Tuesday 22nd February - Uluru (Ayers Rock) & Kata Tjuta (Olgas)

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Up REALLY early this morning. The coach is picking us up at 05:00 am, so we need to be up at 4.00 am!!! Seems like we have only just gone to bed.

First stop is a vantage point where we can photograph Ayers Rock as the rising suns rays hit the rock. (This is the theory!). We get off the coach and the guide sets up a table where we can get coffee and tea and some snacks, we grabbed a cup of tea/coffee then went up to the supposed vantage point to await the sun coming up at 06:27 am.
There are two problems:
1) There are about 20 coaches here so to get a shot of the Rock without a head in your shot was only possible if half the photograph was half sky
2) As the sun rose there was some cloud on the horizon, so the desired affect was not achieved.

Added to this I did not have a tripod so to get a shot without shake was impossible. I finally moved further down towards where the coach was parked and got some good shots as the clouds obscuring the sun had now started to clear from the sun and the light was starting to catch the rock and there was some reflection, but not the pulsating red colour that you see on the really good photographs.

Next we are off to Kata Tjuta (Olgas), this is a range of rock formations, on a lot bigger scale than Uluru, but does not seem to get the same publicity. This range of rocks are made up of 36 domes. Kata Tjuta is the name given to these rocks which means “many heads” which is essentially what they look like. (Australians seem to name things pretty much based on what they look like, someone on the tour asked "what the bird was that looks like a pigeon but has a crest?", the reply was “ a crested pidgeon”, there are many more examples of this “what it says on the tin” approach to naming “things”.
We walked through the Walpa Gorge which was a 2.6km walk through a valley between two of the “heads” terminating in a water hole. Our guide Adam gave us a talked on the formations that had formed some 500million years ago.
We then returned to our hotel to check out and grab a little lunch before the coached picked us up at around 13:00. As we are eating lunch we see the breaking news report on the TV about the tragic happenings in Christchurch, our tour is due to terminate there on April 3rd when we fly home via Melbourne, although it seems churlish to get concerned about the affect on our vacation when there has been so much loss of lives.
We then head off towards Kings Canyon, passing Mt. Conner along the way, and rendezvousing with another coach to drop off people going to Alice Springs. We stopped at Kings Canyon Station, which is a working ranch raising cattle and camels. The station is nowadays venturing into tourism, with a café, helicopter rides over Kings Canyon and numerous other ventures. The station owner is Ian Conway who is part Aborigine, he does lots of work to support local Aborigines and has set up a trust for this work. We grab some refreshments and change bus for one which will take us to our accommodation in Kings Canyon which is the Kings Canyon Wilderness Lodge and is about 2km away. There is a rumour around the bus that this accommodation is “tents” and Di is starting to look decidedly worried.

We arrive at the Wilderness Lodge and are given an introductory talk by Karen. We are actually staying in tents, but not the type of tents that I have seen before. They are wooden frame with a canvas covering have a hardwood floor. Two normal single beds, and air conditioning. There is an en-suite bathroom separated from the bedroom by a breeze passage that is designed to further cool the accommodation. The bathroom is fully fitted with shower, basin and porcelain WC – Truly 5 star camping! Despite her initial misgivings Di is happy with the accommodation. Our accommodation package is for Bed, Breakfast and Dinner. (This is good as we are miles from anywhere –so there are no other options as regards places to eat!!)

There are no telephones, TV’s or coffee making facilities in the rooms. This is for two reasons. Firstly, to cut down on electricity consumption, the majority of which is supplied by their solar panels. And secondly, in the case of coffee making facilities to prevent attracted ants into the accommodation. In fact there is no TV anywhere on the site, and no chance of a mobile signal, or WIFI access!!! Though it is good to get away from it all for a short spell.

We settled in (not worth unpacking as we are only here for one night). We order some wine from the bar that we can drink on our small deck. (No room service I have to go and collect the wine at the bar) We then shower and get changed and go to the veranda for complimentary drink prior to dinner, and chat with the other guest from Switzerland and mainly Canada.

Dinner is served outside underneath the stars, with two large round tables of 8 people. We have:
• Pumpkin and Quash soup
• Camel (minced and wrapped in parma ham)/Chicken/ Lamb cooked in Aboriginal herbs & spices, served with Jacket Potato, Carrots & Broccoli, Sautéed mushrooms, Corn on the Cob , Homemade Coleslaw, and Cherry Tomatoes
• Apple Crumble and Custard (My favourite!)
The meal was really good, but I don’t think either Di or myself will be rushing to try Camel again as the meat proved to be too strong for our taste.

Prior to desert and coffee, Karen takes us to a darker part of the complex, and using a laser pointer gives us a talk on the night sky and the various stars and constellations.
Port is offered, but there are no takers, some of us had early starts- 04:45 am breakfast!!

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