I left Alice Springs on a small bus of about 20 people> Half of the group were Dutch, then there were a couple of Germans, 2 Australians, an Irish guy and a girl from Newcastle who must of read the manual on stereotypes! It took 6 hours to reach Yulara, the resort just outside the gates of Uluru national park. At one stop we had to collect firewood. We had to do this by choosing a dead tree and breaking off the branches, which had to be as long as the trailer and as thick as 'your arm' It took two of us of lighter weight to hang off a branch and jump until it broke off. I received a few scratches in the process, and it wasn't until later that our guide told us the mulga tree we were assaulting, is in fact poisonous. In fact, we were told that aboriginal people use the mulga wood to make spears as it can easily be made to form a sharp point and is poisonous to the kangaroos or other animals that might be hunted.
In the afternoon we arrived at Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) and went on a walk through the valley of the winds, which lived up to its name, as my hat was whipped from my head and was fortunately retrieved by someone before it went over the edge of the rock. It's hard to describe Kata Tjuta, it's a bit like being an ant walking through gigantic orange-red marbles. It took about 3 hours to go round and along the way our guide told us a bit about the geology of the area and some of the Aboriginal uses for the plants and trees.
In the evening we watched the sunset at Uluru, although I don't think it was an impressive as I have heard it could be, with some different shades of red as the sun sets, it was still an experience.
We stayed the night at the camp ground under a metal shelter with a piece of tarpaulin stretched out along one side as heavy rain was forecast overnight. Fortunately it didn't rain, but the wind really picked up and I woke a few times when the tarpaulin was banging just behind my head. As we unrolled the swags there was a shriek from someone as a large spider ran across the floor, but I was tired enough not to think about the creepy crawlies.
On the plus side, although it was cold and windy in the evening, I was nice and snug at night in my Arctic sleeping bag and swag. A swag is like an outer sleeping back which has canvas over the top and a waterproof layer on the bottom, and a 3 cm thick strip of padding to lie on. At night you have to roll out the swag and put your sleeping bag inside, but remember to only unroll the swag just when you want to get into it, so that no creepy crawlies get in there first! In the morning it's also good to roll it up as soon as you get up so that no creatures decide to take advantage of the shelter.
After getting up at 4.30am, we drove to Uluru again and watched the sunrise, which was more impressive than sunset, and our guide made us a very welcome warm breakfast of porridge and toast. I think at that point I was wearing 4 layers of clothing, and could have done with gloves. Did someone say that Australia was supposed to be warm?!
After clearing away breakfast, everyone had to help with clearing away and washing up at each meal, we went to the base of the Rock and the guide accompanied us on the Mala walk, which most of us shivered through until the sun came over the rock and warmed things up. Along the way we learnt some of the geology of the area, reasons why people should not climb Uluru, some of the Aboriginal culture and history of the land. The climb is closed 70% of the year due to weather conditions or for cultural reasons. Since the climb opened in the 50s, approximately two people per year have died either directly or indirectly as a result. The Aboiginal people feel such a close connection with Uluru that they feel responsible for these deaths, and it greatly upsets them. They themselves only go about halfway upUluru when they need to perform a saced ceremony. Of the people who can decide to close the climb for good, the one person who will not agree is the minister for tourism for the Northern territories. I would like to encourge anyone visiting to find out about the significance of the land to Aboriginal people and to understand why they should not consider climbing Uluru. I cannot see why not being able to climb should put anyone off from visiting this spectacular place.
We continued on the base walk round the rock, which is about 9km round. It is interesting how the light and the texture of the rock changes as you walk round, every new view presents a tempting photograph. I was interested in the Bloodwood tree, the sap of which is so blood red it looks like the tree is bleeding.
That night was spent at a camp site near King's Canyon. Fortunately it was a much warmer evening, the wind dropped and the sky was clear. Our dinner was cooked in pots over the charcoals and we had marshmallows toasted in the fire. The stars came out and it was incredible for me to see so many. I almost didn't recognise a couple of the constellations as I had never seen so many stars in the sky. I was also amazed to see the milky way for the first time I think. I set up my swag by the campfire and went to sleep under a roof of stars, it was wonderful.
On day 3 we got up at 4.30am, I put on several more layers of clothes, and we arrived at the bottom of King's Canyon in the dark. We were told - It's 5.30am, the sun rises at 6, Go! And we had to swiftly climb, what I later found out to be named Heart Attack Hill!
It was freezing, but the sunrise was spectacular, and the view constantly changed as the light flooded over the canyon walls and surrounding land. We then embarked on a 3 hour guided walk along the top of the canyon, which has spectacular views, sheer drops and amazing rock formations. At one point we had to cross a crevice that was so deep I couldn't (and didn't want to) see the bottom as I tentatively looked down into it. Walking round you don't feel keen to go too close to the edge, as it is not fenced off, at one point the only way to look over the edge to see a waterfall on the canyon floor was to crawl to the edge and look over lying flat on your stomach. Looking back you can see thin layers of rock sticking out, and realise how close you came to walking on the rock of only 15 cm thick that overhangs the very, very deep drop. We continued down into the 'Garden of Eden,' a waterfall-fed deep pool with lush plants and tiny colourful birds providing a contrast with the orange and red of the rock. The drive back to Alice Springs took as past a camel station which houses some award winning racing camels. Their expressions said that they knew they were superior creatures.
The following day I had a less strenuous tour of some of the sights in the West McDonell Ranges, including Stanley Chasm and Glen Helen Gorge.
It was a brilliant trip and I'd recommend it to anyone with a small sense of adventure as a great way to see some spectacular sights. Just prepare for all weathers, though I was very grateful that the cold weather reduced the number of flies.
