Road Trip : Uluru, Kata Tjuta & King's Canyon

On the morning we left Kulgera it was Heidi's turn to drive, up till this far I had done all of the drivin besides Lola drivin the other day last 130km and Heidi & Lou takin a first feel of the car on a day in Mt Gambier. It was always clear that I'm gonna do majority of the drivin and I also wanted to drive pretty much the whole first week to get the feel of the camper and also determine what would be our best speed thinkin of fuel economy. Now I just needed few days off from drivin. We stopped in all of the petrol stations on a way to Yulara to check the petrol prices, we had heard that it's more expensive on the way than actually in the resort in Yulara. Before the last station we saw a first views of a big rock and obviously we started cheering that's Uluru.. ..blah.. ..it was only Mount Conner, apparently lot of the tourists fall in for that same trap..

Heidi and Lou changed at the last petrol station so I could also check Lou's drivin on highways, I've always felt being responsible of the car and also that other guys drive safely etc. I'm pretty sure I spotted Kata Tjuta first at the distance but apparently Lola spotted Uluru a bit on the left about the same time as me so.. ..anyway, that was a good feeling, this was the pinnacle of the trip at least for me. First we drove to Ayers Rock Resort to check the prices of camping - 75dollars per night, we decided to spend the first night 30km east on a rest stop and for the next night come to camping. National Park entry was 25AUD per person, which I think was a bit much but anyway, you gotta pay for it and it was for 3days so maybe not that bad after all. First we drove to Cultural Center at the base of Uluru and did few small walks around the rock waiting for sunset which was actually a bit of disappointment cause the clouds came just 1,5hrs before it and spoiled the view.. ..oh well, then to rest area for a night. We met quite a few other backpackers at the rest area who we're going to Uluru & Kata Tjuta for next mornings sunrise.

The next morning we left when it was still dark cause we wanted to be at the National Park gates by 6am and that way get a good spot at the Kata Tjuta Dune Viewing Area from where we could see sunrise on both, Uluru & Kata Tjuta. Yet again, clouds we're spoiling our views a bit but I still think it was still a beautiful sight. I could just imagine what I would have been there about 60years ago when there we're no tourist and you could have all that just for yourself. After viewing sunrise we headed for the walk in Kata Tjuta, Valley of the Winds walk. I was really stunned by the beauty of Kata Tjuta, to be honest Uluru couldn't come even close to this. At first the weather was a bit chilly but then slowly it came better and better. Girls went fast ahead of me and Lou, we guys just stopped every now and then just takin lots of photos. It took me and Lou about 2hrs45mins to do the walk. After our walk we headed to Ayers Rock Resort for camping. First we had a small BBQ and then rest of the day we just chilled out. We went to take a small look at the sunset and later on we decided to go for a buffet dinner close-by restaurant, we got to taste crocodile, kangaroo, barramundi etc. etc. I guess all of us thought of going to check the sunrise from the camping lookout but eventually all of us we're just too tired.. The next morning we backed our stuff and headed back to Uluru for a small walk. i wasn't feeling that good so I just stayed at camper, reckon I got some kind of food-poisoning cause I was a bit the next day as well.

After the last goodbyes to Uluru we started head towards King's Canyon. We'd have only about 200km to drive since we we're gonna camp on a free spot about 120km from King's Canyon. When we came to camping spot Heidi drove a bit too far and got slightly stuck in the loose sand but I managed to get camper out of there without needing to do any extra work. We we're at Salt Creek fairly early so we had some time to kill, girls we're sunbathing and me & Lou we're throwing footy. Later on that night Lou set up camp fire as well but I was tired and still a bit sick and so I went to bed pretty early. I woke up at some point of night realizing that my airbed has lost air, bloody hell.. The next day we headed towards King's Canyon. If Kata Tjuta was beautiful place, then this.. ..can't put in to words how beautiful it was in there, I really loved the rugged country in there. We took at least 3hrs or even 4hrs to go around tha walk but it was all worth the time. Yet again, girls we're runnin ahead of us and me & Lou just took our time exploring all areas and taking shitloads of photos. If I could really recommend some place in Red Centre, it'll be King's Canyon, maybe we should have stayed there for 2nights after all.. ..but you never know.. And, top of all, Watarrka National Park is free.. Obviously we couldn't get that night as far as we we're planning initially but yet again, where's the rush. After camping, next destination : Alice Springs.

Salt Creek

sunrise at Salt Creek

mornin visitors at the water tank