Aus Day 6 - Uluru
Such an early start with an 5am alarm but my paranoid mind woke me 2 hours earlier. We managed to leave just after 5:30am whilst it was still dark. The satnav predicted an arrival time just short of 9am. At the start of the journey there were a few cars and UTEs on the road and as we approached Newcastle many construction and mining workers were arriving to start their day.
After Newcastle we joined the motorway and if it wasn't for the different place names you couldn't help feeling we were driving in the UK. Getting out of Sydney was slow when we first arrived but returning back was horrendously slow building up our stress levels. Through hideous traffic that never seemed to let up. The rush hour and traffic lights added more and more pressure, and the satnav recalculated a later arrival time as we crawled along. By the last 5kms we were truly panicking especially as the baggage deadline was about to come up (30 minutes before the flight). Through a tunnel we lost the satnav transmission and thought we'd missed the exit which almost reached our boiling point. A desperate phonecall to Virgin was abandoned after touch-tone menu hell. We'd even talked about leaving our main baggage with Nikki and having to run to the gate. When we pulled up to the terminal building we legged it over to the check-in desk only to be met by a couple of chilled out Virgin staff who casually said we had plenty of time. We'd made it with time for a fag, toilet and something to eat.
Travel Tip
1. Get online as soon as early to check-in and chose better seats.
2. Don't chose seats that back onto the Exit row as the chair won't lean back i.e. it'll be fixed.
3. Leave another 30 minutes earlier when calculating travel time to the airport
After all the stress, our flight to Yulara, the airport closest to Uluru (Ayres Rock) took off 20 minutes late. From the airplane window I could see the land change from the lush green to desert red with straight line roads and territory divisions that went on for miles into the horizon.
Before we landed we changed our watches to the new timezone - not just an hour but 90 minutes behind Sydney time so we'd almost time-traveled. As we approached the airport I spotted both iconic rocks of Uluru and Kata Tjutu (the Olgas), not hard to miss with the flat landscape.
The landing itself was the worst I've ever experienced with the bumpy ride from what I'm guessing the hot air thermals. Airport was really basic with just a shop and four car rental desks which all advertised as full booked. We walked straight up to the free connection coach located at the airport entrance to all the resorts. About 10 minutes later we arrived at our hotel, the Desert Gardens which we were to stay Thursday night. Checked our big bags into storage (no charge) then went in search of lunch. The resort had a deli, cafe, a supermarket and a noodle bar named Ayres Wok. It was baking hot with clear blue skies, perfect for our planned sunset viewing.
Overnight Uluru Safari by Adventure Tours
Karla ('no worries'), our guide picked us up as well as 3 Japanese girls and about 6 tourists from Germany and Denmark. We drove past the campsite which didn't look the romantic, sleep under the stars place but a cluster of large tents with an undercover canteen and a huge shower and toilet block in the centre.
After we fueled up the 4x4 bus we headed for the first viewing point for Kata Tjuta (silent 't') or the old name, The Olgas. Its not as famous as its neighbour but the rock formations were just as impressive. A few miles later we come across two of the 1.5 million in Australia (a handful imported years ago) the stop at 'Valley of the Winds' for a walk to Karingana Lookout. The flies were getting annoying and drinking water was becoming essential. Slightly under-prepared in terms of footwear as hiking trainers would have been the safer option. The end point was a shared by the huge rocks and deserved the 2 to 3 minute silence we gave to enjoy the surroundings. The walk back proved to be challenging in respect of putting up with the persistent flies and having to drink warm water.
Sunset on Uluru
Climbed back into the air-conditioned (but barely working) bus for our final day's activity of the Uluru sunset. The roads were quiet and are simply dedicated for servicing tourist related vehicles including the odd campervan. The car park for the sunset was already full of coaches and other smaller vans. We avoided the masses assisting the guide with an eski of drinks, biscuits (crackers to us Brits) and dips. Kerry had somehow got chatting to an Australian couple who weren't on our tour but were enjoying a few beers and part of a similar tour. The sunset itself was very special with a full moon rising immediately after. The colours of Uluru subtly interesting but maybe I was expecting a deeper purple.
Our drive back to basecamp, Karla played some classic Oz rock music plus some comedy songs about the safeness of the country. The BBQ food for the evening's meal was a selection camel meat sausages, kangaroo steaks and beef burgers. Loved the camel (hope it wasn't toe) plus the fruit crumble dessert was really tasty and a lot better than expected.
Despite the campsite not being as we'd expected it was nice to see a full sky of stars without the light pollution of the UK. At the dinner table we get chatting to the Japanese girls who'd stayed in the UK and spoke some English.
The tents were more like bedrooms under canvas with proper single beds, a light, two chairs, a table and a fan. With the 4:20am alarm we needed an early night. The shower facility was surprising good too with warm water to wash away the desert dusting.
I was pretty knackered and almost asleep except that our Japanese female neighbours continued to chat well beyond 11pm oblivious of the lack of sound-proofing. I had to rephrase my request three times until they understood to shut up. After that the wind picked up then the tent started to creak and rattle every minute or two resulting in just a few hazy minutes instead the planned hours of sleep.
After Newcastle we joined the motorway and if it wasn't for the different place names you couldn't help feeling we were driving in the UK. Getting out of Sydney was slow when we first arrived but returning back was horrendously slow building up our stress levels. Through hideous traffic that never seemed to let up. The rush hour and traffic lights added more and more pressure, and the satnav recalculated a later arrival time as we crawled along. By the last 5kms we were truly panicking especially as the baggage deadline was about to come up (30 minutes before the flight). Through a tunnel we lost the satnav transmission and thought we'd missed the exit which almost reached our boiling point. A desperate phonecall to Virgin was abandoned after touch-tone menu hell. We'd even talked about leaving our main baggage with Nikki and having to run to the gate. When we pulled up to the terminal building we legged it over to the check-in desk only to be met by a couple of chilled out Virgin staff who casually said we had plenty of time. We'd made it with time for a fag, toilet and something to eat.
Travel Tip
1. Get online as soon as early to check-in and chose better seats.
2. Don't chose seats that back onto the Exit row as the chair won't lean back i.e. it'll be fixed.
3. Leave another 30 minutes earlier when calculating travel time to the airport
After all the stress, our flight to Yulara, the airport closest to Uluru (Ayres Rock) took off 20 minutes late. From the airplane window I could see the land change from the lush green to desert red with straight line roads and territory divisions that went on for miles into the horizon.
Before we landed we changed our watches to the new timezone - not just an hour but 90 minutes behind Sydney time so we'd almost time-traveled. As we approached the airport I spotted both iconic rocks of Uluru and Kata Tjutu (the Olgas), not hard to miss with the flat landscape.
The landing itself was the worst I've ever experienced with the bumpy ride from what I'm guessing the hot air thermals. Airport was really basic with just a shop and four car rental desks which all advertised as full booked. We walked straight up to the free connection coach located at the airport entrance to all the resorts. About 10 minutes later we arrived at our hotel, the Desert Gardens which we were to stay Thursday night. Checked our big bags into storage (no charge) then went in search of lunch. The resort had a deli, cafe, a supermarket and a noodle bar named Ayres Wok. It was baking hot with clear blue skies, perfect for our planned sunset viewing.
Overnight Uluru Safari by Adventure Tours
Karla ('no worries'), our guide picked us up as well as 3 Japanese girls and about 6 tourists from Germany and Denmark. We drove past the campsite which didn't look the romantic, sleep under the stars place but a cluster of large tents with an undercover canteen and a huge shower and toilet block in the centre.
After we fueled up the 4x4 bus we headed for the first viewing point for Kata Tjuta (silent 't') or the old name, The Olgas. Its not as famous as its neighbour but the rock formations were just as impressive. A few miles later we come across two of the 1.5 million in Australia (a handful imported years ago) the stop at 'Valley of the Winds' for a walk to Karingana Lookout. The flies were getting annoying and drinking water was becoming essential. Slightly under-prepared in terms of footwear as hiking trainers would have been the safer option. The end point was a shared by the huge rocks and deserved the 2 to 3 minute silence we gave to enjoy the surroundings. The walk back proved to be challenging in respect of putting up with the persistent flies and having to drink warm water.
Sunset on Uluru
Climbed back into the air-conditioned (but barely working) bus for our final day's activity of the Uluru sunset. The roads were quiet and are simply dedicated for servicing tourist related vehicles including the odd campervan. The car park for the sunset was already full of coaches and other smaller vans. We avoided the masses assisting the guide with an eski of drinks, biscuits (crackers to us Brits) and dips. Kerry had somehow got chatting to an Australian couple who weren't on our tour but were enjoying a few beers and part of a similar tour. The sunset itself was very special with a full moon rising immediately after. The colours of Uluru subtly interesting but maybe I was expecting a deeper purple.
Our drive back to basecamp, Karla played some classic Oz rock music plus some comedy songs about the safeness of the country. The BBQ food for the evening's meal was a selection camel meat sausages, kangaroo steaks and beef burgers. Loved the camel (hope it wasn't toe) plus the fruit crumble dessert was really tasty and a lot better than expected.
Despite the campsite not being as we'd expected it was nice to see a full sky of stars without the light pollution of the UK. At the dinner table we get chatting to the Japanese girls who'd stayed in the UK and spoke some English.
The tents were more like bedrooms under canvas with proper single beds, a light, two chairs, a table and a fan. With the 4:20am alarm we needed an early night. The shower facility was surprising good too with warm water to wash away the desert dusting.
I was pretty knackered and almost asleep except that our Japanese female neighbours continued to chat well beyond 11pm oblivious of the lack of sound-proofing. I had to rephrase my request three times until they understood to shut up. After that the wind picked up then the tent started to creak and rattle every minute or two resulting in just a few hazy minutes instead the planned hours of sleep.
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