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Published: January 23rd 2007
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Uluru
The famous sunset at Uluru. Now the Aussie adventure seems complete.
You can’t take what might be your only trip to Australia and not visit perhaps its most iconic landmark. And that is why we find ourselves here, in the barren, practically uninhabited, fly infested Red Centre of Australia, finishing off the family portion of our great trip at Uluru, or Ayers Rock. We arrived here shortly after 11:00 am yesterday after doing the four-hour drive from Alice Springs, or The Alice as the Aussies call it. It wasn’t 100+ degrees with a scorching sun like we were expecting, but rather it was in the low 80’s and it was spitting rain all day. Although, this was probably more pleasant, it really posed a threat to some of the things that we planned on doing here. Namely, viewing the bright red rock at sunset, looking up to the heavens at night in what is supposed to be one of the best displays of stars on the planet, and doing the climb of Uluru. Well, those weren’t going to be ‘til later, but when we arrived the rains and cloudy skies were definitely not bringing out the bright red in the area, but rather the greens of the vegetation, which was nice. The
On the Road Again
On the Stuart Highway just leaving Alice Springs.
drive was fast, with 130 km/h speed limits in places, and decently interesting, since the landscape is quite unique to us. Some of the sights included large cattle feasting on god knows what, hundreds of bugs being splattered on the windshield, and unfortunately kangaroo roadkill (Mom counted 36 such casualties along the entire drive).
The rock was highly visible as we approached. It is just a big rock, seemingly only unique because it stands on its own out in the middle of nowhere, but it has such a commanding presence. Kata Tjuta, a geologic landform of similar origin only 50km to the west, seems much more beautiful, as it consists of many rounded domes that rise skywards. Uluru’s beauty is in its simplicity. Just one lone big rock, rising above the landscape. But, as we approached closer, it became apparent that Uluru is actually much more. There are actually ridges, contours and canyons on the rock that give it a level of character that is unnoticeable from a distance. When we first arrived, the Climb was closed because of strong winds at the summit. This gave us an opportunity to do some of the base walks. We did the
Mount Conner
This is the trick they throw at you after you’ve been driving for 3 hours. Uluru isn’t for another 100 km or so.
Mutitjulu and Mala Walks, and on these walks we were able to get up close to the rock and see some of its physical uniqueness that inspired many great stories of the Anangu people that inhabit the area. The rock is beautiful, and you don’t really get the full effect until you are looking right up at it. After those walks, we drove out to Kata Tjuta to do a walk into the Walpa Gorge. This walk was pretty cool because it allowed us to enter between two of the large domes in the landform. The colours were really impressive along the walk. The sun was almost directly hitting the face of the rock, producing a bright red colour, while behind it the skies were dark grey. This contrast shows up very nicely in some of the photos. After this walk we made our way back to Uluru to catch the rock at sunset. As we approached the rock, the sun was hitting it in some spots, lighting it up nicely, which gave us an indication of what we might expect. But, by the time we finally settled into our viewing spot, the clouds had regained control and the rock,
Uluru
We finally made it. although still impressive, was back to a darker tone. The rains and overcast skies were jeopardizing not only seeing Uluru light up at sunset, but as I mentioned before, stargazing and the Climb. These were the three big things that we wanted to do here. Given that this part of the country isn't exactly an on-the-way destination, it took great effort for us to get here, we were going to be extremely disappointed if we couldn't do these things. We had waited an hour and a half, and just as it appeared as though there was no chance that the sun was going to make an appearance before it set, out it came. It only lasted for about two minutes, but it produced a brilliant bright red colour, and we were able to enjoy that quintessential Australia vacation moment. Well, the sun coming out briefly also marked the change of our fortunes on this stop. After it was dark, the clouds gave way to the night sky, revealing by far the most spectacular view of the stars I had ever seen. I have always loved stargazing, and up until now my favourite spot for doing this was Algonquin Park. The
Uluru
A beautiful view at the tranquil Watitjulu Watering Hole. display from Algonquin Park is still amazing, and will always be my number one for viewing the northern skies, but it is no match for the outback. The stars and clusters of stars are so immediately and highly visible that virtually no eye adjustment or focusing is required to see everything. In Algonquin, it takes a minute or so of staring for everything to come into view. This was one of those truly memorable and profound life moments that I will cherish forever.
The next morning, Adam and I were hoping to climb Uluru, but we were informed that a monsoon trough was to hit the area, fitting on this already very wet vacation. When we awoke in the morning, the ground was wet and the skies were blue, but more rain was still expected. We decided to quickly drive over to the rock, having to hurry because the Climb is closed if rains are forecast within three hours. Because of this, we were expecting it to be closed, but we definitely wanted to give it one last shot. Well, much to our surprise, it was actually open. It was a good thing that we hurried though, because it
Uluru
A view through the trees towards the Kantju Gorge. was closed shortly after we commenced our hike, due to the expected rains. The Climb looks hard when you're standing at the bottom and looking up, but believe me, it's even harder than it looks. It actually claims many lives each year, mostly due to heart attacks. Between the steepness and the high temperatures, it is easy to see why. Well it took Adam and I two and a half hours return, including plenty of breaks, and it was definitely a memorable experience that helped make the trip feel complete. It was also one of the best leg workouts that I've had in some time.
Now, we all enjoyed the Uluru stop, and we felt that it was a great way to cap our Aussie adventure, but I think we all agreed that we could leave it off the itinerary if we were lucky enough to visit Australia again. The only real reason that I would come back would be to view the stars again. It isn't cheap or easy to get here, and once you are here everything is expensive because you are in the middle of nowhere. We also agreed that if we were to come back,
Uluru
A view from within the rock. we'd probably fly directly into Uluru/Ayers Rock Airport, rather than using Alice Springs, which none of us really found to be appealing. It would also save you a lot of driving. It's also worth noting that while you are here, the Voyages Ayers Rock Resort is a great place to stay. We were concerned because of the lack of competition, but it was very nice. There are accommodations to suit any type of traveller and the resort is like a small community out in the middle of nowhere. Anyways, tonight we're having a nice dinner in Alice Springs to celebrate the end of our great trip and my big send off tomorrow.
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