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Published: July 31st 2014
Ulluru.
We made it! Picture looks sooo fake! HahaThe excitement as we were getting closer to Uluru was mounting. Not only were the kids excited to see the rock so were Gav and I! As we drew closer to Curtain Springs Station we noticed a big rock in the distance, mum and dad had warned us not to be fooled, it looked like Ulluru but it was in fact Mt Connor. They were right - it did look like Uluru and the kids were very excited when they also saw it off in the distance but we soon settled them down and explained that it wasn't Uluru and in fact Uluru was much much bigger. All three of the kids found this very hard to believe. We pulled into Curtain Springs for some gas for the gas bottles, a break and a sticky beak. What a great spot it is! They had big bird aviary with all sorts of parrots, galahs, finches and even a couple of emus roaming around the place! We had a toilet stop and continued on to Uluru. We were keen to be there so we could watch the sun set over Ulluru.
There was a flurry if excitement in the car was excited
Ulluru
Mum and Dad were happy to revisit Ulluru to. when Uluru finally did come into sight! Even from a distance it looked amazing and beautiful. We were surprised to see that The Olga's were also visible from the distance - gav and I weren't expecting this pleasant surprise!
We pulled into Yulara, went to the visitor information centre, found the camp grounds, checked in, quick set up and then went around for the sunset viewing.
We had heard on the road that the entry I to the national park at Uluru was $25 per person. We were expecting it to cost us $125 but as usual with gossip amongst travellers this was incorrect. It cost us $25 per adults, kids free for a three day pass to the National Park. Even the camping at Yulara was reasonable. We were expecting this to be the most expensive part of the trip but camping only cost us $58 per night for a powered site for all five of us! Compared to some places that was pretty reasonable for a family of five on a powered site!
Uluru is AMAZING! No words or pictures can describe it and it is definitely a place that EVERYONE, especially every Aussie, should
visit at least once in their lifetime. The sunset the first night wasn't too crash hot as it was abit overcast. The photos I took (and boy did I take a lot of them) look like the kids have been photoshopped onto a picture of Ulluru! The rock itself looks almost fake. It looks abit like it has been painted onto a desert backdrop or made of paper mâché! Haha.
We couldn't wait to climb it the next day!
What a day we had. Climb the rock - it'll be easy! OMG! It so isn't! It was really hard work but soooo worth the effort.
We got there early only to find that the rock climb was closed due to strong winds. A little disappointed we went around to look at the cultural centre. This is a great centre and a wonderful tribute to our indigenous history in this country. We asked the lady at the information centre if the climb would remain closed. She told us that they review the decision to close the climb at 10am and then again at 2pm so if we go back at 10am they may reopen it. After spending an
Ulluru
Kids were excited to be here! hour and a half at the cultural centre we went back out to the rock and were delighted to find the rock climb was now open for business.
In hindsight we were very underprepared to do this climb. We were soo excited to be doing it we didn't wear hats or take any water with us. Oops!
When you first look up at the climb it looks as though it finishes at the end of the chains and this is what we thought but the end of the chains is only about half way! The climb continues on from there with no chains to help just a dotted white line to follow.
We got to the top, took heaps of photos and a video. Gav had to have his Mintie moment and then the bloody bugger pulled out his NSW Jersey and made me take a photo of him with it on top of the rock! Haha
The kids struggled in some parts but they got up there just fine. Coming down was more difficult than going up only because the last part (with the chains) is sooo steep and it would be very easy to
Curtain Springs
You have to give it to the station owners of outback Australia. They always provide such a great place to restock and rest. They have done an excellent job of diversifying to survive a harsh drought and supplement their income. slip and fall. There is a plaque down the bottom of the rock dedicated to the 37 people who have died attempting the climb. So we read the kids the riot act to behave and be sensible and thankfully made it down in one piece. What a wonderful, wonderful day we had.
We met up with mum and dad at the bottom and went on a Walk around part of the base of Uluru. It was a really awesome experience. Uluru really is a special place and we couldn't wait to get to the Olga's the next day. Everybody was exhausted after the day we had had so it was off to one last sunset viewing, showers, dinner and bed.
After two nights at Uluru we set off to see The Olga's. They are just beautiful to. They are really interesting because they change sooo much depending on what angle you see them from. At first we thought they were quite compact but as we drew closer you could see that infact they were really quite spread out.
We went for a great walk straight through the middle of The Olga's. The rock faces were soooo high.
Curtain Springs
One of the many parrots in the avairys at Curtain Springs At one stage the boys wanted to try to climb up to a cave to have a look inside but it was just too high and steep and they gave up!
What a great place. I would highly recommend it to everyone as a spot not to be missed.
It was while at Uluru that news came through that poor Amanda and Chris had a very large gum tree come down and land right through the middle of their house. Poor buggers. It's times like these that the distance and vastness of this country really hit home. We are a long way from home (approx 2200klms) and unable to help in anyway. All we can do is reassure them that insurance will repair the damage - makes me really miss all the girls back at home.They are always in my thoughts as we enjoy our travels.
Ohh a footnote: petrol at the start of the Canning Stock Route was $340.00 per litre!!! OMG!!
BTW don't forget to scroll right down to the bottom of each page for more pics. There are especially a lot of pics with this entry so there will be more than one
page. 😊
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Christine Hayes
non-member comment
The Olga's are amazing. I don't think I have ever seen a picture of the place. Great stuff. So sorry that Amanda and Chris have had their house damaged but glad that they weren't injured.