Sunsets and hiking in Uluru & Kata Tjuta

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May 8: Alice Springs to Uluru (Ayer's Rock) (Mileage: 8376 km)

May 9: Uluru (Mileage: 8515 km)

Definitely check out the other photos listed with this page to see the changes in rock & sky colours and the other photos I couldn't fit on the page!

After the late start out of Alice, we made up time again on the no speed limit highway.  Managed to get to Yulara (Ayer's Rock Resort) at about 5 pm, so we grabbed a site in the caravan park and went over to see the sun set over Uluru (Ayer's Rock).  Quite a spectacle of colours, both in the sky as we had seen in other places, and on the rock itself.  The light differences cause the same changes in tone on the rock, from a bright red to a dark brown as the sun disappears.  Also caught some nice glimpses of Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) which is another sacred rock formation about 45 km away from Ayer's Rock in the same National Park. 

After the sunset we decided to make dinner and have a couple of drinks.  Should have picked up beer and wine in Alice, since I ended up having to pay $21 for 6 plain domestic cans of beer, and the lowest wine bottle was $28 - all for take away!  Glad we grabbed groceries though, since meals started at around $20 for meals that you would cook yourself!

That night we experienced cold like none other we had experienced on the trip.  In stark contrast to sweating away all the previous nights since Perth, we awoke to 5 degree (C) temperature at 8 am, and frost on the windows of the campervan.  The temperatures down here in the edge of the winter season are apparently always like this, as opposed to the 40 degree nights in the summer time.  Cold!

We decided to go to Uluru that morning and throw away any ethical concerns that we may have about climbing the rock.  Interesting concept there.  The Aboriginal people that run the park in conjunction with the government, see the rock as a completely sacred place that should not be climbed unless it is for religious ceremonies.  As such, the climb is closed fairly often whenever there is a chance to do so (holidays, high winds, rain, etc.)  It is also a bit of a dangerous climb since it is pretty steep with little help to get up.  The climb/don't climb conflict is amplified by paradoxical indicators.  The park entry indicates if the climb is open, yet the brochures they give you tell you not to climb.  There is a chain and a painted pathway marked on the climbing area of the rock, yet there is a sign at the bottom asking people not to climb.  Very strange... The stat that I heard was that 40% of visitors do climb the rock, so I felt a little less concerned...

The climb was a bit of an adrenaline rush.  Fortunately I had good footwear on (my awesome hiking boots) that grabbed nicely onto the rough surface of the rock.  Some people we saw were not so prepared, however, and were climbing in jeans, sandals, and Pumas with little / no tread.  There have been something like 35 deaths and many serious injuries on the climb over the years, so you would think people would be more cautious!

We made it up safely to the top which was pretty spectacular.  The top of the rock is a series of undulations all along the surface, so it is sort of like walking through craters on the moon.  The view over the valley is amazing, and you can see for tens of kms over the flat land below, even to Kata Tjuta.  Only thing that disturbed us on the top was several hikers who felt the need to use their cell phones to call friends from the top of the rock and talk as loudly as they could.  Too bad Telstra gives such good reception there... 

The way down was a little different than the way up.  Seemed less steep than it did on the climb, and it was actually a lot easier than expected.  The climb up was very hard on the lungs, but the way down was much more difficult on the legs.  Had to grab the chain a few times on the way down where it was a little more steep, and basically rappel down the side of the mountain, but other than that it was fine.

Very interesting find on the way down the hill.  There were a few little water pools in a couple of the craters on the climb, and in the water were these tiny little sea creatures that we could not identify.  Weird combination of 100s of legs like centipedes, mixed with a tail like a scorpion, and a body like a manta ro something like that.  They also seemed to shed their outer skin, leaving a clear remnant that looked like a jelly fish.  Totally unlike anything I have ever seen, and everyone else that passed us had the same comments.  We asked about it at the ranger station at the bottom, and they had no idea what it was either...  Odd...

After lunch we did the base walk - a 9.4 km hike around the circumference of Uluru (yes it is that big!).  To be honest, I am not sure that I would recommend the hike unless you are unable to do the climb.  It is a long walk to see much of the same type of views as you can see better from the top, with the exception of a couple of waterholds/waterfalls, and some pretty cool looking erosion/crumbling areas on the sides of the rock.  Thing is that you can see much of those and the sacred areas around the rock from the road, and even stop off at points to walk in and see them.  Plus, the flies were terrible, and it is a pretty hot walk.

After the walk we went back to our site for a nap and a rest, and then down to Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) for yet another sunset.  Similar to that at Uluru, with the same sort of colours filling the rock formations and the sky.

The final morning in Uluru NP, we went back to the Olgas to hike the "Valley of the Winds".  Another fairly strenuous but not extremely hard hike for ~5-6 km through the rock formations making up the Olgas.  Quite a nice mix of scenery between the plains area in the expanse between the formations, and a much more lush area where the rocks were closer together.  Very enjoyable hike overall.