Postcard from Uluru

The Rock

Dear Fellow Travellers

WOW! Seriously wow! I knew Uluru was big and magical but my memory doesn’t do it justice and neither do photos. It didn’t take long for all my Uluru expectations to be blown, to put it in literal terms it took about 10 seconds. As we were driving down the highway, BAM there it was. Still 50kilometres or so away dad and I couldn’t believe how big it is and we still hadn’t even arrived there yet.



Uluru at Sunrise

When you ask people who have been to Uluru, I guarantee you they’ll tell you that you must watch the sun rise and set over the rock and I couldn’t agree more. Starting our only day here with one of the best sunrise this country has to offer we were off to a good start.

Olgas at Sunrse

We chose to view the sunrise from the Kata Tjuta Dune lookout. Closer to the Olgas than the rock it was hard to make out the dramatic colour change of Uluru but with the rock sitting on the horizon it was stunning watching the sunrise behind it and breathe life over the desert. Just as beautiful as Uluru, the Olgas were gorgeous site changing colours in their own way as the sun rose. I must say and very good way to start the day.

Sticking to the Mala 2 km walk around the base of Uluru we were taken to many indigenous sites including scared sites used by both men and women. It was incredible to see the caves used by these people and the drawings and signs of life they left behind. As well as the indigenous culture surrounding the rock we also learnt how the rock was formed and shown marks where an inland sea helped shape it. Like I already said the Uluru is huge and walking around the world largest monolith I really came to understand why thousands of people visit a giant rock yearly. Not only is it super cool because it is a giant rock, it also has thousands of years of culture and history which only adds to its mysterious yet marvellous nature.

Although I could sit staring at the rock all day it wouldn’t be fair to the Olgas if I didn’t explore them. Instead of doing the 7km full circuit walk in the scorching heat we opted for the Valley of the Winds walk. A relatively easy walk (mum was ecstatic that she did it without trouble) took us along the valley floor and almost out the other end. With the walk ending at a small picturesque waterhole I found the best view to be the one behind me, looking back out into the desert with the Olgas towering over me. Don’t get me wrong I love Uluru and the walks there but if I was forced at gunpoint to choose which walk I preferred I would have to say the Olgas. Even though there were quite a few people there it didn’t feel as commercialised as the rock and maybe the whole valley setting added to its appeal.

Camels all ready to go

Of course our day at Uluru wouldn’t be complete without a sunset over the rock and what better way to do it than on a camel. Uluru Camel Tours took a group of around 20 of us on a sunset tour of the rock. Trekking through the scrub on my trusty camel, Alice, we wound our way around the desert stopping on a sand dune to get one of the best photos of the rock. As we wandered on mum and dad’s camel, Buddy, became quiet cheeky and even stopped the convoy to be tied tighter (he kept trying to eat shrubs). I also had a little giggle watching the British tour guide trying to flirt, it was a shame he wasn’t looking where he was going and tripped a couple times, didn’t really help his case. Before heading back to the farm we stopped on another sand dune where we watched the last of the sun sink behind the rock and it was spectacular. Being so close we saw the colour of the rock change from brown to orange to violet, absolutely beautiful. 

To finish our time in Uluru we were greeted back at the camel farm with drinks and damper and treated to a slideshow f the photos from our tour. A very outback end to very outback kind of day.

 

Next stop, Kings Canyon.