Wednesday, September 18, 2013
From Marla we headed north on the Stuart Highway and then turned left on the Lasseter Highway towards Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. We both remembered lush and spacious grass fields in the campground at Ayers Rock Resort from our stay 18 years ago, so we went straight there. But for some reason or other the campground looked nothing like our memories anymore. On the contrary, it looked tired and very packed, with very little green grass. So after a drive around the other properties in the Resort we decided some luxury was called for and checked into the ‘Sails in the Desert’ resort hotel for 2 nights. Very nice!
After doing laundry we drove to the ‘Sunset over Uluru’ viewing area and enjoyed the ever changing colors together with a couple of hundred other spectators. Still as wonderful as we remembered it. And yes everyone got the same photo.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
The next morning we went for a drive around the whole area and visited Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)and the cultural center.
The afternoon was spent relaxing in the hotel, before we set out for an evening walk among (the) Kata Tjuta. We finished that just in time to catch the end of the sunset colors over the domes.
Friday, September 20, 2013
On our second morning we got up super early (at least super early for us) to start the Base Walk around Uluru before 7am. We completed the 10.6 km (or 6.5 mile) hike in just over 2 hours and before the heat of the day arrived. This also gave us enough time to drive back to the resort and shower and relax before our 11am check-out time. The rest of the day was spent driving to Kings Canyon Resort. The distances between major tourist attractions in Australia are vast and everything takes time.
