Twas a nice cool night in the van and very little road noise so we slept quite well. It appears to be darker in the mornings but that could just be the fact that it has been overcast the last couple of days. Once again no cell phone or internet coverage. In these situations what we have been doing is checking emails and posting Blavel when and if we come across any signal at the various roadhouses along the way but there are large gaps.
One thing that has become obvious on the section of road north of Coober Pedy is the number of road killed cars along the way. Not many animals but heaps of cars. Most of them just burnt out shells but the occasional one looking quite fresh. They are presumably just left where they have died as not cost effective to tow them back to civilization. Ross keeps looking for a freshy that is not too old in the hope he can score an oxygen sensor to play with on the Beast.
On reaching the Northern Territories border we were given a special treat in that we are now able to travel at 130km an hour as opposed to just 110. Yeah right… we just putter along making sure we don’t get in anybodies way as we are not in any hurry.
After lunch at Erldunda we turned left of the main north south highway taking the main road to Uluru (Ayers Rock). We figured we would drive part of the way there until we found somewhere we could stay the night but also be able to leave the van in relative security while we did day trips to the rock and Kings Canyon, as there is no sealed loop road that covers these attractions that ends up at Alice Springs.
Some 56km up the road we came to Mt Ebenezer Road House. They offered camping for $5 per night without power and $10 with. We took the cheaper option as over the next couple of days we are going to spend mega bucks on fuel tripping around. The biggest plus was that the van would be relatively safe – well more than if we just left it at a rest area and the only downside being the generator that runs 24 x 7 (same at all roadhouses)
An early start to Tuesday saw us driving to Uluru – a drive of around 210km and then an additional 40 odd to Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) so about 250 all up one way. We made good time and got there at 10am passing the very impressive Mt Connor along the way. The physical options for the day were to either climb Uluru or do the “Valley of the Winds” walk at the Olgas. We opted for the Olgas as we figured it would probably be more scenic (or could it be we were just chicken). Before we could do anything however we had to pay the rather exorbitant entry fee of $25 per head just to get into the National Park.
The morning sun provided an excellent presentation of the Olgas and on arrival at the start of the walk we came across a few camels doing their own thing alongside the road. They did not like posing for photos but we persisted anyway. Luckily there was still quite a cool southerly wind blowing as apparently it can get very hot in the confines of the surrounding dunes. So much so that if around 36 deg or more they tend to close the walk to minimize the chances of people expiring whilst walking. They also provide tanks of drinking water along the way for the idiots who set out without any. The walk itself was excellent with some great scenery and at 7.4km good exercise as well. Quite a bit more rock hopping than we were expecting but all good regardless.
Then it was back to Uluru where we went through the very informative cultural centre and then up close and personal with the rock which looks very different at different times of the day and weather. Of most interest other than the sheer size of the thing was the point where you can climb to the top (when open anyway). Ross’s mum and dad had made the climb back in 1976 and they had a souvenir tee shirt stating that they “had climbed Ayers Rock”. Well of course these days it not PC to climb the rock but we had a look in the shop at the centre and could not find any such shirts for sale.
We did watch some other people climbing up and it did appear quite risky given the very steep section at the start where you had to work your way up using a chain. While watching we did see some people give up and climb back down when going up the steepest bit. Must be quite scary when you are looking down such a sheer drop. Some 35 people have died making the climb so is quite serious stuff. Having disabled parking signs at the base of the climb was quite a laugh – not sure if they are for handicapped people who do the climb or for those that flunk it.
After a long day of walking and driving we tracked down a petrol station in the Yulara Resort area which is close to Uluru to fill up if the price was reasonable. Well it was good that we did go there as the pricing varied from $1.65 back at the main highway north to Alice Springs to $1.80 at the roadhouses along the way to Uluru and only $1.61 at the resort which is the furthest from anywhere?? Very weird.... Then it was back to the van but along the way we stopped at a reasonable freshly killed car from which Ross managed to score an oxygen sensor and wiring.
