Noonamah Rodeo
Wow what a night! We loved the Rodeo in Kununurra, but this was even better!
Not only did they have the standard bucking Bulls competitions. They also had the Motorcross guys, a burnout competition, live music and a mechanical bull which Ella had a great time having a go staying on.
This all made for a great night!
The loooonnnggg drive...
The very next morning we woke early and headed of towards Alice Springs. With plans to meet Martyn, Cassie and her boys in Darwin in a few weeks we decided to fill in our time with a quick trip to Uluru, Kings Canyon and surrounds.
Knowing it was quite a long drive I decided to drive for as long as I felt safety capable for. Stopping only for short periods to stretch the legs and have lunch. After 1464km and 16hrs driving I had had enough so we stopped just short of Alice for the night.
Uluru
Early the next morning we drove the remaining 140km into Alice Springs were we spent the morning stocking up on supplies before again driving towards Uluru. Rounding the final corner after another 450km, Uluru finally came into view... Wow!! We were all in awe!
It was a lot bigger than we had imagined and the ever changing colours that radiated off of it were breathtaking! Even better, we had just enough time to watch the sunset over Uluru too!
That night we realised just how south we had headed. It was FREEZING!!! After spending the last 14 months in weather that was always either hot or very hot, we really noticed the difference!
Waking early the next day we headed off to watch the sunrise over Uluru.
Not as impressive as the sunset, yet still worth having a look.
Sunrise
From here we headed off to climb this great rock. There is great debate over whether people should climb it or not. It's not that your not allowed to climb it.. It's just the Aboriginal people ask you not to climb as its against their cultural beliefs. They find it disrespectful if you decide to climb.
As much as I do try to respect other people's beliefs, I was highly keen to climb Uluru. Anyone who knows me knows I love my hiking and love a challenge! Not only that my parents and grandparents had all climbed this rock at some stage so why not another 2 generations!?!
I think until they ban climbing the rock altogether. (Which unfortunatley I can see being done sooner rather than later....) I say get out there and climb it! After all... You haven't really experienced it until you climb it ;)
Unfortunately due to forecast rain the climb was closed. (Not exactly sure where they got the idea that it was going to rain from... With only a small cloud in the distance we couldn't quite see how they thought it was going to rain anytime soon...) A little disappointed we set of to hike around the nearby Olgas and planned to come back later in the day in the hope they had reopened it.
The Olgas were themselves quite impressive. After viewing them from a couple of different angles we set off to hike the 7km "Valley of the Winds" track that runs around the base and up through the middle of the Olgas.
A nice hike but our minds were all elsewhere.. We needed to climb Uluru!!!
Heading back to Uluru we were glad to see it had been reopened. Yes!!!!
TIME TO CLIMB!!
From the very start we were surprised how steep it actually was. Although it looks steep from the base, it was even steeper in areas than we thought! I was glad they had a handrail to hold as in some parts without it one slip and I have no doubt you would be sent tumbling back to the bottom!
Half way up we met two ladies who were struggling with their fear of heights and debating whether to head back down. With some encouragement from Tori and Ella they soon joined our party and climbed the rest of the way with us.
The view from the top was unreal! The rock surface itself was a lot different to what I expected! I had always pictured it as being flat but it was quite the opposite. With lots of crevices and up and downs there was still a lot of climbing to do to reach the plaque over the other side of the rock. We joked that the terrain looked a lot like what we picture Mars to look like.
Our Monkeys running all over Uluru
Our little monkey girls ran up and down and all over the rock with ease. They even took their shoes off when it came to the steep walk down as they found this easier. (I soon followed with taking my shoes off.) For us this seemed alot easier and gave us a lot more grip, but may not be for everyone... Lol
Starting the hike back down
Nearly at the bottom!
Reaching the bottom you couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces. What a climb!
Heading over to the Sunset viewing area we sat back to celebrate our achievement with a bottle of champagne as we watched the sunset over Uluru.
Bliss!
After the sun had well and truely set we headed back to camp were we lit a fire and sat back and watched as a million stars lit up the sky. Can life get much better!?!?
The next day we again rose early and the girls and I headed off to ride our bikes around the base of Uluru.
It was interesting to see the entire base of Uluru from all the different angles and see the many different caves that make up parts of Uluru.
Arriving back the girls decided they still hasn't had enough of Uluru and asked if we could yet again climb it!
Who was I to say no??? After all... We had driven along way to see this and most likely wouldn't be back for quite some time!
Deciding that barefoot was the way to go the girls and I yet again set off to climb Uluru.
After reaching the top once again we soon started the steep walk back down. This time though we were stopped by quite a few people to say that there was much talk at the bottom of the mother and two girls who had taken their shoes off at the bottom and raced to the top! Hahaha!!! That was us!!!
It was interesting and surprising to learn that Uluru's colour is the result of the Iron content in the rock rusting!!
Reaching the bottom we packed up and started the drive to our next destination.
Kings Canyon
After a night at a road side camp near Kings Canyon we woke early and headed off to walk the 6.5km rim route. Not before rugging up in a few layers of clothes... Although the sun was out it was quite chilly!!
The Canyon was impressive with its steep cliffs and hundreds of beehive like structures that makes up what's known as a "Lost City."
They are known as these because the land formation resembles what looks like the ruins of an ancient city.
Finishing the walk we headed back to spend a day or two in Alice Springs.
A few reminders
As beautiful as this part of the country is, we were reminded twice in a few days how vigilant and careful you need to be in these remote areas.
The first being a young Taiwanese guy who decided to take a "shortcut" back down Uluru a couple of days before our arrival at Uluru.
After going off the track this guy soon found himself fallinging into a deep crevice some 20m deep and breaking multiple bones. His concerned girlfriend who was waiting at the bottom alerted Rangers that her boyfriend was missing but it still took them a few hours to even locate him. Then due to the weather forecast a rescue that night was not possible. This guy had to spend a very chilly night where the temperature got down to 5 degrees on Uluru before an attempt could be made to bring him safety down. Even then it took till late the next day before this was possible.
He was lucky to escape with his life as the plaques at the bottom of the rock clearly display a small handful that have not been so lucky.
The other reminder we had was on our arrival back in Alice Springs. We learnt that a 65yr old lady had wandered off course at Kings Canyon the very same day we had been there. With nights dropping to a chilly 6 degrees I watched for updates quite closely.
Luckily after two very cold nights and days the lady was found by local SES and Aboriginal trackers, 10km off track. Although tired and dehydrated she was otherwise ok and was soon reunited with her husband and friends.
Alice Springs
Whilst in Alice Springs we caught up with our friend Amy. (Who we had met at Wallareenya Station in WA and was now working as a governess not far from Alice Springs.) We had a great time catching up for dinner.
Aside from that we spent some time exploring the town that made up Alice and even managed to squeeze in a couple of geocaches.
Heading off from Alice Springs we started the long drive back up towards Darwin. This time though, with plans to stop and check out the various small towns and landmarks along the way.
Xx
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