Uluru and Kata Tjuta

Discussing our plans for the day over breakfast this morning, we decided on something like this: "We'll go and take a look at the rock first and then drive out to the Olgas.  We'll come back to the caravan park for lunch and relax for the rest of the afternoon.  Then we'll go and visit one of the sunset viewing points this evening..."
Fortunately I decided to pack a picnic basket at the last minute, "just in case"!

Uluru (Ayers Rock) is so much bigger that we'd imagined! We drove part of the way around it, and stopped to do the shortest walk, just so the children could finally get to touch Uluru and see it up close.  We thought we'd then take one of the longer walks... but that was as far as we got!  It wasn't a long or strenuous walk by any means, but it was an experience we found we wanted to take in slowly- stopping frequently to look in awe at a different angle or view.  We were surprised at the rich- even lush- vegetation growing around the base of the rock. Arthur said at one point, "I don't think this is the desert- it's the jungle!" I'd never heard of a waterhole being there, either!

The aboriginal owners of Uluru request visitors to respect their traditions and not climb up the rock. This is as far as the children got before we called them back.

It was almost two o'clock before we got back to the car.  As we buckled the kids in, Esther said, "God made Uluru and it's beautiful."  I knew how she felt. I've been awestruck by God's masterful creation again and again; from the huge monolith or mountain, the wide plains and valleys, to the minutest detail in a little flower!
We drove the 40 kilometres to Kata Tutja (the aboriginal name for the Olgas, meaning "many heads"). Before exploring, we all agreed that getting out the picnic basket and having some lunch was the first priority! (Thanks again, Oom Theo!)

Thus fortified- and after drinking plenty of water- we tackled the walk up Walpa Gorge, between two of the rocky "heads".   I had expected the Olgas to be a group of smaller rocks like Uluru, but they are quite different! Whereas Uluru is a huge sandstone monolith (ie. "single stone"), the Olgas are made of a conglomerate of small rocks.( Imagine "exposed agregate" for giants, with each pebble roughly the size of a soccer ball!) The walls of the gorge were huge- it was very hard to capture the sheer size of them with the camera. An ephemeral creek runs through the gorge, and apparently many rare plants grow there, as well as being a refuge for animals.  Arthur came across a little dragon, but apart from birds, that was the only wildlife we saw.

By the time we had completed the walk, there was no time left to return to the caravan park before sunset, so we drove back to Uluru and lined up with the hundreds of cars and campervans already in the lookout carpark to watch the big rock change colour in the setting sun!  It was an impressive sight, and felt a bit like being in a postcard!

The children are so happy with the t-shirts Philip bought for them this morning. (You'll notice we've got matching ones, too!)

There are so many more walks we would like to try, places to explore and things to do here, but it's also a rather expensive place to stay. (There are no cheap camping places close to Uluru!) So, having crammed as much into one day as we could, we're heading to Kings Canyon tomorrow.  We plan to stay there for three nights at this stage, and hope to take it a little more slowly- the tourist pace is a bit too hectic!