Day 11 Erldunda to Yulara (245kms / 3hrs)

Today we left at 8am for our drive to Yulara. On the drive in we saw a really big flock of red tallied black cockatoos and dad & Josh saw a dingo. Driving in the first mountain you see is Mt Connor and then further along you see your first glimpse of Uluru and Kata Tjuta and we were very excited. We arrived at Yulara Campground at 11am and we were very happy to see there wasn’t a queue to checkin. The sign at Erldunda said that the campground is booked out until mid August. We were very lucky that we got 2 great powered sites. We set-up, had lunch, did some washing and then around 1pm we drove into the national park to see Uluru up close. Dad drove us around to the different sunset and sunrise viewing areas then he drove us to the Mala carpark. We got out and were so impressed with the beauty of Uluru. The climb was closed due to wind and the next review was at 2pm and it was nearly 2pm so we thought we would just wait and see. The ranger turned up to open the gate so we grabbed our bags and off we went. Josh must have been very excited cause he took off and was first up the chain. He was so quick and was up the chain in 17 mins and was the first person up for the day. Bronte & I were much slower and it really burnt your leg muscles walking up. It was steep and a bit slippery and looking down at the sheer drop was scary. Bronte got nearly halfway up the chain and freaked out so Rog was about to take her back down but then she decided she would keep going. She got a little further and then freaked out again so Rog took her back down while I continued up to try to find Josh. It was pretty scary at times with the sheer drop so I rested higher up the chain where it was more of a plateau. Dad kindly met Bronte bear the bottom and she waited with mum & dad while Rog had to walk back up again. I made it to the top of the chain and Josh was no where to be seen as he continued walking to the top. I had a rest for a bit and then continued on to find him. The climb after the chain was definitely much easier. I finally found Josh as he had started to walk back to find us as it was quite windy. So Josh & I continued climbing together and made it to the top in 55 mins. It was such an amazing view and experience and Rog joined us shortly after. We enjoyed the view, took photos, chatted to lots of people and then thought we better start the descend. I was freaking out about how I was going to make it back down but it wasn’t that bad and walking down the chain backwards made it very quick and easy. Bronte greeted us at the bottom and then we drove more around Uluru then back to our campsite. I took the kids to the playground and then finally had a well deserved shower while Rog cooked a BBQ. We had dinner, did more washing then had a quiet evening as we are all exhausted. So far my body isn’t sore but I’m sure my legs will be tomorrow.

Facts on Uluru

Uluru is the tip of a huge slab of rock that continues below the ground for possibly 5-6km

Uluru is 3.6km long and 348 metres at its tallest (43m higher than centrepoint tower, 24m higher than the Eiffel Tower and just 33m lower than the Empire State Building)

The colour changes result from the filtering effect of the earths atmosphere on the sun’s rays.