YULARA (Ayers Rock) Sunday 4th April 2010

Happy Easter every one!

The day started in the wee hours of the morning when Emilia woke to 2 chocolate Easter bunnies sitting at the end of her bed. I’m not sure what time it was but it was pitch black outside. Thank goodness after that bit of excitement she fell back to sleep. We all woke later at a much more respectable hour and were so happy that the girls were happy that the Easter bunny had managed to find them in the NT. After breakfast we got in the car and drove to Uluru which is about a 15min drive from camp. Again the sheer sight of it made me want to pinch my self to make sure this wasn’t a dream. I didn’t know whether to pick up the video camera or the camera first, so I did a bit of both. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned it once yet that every single time we are ready to take off some where in the car I have the camera in my lap and the video camera at my feet. Pete’s had to tell me (in not so nice words), to put the things down and just enjoy the scenery! But I want to record or photograph the scenery so we have memories of it for a long, long time. Lucky for me he’s driving so most the time he can’t do anything about it.

When we got to ‘Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park’ we paid our entry fees and found out the climb up Uluru was closed. We already knew this might be the case so we began the Base Walk until the climb opened. The base walk was beautiful. We came across Aboriginal rock paintings and read all about the Aboriginal spiritual significance relating to certain imprints/holes in the rock. The more you read the more you want to learn. Only a short way around the base walk we noticed people had started to climb the rock which meant the climb was now open. So, yes we stopped the walk and headed for the starting point of the climb. Up and up we went. You’re not going to believe this but Emilia was the bravest of the lot of us. The razor thin edges we had to walk on that dropped away to nothing because we were so high up made me think “what the hell are we doing?” I still can’t believe we did it. WE CLIMBED TO THE TOP OF ULURU. It was hard going, especially the first part with the chains. It’s pretty much straight up. But then ½ way up when the chains stop you feel lost without them but you’re on slightly flatter ‘ground’ but up so high that the people and cars on the ground look like ants. At the top we just sat and looked around at the view and what a view it was! One none of us will ever forget. The climb down was easier and quicker than I thought and we’re happy to be back on terra firma.

From there we went to the Cultural Centre and saw some amazing Aboriginal paintings and did lots of reading. We treated ourselves to some ice-cream and coffee and bought some post cards to send away. We drove over to the resort and had a look at the shops.

Back to the camp site and a quick change into bathers before spending the rest of the afternoon in the pool. We spent the time there with Russell and Anita and their children (Geelong family), swimming and talking about the day. Elizabeth was also excited to discover that her friend Racheal, our neighbours from Wilpena Pound had arrived and were at the pool too.

This was the best day ever.

Tomorrow we’re going back to the National Park and are going to do the ‘Mala Walk’ with a guide around the base of the rock since we didn’t get to finish it today and then go over to Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) and walk ‘The Valley of the Winds Walk’ and have a look at Walpa Gorge.