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Published: December 6th 2007
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I'm writing this in Melbourne, having arrived here after finishing my tour to Uluru. What can I say...it was fantastic. And hot. It was both more fantastic and hotter than I thought possible...the scenery in central Australia is stunning. It's a land of stark contrasts, between the bright blue sky, the deep red soil, the green of the bushes and trees (it's only semi-arid there, hence the greenery), the white of the gum trees and the blackened trunks of many of the trees. I could look at it for hours, which was good as hours to look at it was what I had.
We headed off on the Sunday morning, very early (6am!!) but that turned out to be the
latest start of the tour! There were 24 of us squished into a very hot bus (the air con didn't work very well, and packed up completely on the way back) plus our tour guide Damo. On the first day we drove all the way to our campsite at Yulara, the resort at Ayers Rock/Uluru - a journey of about five hours. After lunch in our campsite, we headed off to the Olgas (or Kata Tjuta, to give them their
Aboriginal name) for two short walks. I thought this was going to be pretty easy, but in the full heat of the afternoon it was anything but. After doing the first walk, I - like the other pale and pasty Brits in the group - gave up on the second and stayed in the shade. Damo stayed with us, so we all sat and chatted whilst waiting for the others. In the course of the conversation I asked Damo if my sandals were suitable for the walk on the last day. He said they weren't ideal, as they could break - and if they did, I'd be f*cked.
By this point, I was really starting to suffer from the heat, and my head was pounding. So the Uluru sunset was somewhat spoilt for me, as I wasn't able to appreciate it properly. I know loads of people rave about how amazing it is, but I just wasn't feeling it. I was just feeling hot, uncomfortable and wondering why I was putting myself through this! Worse was yet to come though...after watching the sunset, we headed back to camp for dinner. We had time before dinner to have a shower,
so I headed over to the shower block. As I did so, I felt something flapping on the bottom of my sandal. Oh no...the sole had fallen off!! Exactly what Damo had said would happen. Seeing as I had no other shoes, I really thought that this was it - I'd come all this way and spent all this money, and wasn't going to be able to do anything. This was totally the low point of the three days, and I really just wanted to go home. At the time, I thought I was the only one suffering, but speaking to the others afterwards, I think a lot of people were feeling the same (only without the shoe problem!).
After my shower, I decided the only thing I could do was ask Damo what to do about my shoes. He said he would take me to the Yulara resort shops the next lunchtime to see if I could get some there. In the meantime, a really nice girl from Switzerland whose name I can't remember kindly lent me her flip flops, so at least I had something to wear on my feet. And things started to get better after
that. One of the things I was really looking forward to on the tour (as well as seeing Uluru) was sleeping out in a swag. For those who don't know what a swag is, it's kind of like a big canvas sleeping bag, with a foam mattress. It means you can sleep out under the stars without a tent. They were great! I slept out both nights, and it was just wonderful to wake up in the middle of the night and see the stars above me. On the first night, the first time I woke up I realised my head wasn't hurting anymore. I lay there looking at the stars, thinking - this is going to be a good trip after all...
The next morning we got up before dawn had even thought about cracking, to see the sunrise over Uluru (3:45am!!). That was pretty special, although pretty crowded (and this was low season!). I, like everyone else, took loads of photos as the light slowly changed and the sun came up. Uluru really is a pretty special place, and I began to realise this more and more the longer I spent there. I'd have liked to have
Uluru at sunrise
I think the sunrise viewing area is too close to be able to take really good photos - although that didn't stop me from going snap happy had another day there, but sadly it was onwards and upwards. Or rather not upwards, as I didn't climb Uluru. But certainly onwards, to Kings Canyon.
However, before I get there...remember those sandals that broke? Well, that lunchtime, as promised, Damo took me and another girl who was having problems with her shoes to the Yulara resort shops to try to get some new ones (announcing to the group that he was 'taking the girls to buy some shoes'...thanks Damo!) I scoured the small selection of shops, and couldn't find anything other than flip flops...and a solitary small pair of green Crocs. Realising this was my only chance to do the walk the next day, I reasoned that if I could get my feet into them I was buying them. Amazingly I could, although my toes were a tad squished. Armed with my unconventional walking shoes, I was now ready to take on Kings Canyon!
Our camp that night was beautiful, at the end of a dirt track with hardly anyone else around. Damo - who seemed to have limitless energy the whole trip - cooked the evening meal over the camp fire while the rest of us
sat around drinking beer and looking for shooting stars. Following another early start (5am this time) it was time to put the Crocs to the test...and they passed! They were remarkably comfortable, and had they been the right size, they would have been perfect. Everyone in the group kept asking me how they were...I think they thought they were pretty funny. The walk itself was pretty stunning, around the top of Kings Canyon. I had been expecting it to be really strenuous, but it wasn't at all. Although having said that, the swim in the water hole half way round the walk, in the Garden of Eden (so named because it's very lush and green, I think) was very welcome.
Once we'd finished it was back in the bus for the very long drive back to Alice, and for our post-tour meal...and then the flight to Melbourne in the morning. On the way out of the airport, I got chatting to an Irish woman who'd been on the same flight. I was telling her the story of the Crocs...and then she said she'd seen someone the previous day at Kings Canyon wearing green Crocs. She'd remarked to her tour
Camp for the night
Damo did say we were staying at the Hilton...we all thought he was lying! guide that they were pretty strange things to be wearing on the hike. Small world...
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Sarah Burke
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this brings back so many memories!!! can't believe you walked kings canyon in crocs!!