Day 4/5
Driving thru the rugged desert country the low temperatures held much to our relief. On the way we saw a family of Emus in the wild and further on a solidarity female Emu which looked magnificent in her natural surroundings. We finally did get to see a big red Kangaroo but unfortunately it was one of many dead on the side of the road the thunder and lightening had driven them across the highway into traffic mainly the Road Trains pulling up to four trailers on 66 wheels they did not have a chance. We stopped for lunch at Marla the town sign boasted of a population of 1.5 million sheep, 30 human beings and Frank! nobody knew who Frank was!! We arrived at Yulara in time to watch the sunset at Uluru. This was quite spectacular with various shades of red emerging as the sand stone reflected the rays of the setting sun. We toasted the occasion with champagne and congratulated ourselves on surviving the journey so far. That night we stayed at a campsite and again we were fortunate to get upgraded to a tent with proper beds electricity and a fan. After supper we had saw the Southern Cross and the Milky Way in a fantastic clear cloudless sky. Unfortunately we had to go to retire early as we faced a 3:45am wake up call in order to catch the sunrise at Uluru.
As it turned out there have been better sunrises as the morning light had to struggle thru storm clouds on the horizon. We took the base hike after sunrise which was a 10.5km walk but we managed to shorten this to a mere 7km by taking a trail thru the outback to the Culture Centre. Here we saw beautiful Aboriginal art and artifacts and we met some of these native Australians. Photos were forbidden at many places on the rock which were sacred to the men and women of the local mob (tribe) which were used for secret cermonies and rituals. We were also advised not to take pictures of the Aboriginal people out of respect of their right for privacy. After lunch back at the camp we set off for Katatjuta (the Olgas) here we hiked thru a crack in the rocks called the Walpa Gorge, a 90min hill walk. The gorge was very beautiful and serene and peaceful. The recent rain resulted in arid springs and pools springing to life frogs which had been dormant under ground waiting for this moment were lively and noisy everywhere. Flowers and plants seldom seen were in full bloom providing sweet nectar for the many butterflies and bees. A garden of Eden for sure. We were told that only 4% of tourists ever witness this this helped compensate for the missed and cancelled hikes earlier in the week.
On our way to Kings Canyon we stopped at Mt O'Conner which is a huge rock 36km around it's base not a lot of information on this place. It was on this leg that nature hit is with a vengeance Ben had to cope a thunder storm the likes of which we have never seen and drive thru flash flooding and the red mud across the road but this too did pass and we were guided to our campsite by some amazing rainbows promising sunny days ahead. The last 5km to our Bush campsite was a winding narrow and twisting dirt road where Ben decided to demonstrate his rally driving skills!! He then proceeded to cook a great evening meal of wild Australian fare as well as chicken satay and chicken cacciatore this was the best and last meal of our trip. Once again the Southern Cross was in full view in the night sky as we settled in for the night and once again a very early start. To be continued. MR&K
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