Matt Down Under

Again we got up early to watch the sunrise at Uluru. At 6.45am we were there — not on one of the dedicated parking areas, this time we just parked at the side of the road where we had watched the sunset the day before.

We were not disappointed this time — the sun came up just left of Uluru, and with the horizon in glowing red from the morning sun, it couldn’t have been better.

Afterwards we headed to Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), another very interesting rock formation about 60km from Uluru.

Our first stop was at the dune viewing area from where you have a great panorama view of the whole area. It was still quite early in the morning and a bit chilly but it quickly became warmer.

A bit further down the road we stopped at the picnic area to have breakfast. From there you also have wonderful views.

There are two main walks available at Kata Tjuta, the first is a short walk into the stunning Walpa Gorge. It’s about one hour return and highly recommended. It’s impressive how peaceful and quiet it is there. You can sit at the viewing platform at the end of the track, look up the high walls around you and watch clouds moving by. 

On our way to the start of the Walpa Gorge car park we suddenly spotted some camels near the side of the road. We quickly pulled over the car and hurried to take photos, but they slowly walked away once they noticed us. Pretty funny to have wild camels walking around there.

After the Walpa Gorge we drove to the other car park where the main walk starts. It’s a 4h walk through the Valley of the Winds. It was very hot by now and we had to take a lot of water with us.

When we arrived at Karu, the first lookout point, I was speechless — what a beautiful view down into the valley. Some locals told us the valley hadn’t been that green in 60 years. Again it was the combination of colours that was so mind-blowing. The red domes and red soil, together with a blue sky and the green trees and green grass. I spent a few minutes there only enjoying the view.

The rest of the walk wasn’t any less fascinating. walking down into the valley and seeing all the vegetation and some beautiful birds was great. There was a second lookout point (Karingana) with another stunning view. It was incredibly quiet there, I sat down for a lunch break.

We walked for 4h and it was a fantastic experience. Just be sure to take plenty of water.

Back from the walk we headed back to the Culture Centre at Uluru where Patrick wanted to take some more notes in the arts gallery. I stayed in the van and went through some photos of the past few days.

We were planning to drive to Kings Canyon that evening but it seemed too far and too late. Instead we decided to drive to Curtin Springs, where camping is free, and early the following morning we would drive to Kings Canyon.

Before we left Uluru however we made another two quick stops. The first one to see the sunset again — and this time we were lucky and got to see it in all its red beauty — and the second one at Yulara, to shop at the supermarket.

We made it to Curtin Springs, but I couldn’t really recommend anyone to stay there. The whole place is full of mice and they were biting our shoes when we sat outside to watch the stars after dinner, very annoying. The other problem is there were cattle farms nearby and that’s probably the reason for the amount of tiny flies that will drive you crazy (not the normal outback flies). Also the showers were full of flies too and at $2.16 per litre fuel was ¢35 more expensive than at Yulara — a total rip-off.

Later that night I saw a dingo when I came back from the shower block.