Day 82 and 83 21st and 22nd-8-2007 Uluru and Kata Tjuta

I left Alice early for the 6 hour bus ride to Uluru (or Ayres Rock as its also known as). The drive across the red desert was complemented by the bush scrub land, the wildlife including kangeroos, Camels and cattle that roam around in their thousands. Some of them deciding to pick a fight with a bus with a not so happy outcome. (still, always good to have an early lunch if the oppotunity arises and the busses carry roof racks. Takeout at its best!!)

Arriving at the Uluru Resort is strange. Its the same as a typical all-inclusive place, but in the middle of nowhere. The whole resort, hotels, shops, backpackers everything is owned by one company, which means only one thing BLOODY EXPENSIVE. In their defence the shuttle bus around the resort is free- but thats the only thing. The barbecue at the backpackers is the livleist place to be at night, with a live band on whist you cook your meat ( you can't blame the chef this time!!)

The first night, i booked a trip to Uluru to see the sunset, which is about 15 minutes away from the reort. The sunset happens quickly and you dont notice the rock changing colour too much. It's only when i looked at my pictures that i was taking every 30 seconds did i see the dramitic change. Equally dramitic was the sunset over the rest of the landscape, with the sillouettes it cast over the continous scrubland and ghostgum trees in the distant.

The sunrise is much slower and therfore less dramatic, but still worth getting up at 5 in the morning for? i think

The rest of the morning was filled with a cultural tour of Uluru, with one of the true natives. He proclaimed that he had killed 5 kangeroos that same morning. He then went on to show the weapons that the native used including spears , clubs, and boomerangs. He then explained that he prefer to use a shotgun (how else would he kill 5 kangeroos in a morning). He made fire out of wood, bark and hair and told some traditional fables about the rock. At the botton of the rock there are various plaques dedicated to people who have attempted to climb Uluru and killed themselves. The local natives request that you dont climb the rock because it makes them sad when an accidient happens. The Goverment see it differently and allow it. Alot of Aussies think of it has their "God given right to climb it" (someone actually said that) and although the percentage of visitors who decide to climb it has dropped, thousands still try to climb it. As the rock is smooth, like i pebble, it would be a nightmere to climb. The only comparison i can think of, would be trying to climb up the slide when you was a kid, but for 300 metres high)

I respectfully decided to abide by the locals request and did not climb- (Beside Kings Canyon's much more fun).

In the afternoon we travelled an hour or so to Kata Tjuta (also known as the olgas). Kata Tjuta is actually higher than Uluru and much more interesting. From a distance it looks like a series of domes, and depending from the view and the position of the sun will completely change in colour, shaddow and shape. On closer look there are a number of canyons. The walk to one of these is worth doing if you have time. On closer inspection, Kata Tjuta is totally different to Uluru, as the whole of the range is made up of tiny rock formations that have over the years been pebble dashed by the rusty sand and baked over thousands of year. Whislt Uluru is just a rock.- Most people dont bother with Kata Tjuta- Their Mistake.

Later that day was another Uluru sunset, but from a different vantage point- Same outcome. Funny that.