Beer, Swags and Giant Rocks - Journey to Uluru
Trip Start
Jan 21, 2009
1
8
20
Trip End
Aug 25, 2009
Where I stayed
Random Outback
Uluru Campsite
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Northern Territory, Australia
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Anyway, while waiting for the bus I met another girl, Danny from the UK, who also happened to be going on it as well. The bus/van was small but, especially by the end of the trip once everyone knew each other, it became very homey. We'd hop on and off for toilet and petrol breaks, which sometimes meant stopping behind a conveniently placed bush, and we listed to music while our guide sang along to it. Awesome group of people. Mostly Irish, and mostly younger, which was great.
Day 1, besides a lot of driving during which we were able to see some wild camels and horses, consisted of stopping at King's Canyon for a 6.5km hike I think it was. We saw the Ampitheatre, the Garden of Eden and the Lost City along the way. We hiked up this massive rock staircase at the beginning which left us all breathless and from there walked along the rock top of the canyon, near cliffs, down stairs, across bridges, and into parts of the canyon for 2-3 hours. Absolutely gorgeous hike. We were all pretty much exhausted by the end when we drove further along before pulling over to stop for firewood. We all figured when Jess, our guide, said we were stopping for wood that she would be buying it. NOPE! You can see in one of the photos I have Jess is standing on top of the trailer demanding more wood as we all scoured the outback bushes, literally in the middle of nowhere, for branches. In addition to the wood stop we made a beer run for later that night and the next by suggestion of Jess. When we did make it to our campsite, which was also in the middle of nowhere off a road with not a soul in sight, it was dark. We rolled out our swags, made a fire, cooked dinner, drank and went to bed somewhere around 11ish.
For anyone who doesn't know what a swag is it's like a very thick sleeping bag for one person which also has a built in matress. You still put a sleeping bag in it though to keep you warm and make it more comfortable. You're literally sleeping under the stars though, which were absolutely incredible out there.
Day 2 had another early start, 6am. We packed up our swags, had brekkie, and started off on the road. Our destination was the Uluru campground. Once we arrived there and set up our swags we went into the national park and checked out the Valley of the Winds. Again, absolutely gorgeous. We did a 7.5km hike around the huge rock formations as well as in between a few of them. Then we checked out the cultural center briefly before doing a very short intro walk at Ayers Rock. That's the large rock you always see when they advertise Australia. We watched the sun go down on it while drinnking some beers and having some quality relaxation time before heading to the local grocery store to pick up candies for the night. Danny, Helen (another girl from the UK) and I split on 2 marshmallow bags and a bar of chocolate for the evening. That night I taught some of the Irish how to roast a 'proper' marshmallow and even melt some chocolate inside. Though the marshmallows here are oddly shaped (like a dallop of whipped cream) and don't taste as good. Again we slept in our swags in a circle, around the firs and under the stars.
Our final day at Uluru we were up around 5:30 so we could be packed up and there to watch the sun rise over the rock. Afterwards we did the base walk around it which was another 7.5km. It was really easy but I think we were all exhausted from so many early mornings/late nights and long hikes that we were pretty thankful it was so relaxed. I think most people slept at least some of the long ride home and we ended up gettin in around 5:30pm. That evening we met up again at a local bar for dinner and drinks together one last time.
And so concludes my Ayers Rock adventure. It was fantastic! Had such a blast doing it, meeting such awesome people and seeing breathtaking sights. I'd highly recommend doing it if you're ever in the area.
Till next time!
Comments
Very cool!
It sounds like a great time. And you learned something as well! Bet you didn't know there was a 5:30 AM!
Cheers!
Jamie