Alice Springs to Uluru and back….
Monday 16th October 2006
We left for our 3 and a half day Uluru trip from Alice Springs on Thursday 12/10. The day before we had spent getting all our stuff ready for the trip and having a look around Alice Springs. I had assumed that since we are in the middle of Central Australia there would be absolutely nothing here but desert and red sand. Well there is red sand and it does get very dry like a desert but the town is quite big and has a life to it. There is a lot to do in this town.
We began our Red Centre Safari tour by meeting our guides, Tim and Karen, who took us to Kings Canyon on our first night. We stopped off at the Outback Camel Farm where you can ride a camel for 5 minutes for $5. As i have already riden a camel before and as camels are not actually native to Australia i wasnt really all that bothered. Instead, i just had a look at a few. I couldnt even bring myself to touch them – they are quite strange creatures and i didnt fancy getting spit on myself really.
We drove along a road that seeemed to last forever, seeing the gorgeous ‘George Gill Ranges’ and eventually stopping to spend the night in camp with a camp fire and sleeping in swags watching the stars.
The next day we got up at 5.30am to conquor the Canyon. The Kings Canyon walk takes 4 hours to complete and it is very steep in places. It was worth the hard slog in the heat though as the views of the sheer cliff faces and the scenery is spectacular. During the walk you reach the ‘Garden of Eden’ which is a water hole where you can go for a swim. A couple of the guys in our group braved it but i decided not to – it was freezing.
We also travelled to Yulara to experience the sunset over Uluru that night. Unfortunatley the sunset wasnt all that good as there was a lot of cloud cover. It does feel strange seeing Uluru though. It does have a spiritual feel to it.
On Saturday we got up at 4.15am, oh how we love these early mornings. We went to see the sunrise over Uluru and Kata Tjata (The Olgas). Tim took us to a place where not many people go and see the sunrise so we got a good view. We then went off to do a ‘Valley of the Winds’ walk which took about 3 hours to complete. It was good to get this walk done in the early morning as it does heat up so much during the afternoon. To cool off after our walk we visited the Cultural Centre where they have loads and loads of information on aboriginal culture and their way of life. It was so interesting to see. They even have a ‘sorry book’ which consists of letters and envelopes which people have sent to the rock (literally some envelopes are marked Uluru, Northern Territory – and they still arrive!!) to apologise for taking a bit of the rock when they have visited. Many people noted that since they had taken the bits of rock and got home things have gone wrong and they believe it has cursed them. The centre also drums home the message that aboriginal people do not like people to climb Uluru. Uluru is a sacred site to them and they feel responsible for those that walk it. Many of the elders of the aboriginal communities at Uluru will cut themselves if people die climbing Uluru. 33 people have died climbing. That actually isnt a lot of people but when I saw the beginning of the climb (it is unbelievably steep) and after i had visited the cultural centre i started to have doubts about whether i should climb the big red rock.
We had lunch and a swim in the camp site’s pool and then headed off to Uluru for those who wanted to climb. Three people in our group decided to climb, 2 guys and 1 girl. They went off and climbed. I was umming and arrghing about doing the climb when suddenly a ranger pulls up and closes the climb due to forecast rain. The climb will close if there are adverse weather conditions such as rain, wind or if it reaches 36 degrees and/or above. I felt like this was a sign to me that i really shouldnt climb so i am content enough to have seen this amazing rock and not have climbed. The bus begins to drive off when we notice the girl who has begun walking up is now climbing down and is stuck. Tim, our guide, has to go and get her from the rock and help bring her down. The climb is so sheer that she had got so scared and found it hard to get down. I have never seen anyone climb up so fast as Tim. He got to the girl in about a nano second. What a job!
Again, I felt glad that i had respected the aboriginal’s wishes and not climbed.
On Saturday night we all went to a lookout near our campsite to see the sunset. We took nibbles and drinks and it all seemed very civilised considering we all felt really dirty from the sand and generally from camping out under the stars. I played polka with some of our group. I have never played before but on my first ever attempt i won – must be a natual. Again, we slept in swags and in the night it tried to rain. Just little spots but i could feel them on my face. It cleared up though.
At 4.15am on Sunday we were up again to see the sunrise. I was excited to see the changing colours of Uluru when the sun rises as I couldn’t quite believe that it actually happens. In the National Park which surrounds Uluru they have dedicated spots for sunrise and sunset. It was so busy. Full of cars and vans and coaches and people were everywhere. Firstly the sun rose the opposite side to Uluru so everyone is looking at Uluru and it is dark and everyone is thinking that nothing is happening. At this point we have a guy from Texas in America in our group called Travis and he can really ham up his accent. In his best southern drawl he shouts out, ‘Look, there’s a dog y’all!!’ and points. Everyone in the surrounding area completely turns around to look at this feral dog and take photos. It was hillarious. By this point some people start getting back on to their buses as they think it’s all over. But the sun rises slowly and it takes a while before you notice that Uluru is changing from a dark red to an orange colour. Amazing.
After the sunrise we head off to complete the Uluru Base walk followed by the Mala walk. These walks were so interesting as our guides told us stories relating to the shapes of the rocks, explaining why the aboriginal people believe the site to be so special. The rest of the day was spent driving back to Alice Springs and in the evening our group all met up for some farewell drinks and dinner.
Tags: Alice Springs, Australia, Ayers Rock, Kings Canyon, Travel, Uluru
georgiebees
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