Coming into land we got our first glimpse of Ayers Rock from above and even then it looked big! We checked into the Ayers Rock Resort and chilled out in the baking heat for two days waiting for our tour of the rocks to begin. We twiddled our fingers by the resorts various pools, saw some aboriginal dancing from the Anangu people and threw some spears.
On Monday we were collected by Emu Run Tours and off we went for our three day tour of the Outback. First stop...the big main attraction...Ayers Rock or Uluru to the locals. As we got closer everyone got their cameras out and started snapping what we'd seen thousands of times before on tv, postcards etc, but like everything it's soooo much more impressive in person. We did the 9.4ks base walk around the whole thing and it was surprising how different a simple rock looked from every angle we came across. Though it was a jaw dropping place, you couldn't leave your mouth open for a second as the desert was swarming with flies. The walk gave us the chance to get to know our fellow travellers and melt a bit whilst we were at it (the average temperature was 38 degrees during the 3 days)
Eventually it started to cool down as we had a glass of fizz, toasted our new friends and watched the sun set on Uluru. Once the lights had gone off, we headed off to our camp for the night. Now we chose this tour specifically for its sleeping arrangements, and thanks to The Allens (yes another wedding present) we slept under the stars in swags each night. Before seeing our swag we had all guessed what it might be like, so everyone was a bit surprised when all it was was an industrial size sleeping bag with weather proof lining. We rolled em out on the red sand, snuggled down and then stared up at the show in the sky. Because we were in the middle of nowhere and far from a city's artificial light, we could see all the stars the sky has to offer and the moon was so bright it actually could keep you awake (it was like leaving the light on)
The next day our camp wriggled out of their swags at 4am to get back on the road to watch the sun rise beside Uluru.
Normally we'd be a little miffed having to get up so early but the bonus of getting up on this tour was we could do the bulk of our walking before it got too scorching. So off we set for a 7.4k trek through The Olgas or Kata Tjuta. These are a collection of many big red rocks (which from afar look like Homer Simpson having a nap) we scrambled around through them in the dusty sand. Our guide told us about the flora and fauna and how the Aboriginal people survived in the area. Talking of our guide he was a 7ft Aussie who seemed intent on telling us horror stories about the wildlife encounters on previous tours, so we did our best to avoid conversation with him before bedtime.
After the walk, we cruised through more and more nothingness that is the outback (we saw some wild horses and plenty of road kill) until we reached our new camp for the night. After a BBQ of kangaroo and camel for the carnivores we settled down for more star gazing. That night our camp was disturbed by dingos but luckily we only found this out in the morning.
Our third and final day started off with another 4am start and sunrise on King's Canyon - but only after a 30 minute climb up Heart attack Hill! A slightly shorter walk (6ks) took us around the canyon but with so many ups, downs, lizard looking and yarns along the way it took us 4hours to complete.
Once we were back in the cruiser and all packed up we started on the 450km trip to Alice Springs through more wilderness whilst overtaking road trains (lorries with numerous cargos attached). 450km seems like a long way, but when you look at it on the map of Australia, it is merely a drive round the corner for the Aussies.
But the fun wasn't over yet as about half way through we stopped at Stuart Wells camel farm. Not only were there camels there, but emus, kangaroos, and a friendly (chained up) dingo called Zarie. We took advantage of the stop and boarded a camel for a walk then a jog around the yard. As we bounced along at camel super speed we laughed our heads off as it was such a funny experience to ride on a running camel, called Bert.
After all this fun and walking you can imagine how shattered we were when we finally got to our hostel in Alice (Alice? Who the f&@£ is Alice?) But we were glad to be back sleeping within four walls again either way. Once we'd had a days recuperation we spent the rest of our time in Alice, learning the didgeridoo, holding creatures at the reptile centre, walking up Anzac Hill to seethe view of the town and generally meandering about. Alice Springs is a small town where the rivers are bone dry at this time of year, the aboriginals are in full force on the streets and the men look like they've come straight out of a wild west film. Its not a place you'd want to stay too long, and as our skin has dried out from the sun and dust we are eager to get back to the coast, luckily today we fly to Brisbane.
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