What an amazing day! We awoke early and got going right away to pack in as much as we could as it was our only full day at Ayers Rock (Uluru). After a quick breakfast of grilled cheese (Layla!) and yogurt and granola (Leanne and I) we packed up the tent and headed toward Uluru. It was very surreal to be driving down the highway with the destination being one of the 7 wonders of the world. I told Leanne that if someone had told me when I was 16 that when I was 32 I would be sleeping in a tent on top of a car with the two people whom I love more than anything in world at Ayers Rock then I would have told them they were crazy! We got to the rock at about 11:00 and it was already crazy busy with tourists. We found a parking spot and decided to try to climb the rock straight away as soon people will not be allowed to do this. The aboriginals do not like the idea of people climbing something that is sacred. We made it about 1/4 of the way up and decided to turn around as it was very windy and we wanted to see more of the rock from the ground. We caught up with a guided tour and listened to some stories of the Aboriginals' relationship with the rock and then explored a bit on our own. The caves and formations were incredible. It was eery how there are no birds flying around or nesting in the rock. The entire site, other than the annoying Japanese and German Tourists was silent. The waterfall formations were equally as fascinating; we would definitely like to see the rock when it rains!

After our foray with Ayers Rock it was off to the Cultural Centre to look around and see some art work and then back to the campground to relax and wait for our camel tour at sunset!

The bus for the camel tour picked us up from the campground at 4:30 and we rode out to the Camel Farm. It was a very amazing place to see! After a brief safety talk we were set up with our own camels. Layla and Leanne got to ride on Chester, an absolute puppy dog...he loved his pats; and I got to ride on Nullarbor, an older, more unpersonable camel who was all business. We climbed on, got lifted about 7 feet in the air, and began our journey around the sands surrounding Ayers Rock. The scenery was beautiful and our guide was very knowledgable. We had some laughs as Nullarbor relieved himself much to the disgust of Chester who was very vocal and animated about the smells! I got to experience Camel Cud first hand, as Chester shared his regurgitated lunch with me over and over again throughout the trip. The sunset was amazing watching Ayers Rock and the Olgas in the distance and the temperature dropped rapidly! We headed back to the farm, said our good byes to our new camel friends, and headed into the shop for drinks and nibbles and to purchase some souvenirs. Layla bought a soft, stuffed camel and immediately named him Chester. It was a day to remember for sure! The Camel Tour bus dropped us off at the campground at 7:00 where we made dinner by lantern light and got nestled in to the tent for a cold night in the Outback Desert.