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Published: October 1st 2007
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Quick run before the timer goes off!!
I nearly fell in the canyon on the first 2 attempts.... Well this next section of our campervan adventures is basically a big loop of a journey (1134km) which we spread out over 5days/4nights. We headed down the Stuart Highway, along the Lassiter Highway and into the very small 'town' of Yulara. Yulara isn't really a town, it is just a collection of Hotels and Campsites set up to service the tourists visiting Uluru etc.
The campsite was the most expensive we have stayed at due to the fact that it is the only one and no camping is allowed in the National Park itself. This price increase of $7 translated into worse facilities and no free pancakes!!
Having arrived late in the afternoon we checked in and set straight off to see the Sunset at Uluru (along with every man and his dog!) There is a lay-by setup for parking and viewing of the sunset and although there were lots of people it didn't feel too crowded.
The sunset itself was quite a spectacle with the rock changing through various shades of orange and red until the sun disappeared and it finally went black!! The next morning we set off early to do the base walk of Uluru,
a 10km trek around the rock. There is an option to climb the rock although the local aboriginals ask that you don't - this doesn't stop any Australians and you can hear all the bragging at the campsite about how many times they have climbed, how quickly they did it etc!!
The walk around the rock was very interesting as it gave us a close up view of all the different angles and faces that the rock has developed over time. There were also a few aboriginal stories dotted around to keep you interested. The only thing that was annoying was those damm 'outback flies' again!! The temperature on the day was about 35degrees so the 3 hour trek was quite tiring and we went through loads of water!
After a brief sandwich in the van we headed over to the less famous but equally impressive rock formations of Kata Tjuta. These are only about 50km away from Uluru but it is surprising how many people don't go over there. As we were a bit pushed for time we just did a couple of sections of 2 different walks. This gave us a fantastic look out from the
Valley of the Wind walk and the amazing sight of the Walpa Gorge.
The reason for our rush was that we were booked for a sunset camel ride back near Uluru. Riding through the outback on the camels was great fun and very informative. The camels have a long history in Australia and we were surprised to learn that there are approx. 800,000 wild camels roaming the outback!! They were brought into Australia to be used to transport things over long distances that horses could not manage and have spread ever since.
From here we headed to Kings Canyon, we had decided to go here on a recommendation we received back in Alice and were very glad that we did. Following on from our walking of the previous days we took on the Kings Canyon Rim Walk, a 4 hour 7.2km trek up on to the rim of the canyon, round the rim and back down the other side. This walk also took in 2 diversions, to a fantastic lookout and the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden was welcome relief from the sun as it was a shaded water hole at the far end of the
Canyon.
We set out early for this walk as it was described as being 'dangerous' to do in the midday sun. We left at 8.45am and the temperature was 30degrees in the shade!! The walk was really good and offered us some fantastic views of a landscape quite different from those we had seen at Uluru and Kata Tjuta. We even managed to see a bit of wildlife, spotting several large and weird looking insects and a beautiful lizard. It was a wonder we saw the lizard however as when Vicky spotted him she let out an almighty scream as he was right in front of her face as climbed some rocks!! He did calm down though and was happy to pose on a rock for us sunning himself at the same time.
From here it was a long drive back to Alice Springs for a 2 night stopover and a chance to catch up on some laundry and internet time. From Alice we have headed back up to Tennant Creek and we will be going East to the mining town of Mt Isa next.
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Cockers
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Photography Skills
Very impressed by your photos, perhaps you can teach batty when you get back.