23rd July 2009

Cruisy day today.Drove for a few hours to a bush camp about 30km's east of Yulara (and Uluru).We stopped at Curtin Springs on the way in and had a picnic lunch of greek lamb wraps that we purchases from Mt Ebernezer Roadhouse.They were delicious!Had a quick look at the bird averies and hit the road again.Stopped for some photos of Mt Conner and then a bit further up the road we got our first glimpse of Uluru.Man it's big!

Got to our campsite, set up camp, did some jobs and then climbed to the top of a nearby hill, had a few drinks and watched the sunset over Uluru and the Olgas.Awesome!

24th July 2009

Slowly packed up camp and had a nice hot shower thanks to the shower system that Matt had installed on the car.Then we headed up to the highway at about midday to wait for our friends from Melbourne - Luke and Jules - who we had organised to meet.We only had to wait about an hour before we were on the road to Yulara (the township near Uluru) and chatting to Luke and Jules on the UHF.We drove to our campsite at Yulara which is one the Connections Tours campsites.No camper trailer tonight, tents instead!Luke's uncle Steve works for Connections Tours and he was going to be our host and tour guide for the next few days.He had organised all of our accommodation and food as well.Thanks Steve!

After lunch we headed to Uluru for the big climb!After an hour of puffing and panting we made it to the top.It was bloody hard work as it's a very steep rock!After some happy snaps at the top and a brief shower of rain we started the trip down, which took about ½ an hour.The climb was very tiring but so worth it!We were lucky to climb the rock as the ranger closed the track about 10 mins after we went up.

Then we drove around to the other side of the rock to see some aboriginal paintings and a waterhole.After that we went to the sunset viewing area and had a Beveridge or two as we watched the sun set over Uluru.There is somethingabout Uluru.It has a magical feel to it.And after being there and hearing some of Steve's stories I understand why it is a sacred place for aboriginal people.

That night is was bbq dinner and lots of chatting as Jules' mum and dad were also part of our group.Matt and Jimmy (Jules dad) kept us entertained with their whip cracking skills before we straggled off to bed, exhausted after our big climb - except for Matt, Steve and Luke who stayed up well in to the night!

25th July 2009

Up early today!It was a big shock to Matt and my system.It was still dark outside!

After breakfast and packing up we drove in to the Olga's and did the Valley of the Winds tours (about 5.5km's). which is a walking track that winds through part of the Olga's.It was a lovely walk and I would highly recommend it if ever you go to the Olgas.

After the walk we headed back to the cultural centre at Uluru for lunch and then we hit road headed from Kings Creek Station - 300km's away.That night Steve cooked us up a fantastic campfire dinner of chicken casserole in the camp over, potato's and corn cooked in the coals and yummy damper!

26th July 2009

Up early again - definitely a shock to our systems - and off to Kings Canyon where we did the rim walk (6.0km's).The first part of the walk involves climbing 'coronery hill" - a steep climb but well worth it as the walk around Kings Canyon is fantastic.After the walk we headed back to camp for lunch and then it was time for us to say goodbye to Luke and Jules and Co as they had to go back to Alice Springs but Matt and I were staying on for another day or two.

That afternoon Matt and I set up camp (it's back to the camper for us) and then went for a quad bike ride which was quite fun - especially for Mel who hadn't been on a quad bike since she was a kid!We went on a sandy, twisty track through the scrub and got to go as fast as we liked - or at least as fast as the person in front on us!

27th July 2009

We decided to spend another night at Kings Creek Station just to relax as we were quite exhausted from all the walking and climbing we have done over the past 3 days.So we had a sleep in and then spent the day cleaning up and sorting out stuff - well Matt did, Mel spent most of the day reading her book!