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Uluru the Outback Tour Day 2 - Travel Report

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Uluru the Outback Tour Day 2 - Travel Report

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Old Nov 21st, 2016, 11:54 PM
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Uluru the Outback Tour Day 2 - Travel Report

The interpretive base walk of Uluru was fulfilling. For Uluru the Outback Tour Day 1m it is at http://wp.me/p5Lw9a-1is. At one point I thought: “are we simply walk once around the rock and that’s it?” But there were caves, valleys, ancient paintings, ponds that had interesting stories about this giant wonder. It was not exactly a super-hot day but the sun made it difficult enough to walk around the rock without sunscreen and a hat. That’s why the walk of Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon in the following two days were done by lunch in the morning. How the aborigines survived in such a harsh environment for thousands of years was amazing, and how they celebrated and thanked what they were given in the “center of the world” was admirable. After the base walk, we continued our learning path at the cultural center; Photography was not allowed in the learning center and the native’s history, culture, and beliefs were on display in different languages. The number of flies was overwhelming and it kind of annoyed me a little bit; it was nice to be indoor with air conditioning and we all got popsicles at the cafeteria to cool down. Before heading back to the camp for dinner, we were driven to the viewpoint and prepared to look out at the gorgeous sunset of the rock, as it changed colors with the sunlight at different angles and different times.


The next morning we woke up pretty early at 5am before the sunrise. It was because we were expected to see it with the beautiful Uluru. These are the hours before the flies were awake and we could have an “undisturbed” moment to appreciate the beauty of the area. It was incredible. A giant rock sat on the green carpet and nothing else. The colorful twilight was the canvas of the picturesque scenery. We all gasped in amazement when the sun rose from the horizon and it’s a celebration of another wonderful day.

Afterward, we wasted no time and set off to the Kata Tjuta for another hike. Kata Tjuta (or Olgas) maybe not as famous as Uluru (isn’t it lucky). The “Valley of the Winds” is also a sacred group of rocks within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. It was a group of 36 domes of rock formation consisting various rock types including granite and basalt, and visitors are allowed to walk through the rocks! Kata Tjuta and Uluru are geologically similar. In other words, they are like brothers and sisters but Uluru is much larger and single rock formation; while Kata Tjuta is a rock cluster (the rocks are still pretty big) though. The walk took about 3 hours before we set off to our camp at the Kings Creek Station.

To see some photos of the beautiful Kata Tjuta and details are at the blog @ http://wp.me/p5Lw9a-1k3

No Internet. No gadgets. And, basically, no electricity. Yet we were quite busy settling down mingling with people in our group around the fire, preparing dinner and showering in an outdoor booth that has a perfect view of nature and a slim chance a wild animal would pay a visit the occupant is naked. After a great night, we all tucked in ourselves in a swag (sleeping bag), gazed at the starry sky, and had a good night sleep under the Southern Cross.

Cooking / Camp Fire / Showering in the wild / Enjoying the view while showering
knycx_journeying is offline  
Old Nov 23rd, 2016, 12:45 PM
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The Red Centre as its called is amazing
My two night and 3 day tour from Alice and back to all places
you mention sooooh good

Glad you enjoyed
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Old Nov 23rd, 2016, 10:20 PM
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Glad you enjoyed this extraordinary & beautiful "red centre" of our country.

I am wondering though - whatever would possess one to venture out in those conditions without hat, sunscreen & insect repellent/ fly veil? That's just asking for trouble in the form of sunburn/sunstroke and, as you found, annoyance from flies.

I enjoyed your trip report & great photos - thank you.
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Old Nov 23rd, 2016, 10:50 PM
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Great photos and enjoyed reading your entertaining blog. Hope to get over there one day.
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Old Nov 24th, 2016, 06:18 PM
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@Coolmover - Yes! I am glad you enjoyed the tour, too!
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Old Nov 24th, 2016, 06:19 PM
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@Bokhara2 - I guess it's us against the nature. Amongst heat, sun and flies.... I hate the flies the most
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Old Nov 24th, 2016, 06:20 PM
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@tasman girl - thanks and you should! Staytuned for the Kings Canyon experience
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Old Nov 24th, 2016, 11:16 PM
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"Us against nature" is pretty futile here.

Nature ALWAYS wins.
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Old Nov 28th, 2016, 05:46 PM
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@margo_oz yes, ALWAYS!
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