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Published: December 1st 2014
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We were up early so hadn't really had much sleep what with moving camp in the middle of the night and being woken up so early by the other group. However we all seemed to be in a good mood so no one really minded. We all took advantage of the showers and Rob organised breakfast, whilstvwrcatechevdecorated our bus in Halloween theme bless him.
So with breakfast over and the bus and trailer packed up we headed to Uluru. Our first walk was through the valley of the winds. This was a walk through the huge rock formations similar to that of Ayers Rock.
It was cloudy but still very warm so we were carting the required 3 litres of water around with us. I thought it was a steeper tougher climb than yesterday but with beautiful scenery. We climbed up to the view point over the valley and took some shots. The wind got up and it certainly lived ip to it's name. After snout 15 minutes up there we headed back the same way.
We then headed to the aboriginal cultural centre where we had a quick lunch of home
made wraps and then a wander around the cultural centre. We were not allowed to take photos in there unfortunately. The centre gives you some information about the heritage of the local people and some of their folklore and stories of how the earth was formed etc. There was also a short film about the aboriginal people and the handing back of Uluru back to the aboriginal people.
After there we drove to Uluru and did a short walk fir about an hour. By this time the weather had changed from potential rain to hot and sunny, the skies change so quickly out here. As we walked around the crock Rob gave some info about the sites, the nursery, the learning cave, the kitchen and the bedroom caves. We also sent past a cave which is a scared site for women and therefore we were not able to take any photos. Our walk finished at the site of some waterfalls, but as it's the dry season with no rain for 3 months the waterfalls were not flowing :-(
The aboriginals didn't write anything down so paintings were away of learning for the children Nd
adults from the elders. Information is passed down through the generations and you learn different things at different ages. Many of the ceremonies for both men and women are not known to the opposite sex, Nd many aspects of history, life and culture are not made known to none local aboriginal tribes people. Some sacred sites are just that and nothing more is known about them.
As Uluru is a scared site the aboriginals ask that hounds not climb the rock but people do. Around 36 people have died on the rock but 100's of others off the rock through heat stroke, dehydration and exhaustion. The temperature at the top is 15 degrees higher than in the valleys if you do climb it you are not covered by your insurance !
After our walk we headed back to the campsite and some of us headed for the pool as it had been such a hot day, although the weather had changed from sunny to cloudy, to it looks like rain, back to sunny again. We stayed around the pool for about 40 minutes then headed back to the camp and the an around 5.15pm
we piled back on to the bus and headed off to watch the sunset over Uluru. We stopped off for ice along the way to get the cider and beer cold again,
We arrived in plenty of time to watch the sunset and so got a good position. Next tombs were some tables laid out with white cloths, champagne glasses and snax! Very posh but we had cider, beer and our dinner being cooked for us by Rob, chicken and veggies stir fry with noodles! The food was yummy, but sadly the sun set wasn't as spectacular as we'd hoped as clouds crossed over the sun just before it started to set and stayed there until after the sun had gone down.
Just as we were packing up to leave we could see a thunder storm in the distance and it was heading our way. We got everything back in to the trailer and headed back to camp. On the way we were treated to a spectacular bolt lightening show! Lots oooo's and ahhhs and wows watch from everyone on the bus. We stopped off again for more ice, and when Rob got back
in he said the red glow in the distance was a bush fire, probably started by the lightening. , but it was so far off we didn't have to worry about it.
When we got back to camp the wind was starting to blow but of some the group were going to watch the thunder storm from up the hill. They had only been gone a few minutes when suddenly the wind blew even stronger and blew up a sand storm, the tops of the tens started flapping and the doors where bank going open and closed. The group soon came back coughing and spluttering because of sand looking very wind blown and a bit wet from the rain which was approaching very quickly.
We all took shelter in the kitchen/dining area and drank and played drinking games for a while. Some headed off to bed early and others including me headed off for showers and then to bed. The storm carried on for about 40 minutes and then died down but a couple ofttimes during the night the wind and rain started up again, the sides and the roof of the tent billowed
in and out and rattled against the metal frame but we stayed pretty dry and nothing blew away. We did a tiny bit damp from the rain blowing through small holes in the wall but it was nothing to worry about.
Xxx
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