Roaming down the Red Centre

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Steep Kings Canyon Trek
Red Centre of Oz is...Wow!
I see Uluru.

This morning was the first of many crazy early starts today. We were to be ready and waiting for our bus at 5AM outside of our hostel. Twelve of us were ready to go on time. We were just waiting for passenger #13. Our driver Amanda was kind enough to go up to his room and give him a wake up call...he didn't hear his alarm. So this is at about 5:15. I'm guessing at least another 30 minutes go by and he is still not down at the bus. Before we know it, it is 6AM and Amanda finally locates the newly dubbed "Mr. Sleep-in". I don't know, but if I knew I overslept and a bus was waiting for me I'd hurry it up a bit and not take a shower like some people...

So it wasn't the best start. Things can only get better from here! Our touring group is small. There are just thirteen of us. Let's see there's Mandy (Canada), Di (England), Monica (Italy/London), Anna (England), Sam (England), Tomoko (Japan), Philip (Germany), Kye-San (South Korea) and San Chun - Mr. Sleep-in (South Korea). Plus there are a few passengers that will only be with the group for two days. Kirsten (Canada...although she seemed more like an American to me.) and two Japanese girls whom I don't know their names. Amanda our replacement tour leader since Tanya our originally scheduled driver is out sick was woken up at 4:30 this morning! She’s definitely working on some major adrenaline!

The first part of our drive was in darkness and it was cool to see the sun rising before our eyes. We were on kangaroo and other wildlife alert but didn't really see much. We had a couple of pit stops before arriving at Kings Canyon before lunch. The first bit of our hike was up a really steep hill that is dubbed "heart attack hill" because it is quite taxing on the heart and lungs. Thank goodness the hill had two resting "spots" on the way up the hill cuz I'm not sure I would have made it up without a little water break. 😊 The entire hike was about two hours and a distance of 3.5km. Some really amazing layer action happening at Kings Canyon. There was one section where the layers looked like domes but my pictures don't really capture what it looked like when I was there. They all sort of blend together in the photos. BTW, a canyon is formed from a crack. So that means that the Grand Canyon in Arizona should actually be called the Grand Gorge because a gorge is formed from a river. I just thought I'd share that little fun fact with everyone.

After our little hike we set up our sandwich stuff at a local campsite. You’ve gotta love sandwiches with all the fixings and then some. The routine was very similar to the sandwiches that we were making on the Cairns to Alice Springs run...beetroot and pineapple!

We had more driving ahead of us after our lunch. We drove through Curtain Springs Cattle Station (which by the way is the size of Singapore). In the distance we saw Mt. Connor that is a flat horseshoe shaped mountain. Apparently there's only a one meter height difference between Mt. Connor and Uluru...but I can't remember which is taller. 😊 So much for me listening to details. LOL

Our final destination of the day is to Yulara, our campsite near Uluru. Driving up to Yulara we sighted Uluru in the distance and it was simply amazing. I'm super stoked to see Uluru up close during sunrise tomorrow. But first we will be able to sleep in a swag (Australian bedroll) under the stars tonight. That will also be simply amazing if the clouds stay away. It'll be neat to see the Milky Way too.

All of our meals and accommodations are included in this tour so that is a super bonus! Of course I have a bunch of snacks packed with me cuz as you know, it is all about the snacks! I think I'll be going through quite a few of them especially if the time on the bus gets a little boring. 😊 I predict that I will get tired of sandwiches for lunch pretty quick. lol

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Photos

Me at King's Canyon.
Taken after climbing heartattack hill...still standing!