Thursday 10/10
Beth and Alison arrived from Melbourne today. Beth is a friend from Angela's Uni days and Alison is Beth's 4yo daughter. We won't mention in this forum how Nicholas knows Beth. It was a wicked morning with Beth and Alison. Beth collected a Wicked Camper at Alice Springs for our journey then we had a coffee break and lunch at Wicked Kneads, a very good to excellent bakery and coffee shop. Beth needed to do a grocery shop before we started the drive to Yulara near Uluru. Beth had been up since 0530 so the 500km afternoon drive to Yulara had a couple of rest/refuel stops and driver changes.
Many people had recommended to us to stay at Curtain Springs rather than Yulara. Apparently the facilities are better and the accommodation cheaper. Curtain Springs is also almost 100km from Uluru! We decided to stay at Yulara about 20km from Uluru mostly because of the reduced travel time and the Wicked is not covered for animal damage so we didn't want to drive too much after dusk. One family was told that to see the sunrise on Uluru, when staying at Curtain Springs, they would need to leave 2 hours before sunrise. If we were to do that and get 4 children, under the age of 10 years, ready for the day we would need to be awake about an hour before dinner the night before!
About an hour before Yulara Beth, who was driving in front, radioed that there were two cars stopped on the side of the road. Angela was driving our car and we stopped up the road from where they waved us down. One car had a flat tyre and neither car had a jack! The guy and two ladies wanted to borrow our jack. Nicholas tried to explain that our jack would not work well on their car, but he could not make them understand until he showed them the hi-lift jack on our car. They had no water so Nicholas filled their jerry with warm water from the camper. It takes only a few hours on the road for the water in the camper tank to heat up from the radiant heat from the roadway. Nicholas tried to get a phone number for us to call from Yulara but they could not even provide a number. Neither could they explain why the second car could not be sent off to retrieve a jack or a tow or water or some other form of assistance. Having done what we could we continued to Yulara. Even the locals undertake journeys ill prepared in this area.
It was almost dark when we arrived at Yulara and it was most amusing to watch Beth erect her rooftop tent for the first time in the dark. Ourselves, we have become proficient at in dark setups.
In the morning light it turned out that packing away a rooftop tent is still somewhat difficult. The faux leather covering bag is either manufactured about 3mm too small or has shrunk 3mm in the sun. All 7 of us drove to the rock for the first time this trip. It is a good thing that Grolo Construction built this massive monolith out here otherwise no one would ever venture to this part of the country, but they have really done a nice job of this one.
Our first stop was to get right to the base of Uluru and take the Mala Walk. The Mala walk is a very easy 2km walk that takes in some interesting areas of the base of the rock. There is the young boys school room, the old persons nursing home and the ladies hang out all in close proximity to each other. We arrived at the 'kitchen' in time to hear most of a talk being given to a tour group. The talk was about the dreaming when Uluru and Kata Tjuta (Olgas) and other significant landscape formations were made. The children all listened most intently and the adults in our group were not too disruptive.
Only a little further on from the Mala Walk was the Kantju Gorge walk that added several hundred meters to our leisurely stroll. Kantju Gorge is a quiet place where rain water runs down the rock and collects in a semi permanent water hole. There was barely any water visible in the hole now but there is obvious easy water there when required. It is unbelievable that people could live out here and survive so well with what little there is around.
Back at the car park we had a snack and looked at the path to the top of Uluru. The walk was closed and the rules ensure that the climb is closed most days of the year. If the forecast is for over 36 degrees, the temperature reaches 36, wind is greater than 20km/h, better than 30% chance of rain, better than 5% chance of thunder, or for cultural reasons the climb is closed for the day. A contrast to the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb.
We visited the Uluru culture centre which is all about the Anangu culture of the area. Whilst this information is very interesting there is no explanation of the geology of the area and in particular why the makeup of Uluru and Kata Tjuta look so different.
Back at Yulara we took the children to a traditional dance session on the town square. There was a practice where the performers would teach the children and some adults how to depict emus in dance and then kangaroos. The emus could be performed by either male or female with different actions for each, however kangaroos could only be performed by boys or men. This is not something that is easily explained to little people, that traditional dancing does not include everyone. The actual performance later on was brilliant. It would be fair to say that traditional dance is more like interpretive dance where the actions are mimicking a bird or animal. Bianca was so keen to get up on stage and prance around like an emu and she heavily encouraged her sisters and Alison to join her on stage.
An Uluru sunset is a must when you venture to this part of the country. We packed a BBQ dinner to cook and eat whilst enjoying the sunset. We arrived early and secured not only two good car parks but also ample space in front for chairs and cooking equipment. Dinner was certainly at a table with a view of probably the best natural light show we will ever see.
Saturday morning and Chelsea, Chantelle and Bianca were keen to see the sunrise over Uluru from the red sand dune behind our camp. So at 0600 we woke up and the girls pretty much flew out of bed and ran up the dune to watch the sun rise. It was nice to see it rise from our private viewing area but the show was not as spectacular because we were viewing from the wrong direction. The more spectacular view were the hundreds of tiny and not so tiny footprints and tracks in the sand. We we able to identify lizards, dingo, camel, birds, and possibly even a snake.
Since we were awake and on the move so early the adults decided to go and explore Kata Tjuta in the coolest part of the day. There are two lookout walks that they close at 1100 if the temperature is going to be above 36 degrees. It is actually quite a drive to Kata Tjuta not only because of the low speed limits but also they are a long way from the park entrance.
The walk to the first lookout, ingeniously named 'lookout 1', was quite easy and all seven of us made it there in good time. We decided that we would continue and tackle lookout 2 (that's its actual name). Lookout 2 was a more strenuous walk particularly for those with shorter and shortest legs in the group. We stopped and enjoyed the view at the final vantage point and allowed people to rest up. The lookout views were over some of the seemingly most inhospitable country that was amazing to look at.
The rest of the day was so hot we took the children to hangout at the campground pool. Angela made iced coffees for the adults while the children enjoyed internal air conditioning in the form of ice creams.
After dinner and the children were safely tucked up in bed Beth and Angela escaped for a couple of hours of girl time at 'Sails' another part of the resort, where they may or may not have enjoyed cocktails and the dessert buffet! When they returned they found another tourist wandering the campground obviously disoriented and possibly over refreshed. He also roused the attention of other campers and we all kept an eye on him until he reunited himself with his campsite. A bit amusing.
An early start Sunday to go and see the sunrise on Uluru. Unfortunately the light was not as spectacular as it could have been and the sunrise was a little disappointing. The light didn't dance on the rock as it could have, possibly because of the low clouds in the east. We were also hoping that the day would tick all the boxes for an Uluru climb but sadly the wind had picked up over night and at sunrise was still strong enough to have the climb closed. Nicholas and Angela have now spent six days, on two trips, at Uluru and never seen the climb open.
On the way back to camp and breakfast, Nicholas took a turn and detoured us around Uluru. There is no way we could have walked the 10km (yes it is a big rock) of track right around it. Peer pressure would have meant all four kids would have wanted to do it but probably half would not have made it especially in the heat. We were all a bit cool and hungry when we arrived at camp so we had a big breakfast of baked beans and eggs.
The rest of the day was a pack away and drive. Our final destination was Kings Creek Station about 30km from Kings Canyon. We had been planning to take the girls camel riding at Kings Creek Station but as it turned out their cameleer had left some months earlier and the replacement that they had engaged had not yet arrived and was, by then, several weeks over due.
Monday 14/10
Today we subjected ourselves to the 6km Kings Canyon rim walk! New business idea, open child minding facilities at long and significant walks. Oh, the the squeals of excitement we didn't hear when the first section was a near vertical climb up the canyon wall which is 100m high. Second entrepreneurial idea, open a branch office part way along the walk at three times the rate. Now none of us have visited the Grand Canyon in Arizona, but Kings Canyon must come close in terms of vista. Kings Canyon has been carved out of pure white Meereni sandstone over millennia. The local red dust lands on the white sandstone and is set to the sandstone by a fungi giving the canyon a red glow.
The most impressive part of the canyon was the Garden of Eden. About half way along the walk there was an oasis where palms, red gums, cycads grow around a permanent water hole. It is most incredible, as you walk along the top of the canyon with very little vegetation and a whole lot of rocks, then the path descends a little way and there is a beautiful oasis spreads out before you.
At the end of the walk we were ready for lunch, though there were no picnic facilities at Kings Canyon, not a picnic table to be seen. After lunch we all travelled 2km to checkout Kings Canyon Resort. It seems that in these parts they use 'Resort' in its most loosest sense. The cafe does not do an iced coffee but they do a coffee milkshake with four shots of espresso coffee! We also tried to purchase a pass to drive the Meereni loop road. The rules dictate that the pass can only be purchased on the day of travel and you cannot take the application with you to complete and return the next day.
The next day we drove through Kings Canyon Resort and dutifully completed the permit application which was immediately approved with our payment of $5.50 per car. The permit came with a full colour booklet and taking into account the printing, administration and audit costs little if any of the fee could generate real revenue other than the GST for the federal government. The permit does give the holder permission to drive a shortcut road back to Alice Springs via the West MacDonnells, which is all gravel but of pretty good condition, certainly better condition than expected given the warnings in the booklet.
Just out of Kings Canyon Resort both vehicles stopped in a safe place for a paddy melon bowling competition. The Afghan cameleers brought the paddy melons to Australia with the camels as a food and water source for the camels. Like the camels the melons now grow wild in the arid regions. The Lloyd-Shrimptons first encountered paddy melons on our journey to Broken Hill and Cameron Corner last year and the girls (and Nicholas possibly) had great enjoyment throwing, rolling and bowling the fruits until they disintegrated over the road. We played with the melons for ages then loaded back in the car and continued. Little wonder it can take us hours to cover a seemingly short distance.
All seven of us camped at Redbank Gorge, for some of us it was our second stop at the Gorge but it was such a great campsite we went back. Angela and the girls had plans to cook again on the campfire but before we did that we all drove in to visit Glen Helen Resort and gorge. Here again they have used resort very loosely. Glen Helen looks more like a rundown school camp than a resort in the true spirit of the word. The gorge was a cold but welcome swimming hole that Chantelle and Alison particularly enjoyed. To continue the walk through the gorge you would need to swim part way through the gorge as the sides are too steep to walk on.
On our return to camp the cooking quest was on in ernest! Wood was chopped and a fire prepared. We think that campfire cooking is one of the things that Angela delights in most when camping. The standard campfire brownie was mixed and tasted, tasted and mixed by Bianca while the others got stuck into a banana cake and various loaves of bread. It is much more difficult using the wood up here as the logs burn much hotter and the coals too throw out much more heat. The sweet treats turned out perfectly and amongst cooking those Angela also cooked dinner!
Wednesday morning was the drive back to Alice Springs and with the four youngest members of the party all but exhausted we stopped at Orminston gorge for a quickish swim that turned into several hours of swimming and rock climbing. When we arrived at Orminston there was a large group of bird watchers complete with 'ranger' shirts, camo hats and binoculars and even a couple had telescopes with tripods. Sorry to say that four small girls might have scared off the rarest of the birds with their squeals as they entered the icy waters of the gorge. Unfortunately they left and we were left with the entire gorge to ourselves for a while until another family arrived and the girls had another couple of boys to add to their games. This family was travelling quite rough sleeping where ever in swags, in fact they were probably our closest neighbours last night sleeping only a few kilometres away from our camp.
Our only other stop on the way back to Alice was the ochre pits. Two of the Lloyd-Shrimpton girls were too wrecked to look at them again so it was just Beth, Alison, Chelsea and Angela (as tour guide) who looked at the pits this time.
Soon enough we were back at G'Day Mate setting up for another good night sleep before we farewelled Beth and Alison and were on our own once again ... Or were we?
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