A big hello from Uluru. We fill up the petrol tank at Kings Canyon paying a mere $2.19 per litre of petrol. This is the most expensive so far. The drive from Kings canyon is around 300 kms. We are excited to see wild camels on the trip and Mark even spots a black one.

We are over 100 kms from the national park when Mark sees Uluru in the distance. He is surprised to see it so far away. When we get a little closer we realise that it is actually Mt Conner. Oops! We first see Uluru when we are 50 kms from Yulara. It is truly an imposing sight against the flat plains that surround it.

We arrive at Yulara and head for the campground. This place is busy and we are 5th in the queue to check in. We find a patch of grass, put up the tent and head to the town centre. That night we again catch up with Williams friend Patrick and his family who arrived the day before.

The following morning we are up early and off to Uluru. We pay $25 each for a park pass which gives us access for 3 days.

Wow wow wow. This is some rock! As we get closer to it we are truly in awe. It is everything it claims to be and more. Photos do not do it justice. You have to see it to experience the beauty and magic of the place.

We hire bicycles to cycle the 10.6 km around the rock. William is on a tag along on the back of Marks bike and Emily in a seat on the back of mine. This magnificent piece of sandstone takes 2 hours to cycle around. It is truly awe inspiring. We feel insignificant next to this giant monolith.

We come back another day and explore parts of the rock a little more on foot. There are a couple of nooks and crannies that you can walk into, it has a gorge and even a waterhole which is very peaceful.

That night we put together a picnic and head back to the rock for sunset. The picnic doesn't go quite as expected due to the number of over exuberant flies that want to join in. Mark tries out his new fly net. It keeps the flies away but is a bit difficult to see through.

The sunset is spectacular with the rock turning an intense red and immediately losing life and returning to brown once the sun sets.

The rock is incredibly steep and tall and you can see why you should only climb if you are fit. A friend overhears a guide telling their group that they won't be climbing it for 3 reasons.
1. There is no toilet at the top. People still go and it ends up seeping into the water.
2. 35 people have died attempting the climb.
3. One guy fell into a cavern and they threw him some thermal blankets and helicoptered him out the next day. He received a $68,000 bill.

Mark would like to climb a bit but it is closed due to strong winds.

We visit Kata Tjuta which from a distance looks pretty awesome. As we get closer and it grows in size it is impressive. We do a walk to the first lookout in the Valley of the Winds. The view is great and the wind is unbelievable. It is so strong that we can barely speak to each other. We can see where the name comes from! We also do the walk into the Walpa Gorge which we really enjoy.

We eat a couple of times at Kulata Academy Cafe which provides training opportunities for indigenous youth. They have some yummy cakes, our favourite is a delicious lemon myrtle and blueberry cake.

On our final day in Yulara we return to Uluru one last time to admire the rock.
Leaving Uluru we all agree that this could be the highlight of the trip.