Yesterday we went on a day trip to Uluru, or Ayers Rock. This is Australia, so this day trip took us 1,100 kilometres and took from 6 in the morning until 11 pm. This was roughly the same as driving from Wellington to Rotorua and back in a day, to see the geysers. Increasingly (more sensible) people now fly to the airport near to Uluru, and perhaps stay in one of the hotels nearby. There is a reasonable settlement at Yulara just a short distance from the rock.
We were picked up outside our apartments just after six am, when it was dark and about 3 degrees. The bus was nice and warm and we got seats at the front with a good forward view. Our guide was Luke, joined by Steve to share the driving. The bus included a toilet and a bunk up the back where the spare driver could nap between shifts.
 |
| Speeding south down the Stuart highway early in the morning. |
After a couple of hours we stopped at the Erldunda roadhouse for breakfast. On these remote roads the roadhouses are the oasis (plural?) supplying petrol, food, groceries, and restaurant and bar facilities. Many of the huge farm stations have set up a roadhouse where their land meets the road as a supplemental source of income. This place had emus too...
 |
| A handsome emu who looked quite interested in pecking my camera. |
At Erldunda we turned west towards Perth for the next leg. Later we stopped to view Mount Connor (below) as well as the extensive salt lakes to the north. Mt Connor is also dubbed "fooleroo" because of the number of people who think they are looking at Uluru. There are tales of those who stopped here, took the picture, then turned around and drove home thinking they had been to Uluru.
 |
| Red sand dunes, and Mt Connor (Fooleroo) in the distance |
 |
| Entering the national park which surrounds Uluru. |
By late morning we could see Uluru, but our trip took us first to the Olgas (Kata Tjuta), which are slightly further on. The Olgas are the lesser-known cousins of Uluru, and are also quite spectacular. Whereas Uluru is a single massive rock, the Olgas are a cluster of 36 pieces which have worn into separate domes. The highest rises 564 metres above the plain, or about 200 metres higher than Uluru. The rock was laid down about 600 million years ago, and later thrust up by tectonic plate movements, so it is very old even in geological terms.
 |
| Some of the Olgas. There are 36 domes altogether. |
 |
| Setting out on our walk, which took us up the narrow valley between the domes in the background. |
We did a half-hour walk up the Walpa valley between two massive domes, rising almost vertically for over 300 metres on each side of us.
After the Olgas, we returned to our bus and drove to Uluru. It is a very impressive sight, apparently the second largest known rock / monolith in the world. Most of it is hidden underground, like an iceberg, and the exposed part has been weathered into this shape over about 300 million years.
 |
| Uluru - or at least part of it. It is quite green around the base at this time of year. |
 |
| Sue was there too! |
Our guide Luke gave us an in-depth talk about climbing the rock, by which I mean he told us not to. There is a path up to the top, but the local tribes do not want people to climb it, so although it is allowed they do everything they can to discourage it. It is expected that at some time in the future the climb will be closed off to tourists who will be instead invited to explore around the base as we did today.
 |
| Luke, our hipstery guide talking about not climbing the rock. |
 |
| Walking along the western base of Uluru. |
 |
| The rock is sculpted into complex shapes. |
 |
| The surface rusts to orangey-red because of the iron content. |
 |
| "The breaker". Fantastic cave shapes are sculpted out of the rock by rain and wind. |
 |
| Inside another curved cave. The fresh rock faces are grey rather than red. |
 |
| Luke showing us signs of early habitation. |
We walked along the foot of Uluru with Luke talking us through the stories of the rock, the plants, the wildlife, etc. The finale of our trip was a champagne barbeque beside the bus at a popular vantage point from which we could watch the sun set on Uluru. A few other people had the same idea...
 |
| Steve and Luke provided the bbq spread including kangaroo steaks and champagne. |
 |
| Some other people came to watch the sunset too. This happens every day. |
 |
| Sue and I and the rock. |
The rock did indeed appear to glow as the sun sank behind us. It set at 6:04 pm, and at 6:05 pm we were all aboard and the bus was on its way, with about 500 km between us and home. We dozed on the way home as far as possible. The drivers had to remain very alert because of the numbers of cows, wallabies and kangaroos which wander along the edges or onto the actual road in the dark. We passed a couple of badly bent cars on the side of the road which had had unfortunate collisions. Unfortunately we did reduce the kangaroo population by one that night.
Later we passed a man standing in the middle of the road in the dark, with a car on the edge and a small fire burning in the grass. To my surprise Luke stopped the bus and ran back down the road carrying the bag of leftover sausages from our barbeque! When he returned he reported the man had run out of petrol, and greatly appreciated the sausages.
