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Published: April 29th 2011
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First Sighting
It was not long before entering the park that we were able to stop and stare at this famous Australian icon. The colours of the rock changing constantly as the clouds moved in and out of the suns rays. In order to fly to The Red Centre we had to first fly to Cairns and then take an onward flight to Alice Springs only to be greeted by a Qantas steward to announce that our bags had been sent to Sydney by mistake and would be redirected in the morning and flown across to Uluru to await our arrival. To be fair to Qantas we were well looked after and stayed the night in a hotel in Alice Springs along with our survival kit bags of sleeping gear, a hygiene pack and a free taxi ride. We were able to buy a few essential items at the local supermarkets and become acquainted with the town of Alice, somewhat changed since Neville Chute wrote about it in his novel. The only similarity was the hot dry heat and the clear cloudless skies.
Whilst Kevin and Cieran signed the paperwork for the hire of our 4 wheel drive, 4.2 turbo diesel Toyota Land Cruiser Dominic and I went to Coles the supermarket and stocked up with tinned and packet convenience foods and plenty of drinks to support our catering needs as we had been told that food was expensive and limited
Rainbow Valley
The dried up river bed was cracked and dusty and circled the sandstone rock formation of red lined strata. in places. It was quite a challenge but with advice from Cieran from his fruit picking camping days we packed the bags into the back of the car, along with Aero guard, fly nets and tourist information maps.
We also received a telephone call from our immigration lawyer to tell us that our application for permanent residency had been granted a great start to 2011. So with lifted hearts and the surrounding hills around Alice behind us we headed off to drive the 480 kms to Yulara, the accommodation resort situated outside the boarders of the national park. We had initially planned to spend our first night at Rainbow Valley 80 kms south of Alice Springs but were secretly relieved that we were only making a lunch time stop due to the lack of camping facilities, especially as unknown to ourselves then we had not been issued with a tent when the vehicle had been packed! It would have made for a very interesting night.
Rainbow Valley was a beautiful place surrounded by red desert landscape and huge red sandstone rock formations in layered patterns, flanked by a dried river bed and course grassy vegetation. A brief walk took
Mushroom Rock
A sandstone rocky outcrop at Rainbow Gorge. us around the cliffs to Mushroom Rock where Fairy Martins flew around and under the rock canopy disturbed by our arrival and defending their nests attached to the upper walls.
So at 5pm on New Years Eve we arrived at the Yulara resort only to find we had literally everything , including a sink but no tent in the car and no where to sleep. Fortunately we were able to secure one of the remaining rooms at the 5 star hotel across from the campsite courtesy of Britz car hire who promised to deliver the tent the next day. At least we did meet up again with our bags that had been flown into Ulara airport that afternoon.
So in true form we decided to make the most of this camping holiday and enjoy the facilities to the full which included room service, as all the restaurants were booked out and the beer in the mini bar, it was New Years Eve after all. So once washed and fed and feeling refreshed we joined other holiday makers on the resort and celebrated the coming of 2011 and reflected on memories over the past year and looked forward to
Looking Down
Preparing our lunch from the rear of the jeep at the kitchen end, alfresco! forth coming events, especially Alex and Anne’s wedding and a trip to England in July. It was certainly a very quite affair for Cieran in comparison to past parties he had experienced but nothing could have matched the inky black skies and the breathtaking Milky Way that spread above our heads, it was a truly majestically sight. Not many could say they swam in the pool under the stars and made a wish at the shooting stars that sped across the skies.
The next morning was spent swimming in the pool and a drive to the Cultural Information Centre to obtain a greater understanding of the mythical significance of Ulura, formally known as Ayers Rock and its surrounding landscape. It is a World Heritage site and holds many dreamtime stories about the rock’s creation many of thousands of years ago.
The red beacon of Uluru stands 348 metres above ground and is not to be confused with Mt Conner a similar shaped rock towering above the flat landscape 150kms before Uluru on the Red Centre Highway, it tricked us. It is difficult to believe that the Rock reveals only a third of of its size, similar to an
Sunrise at Uluru
We got up early to witness the sunrise over the rock and could also see the changing colours and shapes of Kata Tjuta in the distance. ice-burg that hides its overwhelming enormity with a girth of 9.4kms.
A 32km drive along from the park entry took us to the first viewing spot overlooking Kata Tjuta or The Olgas meaning ‘many heads’ a series of 36 steep sided domes of red sand stone rock offering magnificent views of the ever changing landscape with different walks into the Walpa Gorge along rocky tracks and sheer rock faces soaring either side of you. We returned later during our stay to walk the Valley of the Winds which entailed an early 5.30am rise to descend into the gorge and through the valley before the rays of the sun reached above the gorge and the heat reached dangerous levels of possible heat exhaustion. The view was breath taking and well worth the effort and the walk between the creek beds and the rare plants indigenous to those parts. By the time we were on the return path the track had been closed by the rangers as the temperature had already reached 35’!
We returned to the campsite to erect our tent and unpack our bedding under what little shade there was and finished the day by cooking our first
Changes
The many rock colours of Uluru changed before our eyes. meal on two gas burner rings and a small picnic table. The real camping had begun especially after our return to the campsite the following day after a torrential downpour to find that the awning over our tent had blown off and our clothes bag was sitting in 3 inches of water and the air mattress floating around inside the tent! Fortunately everything was dry by the morning but we soon learnt how severe the weather can be out here and what troubles it can bring with it!
An early start saw the sunrise over Uluru and Kata Tjuta along with coach loads of other people and then breakfast at the foot of Mala Puta where people were climbing the sheer rock face to ascend the rock before 8am when the path would be closed due to high temperatures and dangerous climbing situations. We watched from below and was glad to take the Ranger Guided walk along the foot of the rock and tried to gain a greater understanding about Aboriginal Culture and the Anangu people, about their life and the beliefs of Women’s and Men’s Business and how we could only stand in front of certain areas of
Close up
The unsual vertical strata created grooves and shadows. the rock face for short periods of time due to the spiritual presence of their elders. We were also able to look at examples of Anangu Rock Art and the peacefulness of Kantju Gorge and finish at the Mutitjulu waterhole home of the wanampi, an ancestral watersnake.
The highlight however for the boys was no doubt the helicopter flight out to the rock face of Uluru and then over to Kata Tjuta where the geographical stratus of the sandstone rocks were more clearly understood and appreciated along with the sheer vastness of this magical place.
Look for more pictures below.
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