Wow we’re so glad we decided to head up to Northern Territory to see Ayers Rock, it’s pretty impressive!

We crossed into NT (third state in 2 weeks) & all we could see was desert, desert & more desert! After crossing the border from SA the speed limit went from 110kmh to 130kmh, Dean decided to see if Jock Patch could handle it, he made it to the 130 but don’t think he could have lasted too long without something falling off! It was a pretty cool drive, seeing ‘the rock’ appearing in the distance. There were a few photo stops with busloads of Japanese people taking snaps, they’re never far away with their cameras! We were glad the van had a/c as it was pretty toasty driving in the desert. We were on the lookout for camels (yes there are camels in Oz!!) but didn’t spot one until we were driving back the way. A huge dead one lying at the side of the road, if it was a car that hit it, it must have been in some mess!

The actual Uluru National Park that Ayers Rock is in is miles & miles from anything so we couldn’t be cheap skates and find a free stop to park up in and wonder into the Park! The site we were staying at is like something you’d see in America…..campsites, motels, five star hotels, cafes, restaurants, pubs & supermarkets! Until a few years ago you had to visit here on an organised trip from Alice Springs, we were glad that wasn’t the case now, hate doing organised trips! The site itself was pretty expensive, $36 just to park your van up for the night. In the end we didn’t mind as it did have pretty good facilities, good showers, brill kitchen and a pool! :oD

After finding our spots & doing some laundry (we were running pretty low on undies!) we took off to take a walk around the rock and watch the sun going down. It was so hot! Because we were in the desert there were so many flies! I was seriously beginning to wish I’d bought one of the hats with a fly screen on them that all the Japanese were wearing! The rock itself is amazing; it stands at 2831 feet tall and is a sacred place for the Aboriginal people with loads of stories surrounding it. Because it’s sacred the majority of people are trying to ban anyone climbing it, I think it should be banned because of how bloomin steep it is! 12 people have died doing it, of course Dean being Dean that made him want to do it even more! Such a shame that the climb was closed because there was a bit of wind! ;o) We had planned to walk all the way around the rock but that would have taken about 4 hours, we would have needed about 40 litres of water to do that in this heat! We ended up doing a small walk that took us to a few cool parts then jumped back in the vans & parked up in the ‘sunset viewing area’ to watch the sun go down. It was a pretty amazing experience sitting in the middle of the desert, watching the sun go down at Ayers Rock with a nice cold beer from our own little kitchen in the camper!

It was our last night with Alysha & Keaton, we were heading back down the way we came & they were carrying up North to Alice Springs, so after having our curry dinner (out of a tin!), we headed to the Butlins like pub to say goodbye. We ended up being parked up beside Jake & Lisa, a lovely couple we met in Coober Pedy so they came along too. We did invite Eli & Mari but oh no what a shame Eli didn’t want to come. It was actually a shame Mari didn’t want to come, she was lovely. Alysha & Keaton had had enough of having the extra people in their van so they ended up telling them they couldn’t take them any further, well actually we all lied and said they were driving a different direction so couldn’t take them to Alice after all!! It all ended up ok though, Eli hitched a ride with some other American guys & Mari managed to ditch Eli and get a bus to Darwin….sorted! Our night at the pub ended up being a bit of a boozy night! We sat outside our vans til about 4am, the only reason we actually went to bed was because a Danish guy started shouting at us. Ok your right we realise now that we are probably playing our music too loud, talking to loud & keeping everyone else in the site up but at the time he got abuse & got told to get back in his van – ooopps!

Our plan was only to stay at Ayers for one night but we, well me, was feeling so rough that the only thing for it was to lie by the pool & stay one more night. The actual sites that we were in could easily fit two vans so we ended up sharing & going halves with Jake & Lisa which saved both of us some money. We had an early night, said our farewells in the morning and hit the road again. It felt kind of weird not seeing A & K’s van in front of or behind us! We knew we had a long drive ahead of us so we treated ourselves & stopped at a café for a bacon & egg roll…..has to be the most expensive bacon & egg roll we’ll ever have…..$22!! Think we’ll stick to our toast & peanut butter from now on!

Lots of Love
Chelle & Dean xxx