area and watched some traditional aboriginal dances being performed, which were quite entertaining, then bought a few groceries. After an early dinner we went to watch the sun set over Uluru, which was lovely, especially with the full moon rising. I haven't been here since 1981, when I came with my family and climbed Uluru. That time we camped in the old campground, near the rock. There was a random breath test road block on the way back to Yulara! Uncle Kevan and Aunty Jillian have arrived here too. I saw rabbits in the campground at night.
1st September 2012
Spring has arrived! We've basically missed winter entirely with our northern travelling. We went out to Uluru, arriving at about 8:40am. Whilst
we understand the Anangu aboriginals ask visitors not to climb the rock, we decided that it's an amazing experience and we would join the thousands who do climb. Today there was a sign up that the climb was closed due to very strong winds (and the winds in the carpark were very strong) so we decided to walk around the base of the rock. This is about 10km around, and there are some caves and artwork to see along the way. We also saw a red and black mistletoe bird. When we got back to the carpark just after noon, the climb had reopened. I think it had only just reopened because no-one was visible on it, people were just starting out as we got back. We weren't up for that after the 10km walk, so we will see whether it is open in the morning. We went into the town square and had an icecream, and Alex got a book by a local indigenous man, Bob Randall, who was at the bookshop and signed it for Alex. He also gave us a CD of his songs.
2nd September 2012
The day dawned clear, cool and
calm. The Uluru climb was open, so we started up. The rock is 348m high, taller than many skyscrapers. The first part of the climb is steep and there is a chain to hold on to. After that it was a bit like rock dunes, going up and down along the painted trail markers as we slowly ascended. There were a number of people already coming down when we started at 8:15am. We had quite a few rests on the chain section, so we moved fairly slowly. Alex was a bit nervous at first, but gained confidence as we went. It's a pretty challenging climb. We reached the top at about 10am and had our morning snack sitting in a hollow on top of the rock, enjoying the achievement and the serenity of the views. There are views across to Mt Connor in one direction and to the Olgas. There are also interesting views of different parts of the rock as you climb. While we were at the top we got a text message from Mum; that certainly wasn't possible when I was last there in 1981! Coming down took us about 1.5 hours.
We drove to the Olgas
(Kata Tjuta) dune viewing area for lunch, then did the Walpa Gorge walk. This is an easy 1-hour walk between two massive stone domes. A creek sometimes runs here, and there is some vegetation including some lush spearwood plants. Half of the walk was in shade, which was nice as it had warmed up quite a lot. We met Uncle Kevan and Aunty Jillian who were returning from the walk.
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