Flight Ayers Rock (Uluru)
Our day started with a bus to Sydney Airport before boarding a plane bound for Ayers Rock. Before flying out we were lucky enough to volunteer for an exit row and got seated on row 1! The extra legroom was a great way to relax on the 3 hour flight.
We were picked up by our tour guide Keith, in the Outback Tours Services vehicle. We had originally booked with another company (Emu Run) but due to some tours not filling up, they combined us and code shared under Outback Tour Services. I’m not sure how different the Emu Run Experience would have been, but we were happy to meet and be in such a good group!
Kata Tjuda
Our first stop was to Kata Tjuda, another rock formation near Ayers rock. Its not as uniform as Ayers, but in a way I liked it better. There was more variety to the formations and the curves and angles made for more interesting viewing. We would do a 1.5 hour hike here. I was slightly dreading this because the outside temperature was around 37 degrees Celsius. And if you know me, I tend to prefer the cold, over the heat, so to this day I still wonder why I booked the activities that I did!
Walpa Gorge Walk
We took one walk in between two of the larger rock domes. The first thing you notice is that the temperature gets hotter and hotter the deeper in you get. Keith explained that the rocks on both sides retain and emit a great amount of heat. So the 37 degrees that was outside more like 45 or so inside. We were literally walking into an oven. Great! The other thing I noticed was there was a great deal of green inside. Its not something I would have expected, but apparently they’ve had some rainfall for 14 months straight. Even so, the plants are very resilient and seem to be thriving despite the hostile conditions.
A word of warning. Should you visit the red centre area, be prepared for an onslaught of flies all over. I cannot underscore enough how many flies there are in the area. We were advised to bring fly nets and it served us well! If not you’ll be swatting them from your face constantly.
Sunset at Uluru
Our next stop was the sunset viewing point near Uluru. When we pulled up, there were already a lot of tour buses around and they had setup along some of the viewing area. While the sunset was pretty amazing to see, and the way the light reflects off of the rock to create a sharp red was neat. I found the experience slightly manufactured.
For one, it seemed very much like a tourist activity. Many of us (and other groups) had champagne poured for us so we could toast and enjoy the evening. Hundreds of tourists would setup shop along the viewing area trying to snap photos of the rock. Personally I found it weird that the sunset was behind the viewing area, and so you would only see the light reflection on the rock, rather than seeing the sun set behind the rock. Nonetheless it was an experience to see the sunset on something so iconic, and celebrating it with champagne can’t hurt! haha.
Twilight Dinner
Upon returning to our campsite we found that dinner was prepared for us already. We would be dining under the stars! Our host Matt, prepared some steak, sausages, and kangaroo meat for us! It was the first time I’d had Kangaroo, and it tasted a lot like beef (maybe a bit tougher). But the experience of getting to know your tour mates over some food and wine was something I enjoyed quite a bit.
Photographing and Sleeping under the Stars
Some of the best experiences of my life, have been times when I’ve been able to camp outdoors in unique locations like Antarctica or Egypt. This time it was no different. Each of us were given a “Swag” which was this canvas bag with a built in mattress. We would then put a sleeping bag inside and camp under the stars. The idea was that you could zip up the swag and prevent things from getting in, or keep the environment out if needed. For myself I opted to keep the swag open because, even at night, it was still pretty warm!
Another thing Photos and I were very keen to do was to try our hand at astrophotography. We had been reading up on how to do it and were eager to try because there aren’t many places that you can be away from a lot of light pollution. So we left our camp to try and give it a shot. I’d like to think for my first shots they turned out ok!
Sunrise at Uluru
We woke up at the ungodly hour of 4:30 am in order to pack up camp and get to the sunrise viewing platform. It was kind of funny because it was exactly the same setup as the sunset (without the champagne though). There were a number of tour buses already there, there were viewing platforms and we had the sun at our backs. So all my comments about the sunset, apply here as well. Nonetheless I took a few pictures but we piled back into the bus soon after sunrise to drive to the rock itself
Walking around Uluru
We got dropped off at the base of Uluru and had the opportunity to walk halfway around the big rock. It was about 6 kilometers and took us a little over an hour to do the walk. From afar the rock itself seems quite uniform, however up close you can really see the details. There were parts that had broken off, aboriginal meeting areas and even a few watering holes which would be refilled every time there was a rainfall. I found the walk around the base to be much more interesting then the sunset/sunrise viewings from afar.
Camp fire
With Ayers rock behind us, we settled in for a few hours drive towards Kings Canyon. We arrived at the Kings Canyon Resort and settled into a campsite a few kilometers past the resort. We settled in for dinner, setup swags and enjoyed some time around the camp fire. Again it was moments like these that I enjoyed most about being on tours. I got to chat with friends, make new ones and share stories and advice from past travels. What a great way to meet people from around the world.
Unfortunately Photos had fallen ill during the day and our guide felt it best if he stayed in a tent (instead of a swag) for the evening. It was a bit of a pleasant surprise to be in “nicer” accommodations and I still got to sit around the fire to “hang out” so I guess it was the best of both worlds.
Kings Canyon Rim Walk
We had one activity planned for our last day on tour. It was a Kings Canyon Rim Walk. To avoid the heat (which would be a horrendous 37 degrees again) we were again up at 4:45 am, to pack up camp and get to the canyon. The first part of the walk was about half an hour up a vertical incline to get to the top of the canyon. It was nicknamed “heart attack hill” because some people have had heart attacks attempting the hike in the heat. Luckily for us, it was still cool in the morning, we were warned to have enough water for the hike and we took a few breaks during the ascent.
The walk itself though was pretty amazing. It reminded me of the grand canyon in same ways (only a bit smaller). The views from the top were pretty spectacular and even the area at top were unique with some odd looking rock domes all over the place.
We had a chance to hike into the canyon at one point to an area called the “garden of Eden”. This was a lush green area in the canyon that had some watering holes and streams. It was a big change from the outer canyon which was mostly rock and shrubs.
To be honest I found it to be more interesting the Uluru and enjoyed this part of the trip immensely.
Unfortunately, given Photo’s condition, he wasn’t able to join us for the hike. Keith was concerned that Photo’s condition would have worsened during the hike and given how close we were to the edge at some points didn’t want to risk it. Though when we returned to camp Photo did seem to be recovering, so it looks like he’d be free to enjoy the rest of his trip
Return to Alice Springs
It had been a long three days in heat and somewhat uncomfortable conditions, but it was great to have come out of it with some amazing experiences, new friends and great stories to tell. We had a 5 hour drive to Alice springs and had one last dinner together as a group. Contact information was exchanged and the next day we all departed on different flights to different destinations. Photo and I, we were on our way to Tasmania!