Uluru and Kings Canyon

  After a most enjoyable stay in Coober Pedy it was time for us to hit the road again. As usual our camping neighbours had all left by the time we got up. I don't know why they set off so early, maybe to bag the best camp spots at their next destination. Whatever the reason it is not the way we like to travel. A man gave us some very good advice a while back - never drive for more than three hours in a day, never go more than 300kms and always arrive before 3pm - obviously it has not always been possible to stick to but we have found it to be a pretty good rule of thumb.  

Brown Honeyeater

  Before departing we had coffee in  a pleasant little underground  gallery we found on the previous  day, went back to buy a pair of  opal earrings I had taken a fancy  to and filled up our water tanks from the paid water pump in the  middle of town.  We knew the next couple of days were just going to be about getting from one roadhouse to the next along the, rather boring, Stuart Highway. It had certainly been a dull stretch of road through South  Australia and was one of the few downsides to the trip but an essential one if we wanted to see the places we had come to visit. The road took us through hundreds of kms with no phone signal, occasionally there would be an emergency phone by the roadside but, more often a layby with a mobile phone booster where drivers could put their own phone in the cradle and make a call in an emergency. So, looking at those was what passed as fun until we reached our destination for the night, Marla Travellers Rest.  

Zebra Finches

 The roadhouses were the only places to stop and there were horror stories buzzing around about staggering fuel prices  but we didn't find the cost too outrageous considering how far from anywhere these stops were.  I was not expecting much but the camping area was pretty good, $25 unpowered with good toilets and hot showers, a well stocked camp kitchen and happy hour from 3-5pm with $5 beers.

 

It was much warmer during the evening but still cold overnight and in the morning there were a few clouds around, I had not seen one of those for a while. I was excited because this was the day I would enter the Northern Territory for the first time in my life so I was keen to get going. The Stuart Highway was long and straight as usual but, the minute we crossed the border into NT, the landscape changed. Gone were the cleared paddocks of South Australia, suddenly the land became more undulating with rocky hills in the distance and grasses and the trees of all different colours made the outlook very pretty and far more interesting. 

Grey Headed Honeyeater

We reached Erldunda Desert Oaks Resort, it sounded grand but it was just another roadhouse, and set up for the night. There were quite a number of flies about so we whipped out the bug tent we have been carrying with us for ten years now, we debated throwing it away as we have only used it a couple of times but it was about to come into its own on this trip. The camping facilities were good, $36 unpowered with decent showers, playground, little animal reserve behind with camels and emus and a well stocked shop which was packed with first nations people shopping. Turned out it was Bush Bus day, a service from the APY Lands (Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara) a settlement nearby. Harvey proved to be very popular with the kids and made lots of new friends. 

Mount Connor

  Erldunda got really packed by the late afternoon but they were all up and off again by the time we emerged. We were planning to reach our stop for Uluru later in the day so set off knowing we were on our last driving day for a while. I had tried to book the Ayers Rock Resort but found it was fully booked months in advance so we were headed for Curtin Springs, a roadhouse with free unpowered camping, basic toilets and $4 showers but no dump point, the nearest being one hour away in Yulara. As we approached Mount Connor came into view. Many people mistake this for Uluru, I don't really know why because it does not look much like it but I expect they are excited and a big rock pops up and who can blame them. Mount Connor could be seen from the roadhouse which had extremely attractive gardens with an aviary full of cockatiels and budgies, I was hopeful this might attract wild budgies as I had still never seen one despite being told I would be falling over them in the Northern Territory. 

  We had to decide what to do with Harvey as Uluru is in a National Park and we had expected to be staying at the resort nearby with its resident dogsitters, not an hour away as we now were. We noticed a few other campers leaving their dogs in their caravans and decided to do the same. I must point out this was winter and we would not have left him in summer temperatures. So we set off to scope out Uluru wondering if we would be as blown away as everyone seems to be, it is a rock after all. Suddenly it appeared after nearly an hour of driving and it took our breath away. So huge and staggeringly beautiful in the morning sunlight, we were blown away already and we had not even entered the national park yet. 

Kata Tjuta

  Entry to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was $38 each for a 3 day pass which covered  pretty much everything so seemed like a bargain. The Cultural Centre was informative and beautiful and we attended a cultural talk before setting off on several walks to gaze at the rock from as many different angles as possible. It really was amazing, in places the surface looks to be poured into massive folds, it must look even more sensational during a big rain event. 

We decided we could not leave Harvey for too long so agreed to take it in turns to return on the following days. I went first and set off in a balmy 2°C to make sure I arrived in time for the 10am free guided walk, which I loved. The guide was fantastic and took us to see ancient meeting places, water holes and ceremony areas around the rock. He was full of information and stories and I would recommend the walk to everyone. I tried to hire a bike for $80 to ride around the rock but they were all booked out so I walked around some of it then set off in the car to look at the rock again from the sunset viewing point then the sunrise viewing point and it was stunning from every angle. Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) were glowing with a mauve tinge in the distance but I decided not to drive the 30 mins to them although Ian did on his day and really enjoyed them.

Spinifex Pigeon

  I dropped in to Yulara as I left for some fuel and found there was  a market on with music acts and entertainment for NAIDOC  Week (National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance  Committee) which was fun but Yulara is a strange place. It is a  sort of resort town with hotels and shops which felt all a bit  Disneyfied to me, shops run by white folk selling fake aboriginal  design stubby holders and thongs in an area of huge cultural  significance to the indigenous population did not sit right with me, far  better to buy souvenirs from the cultural centre where the shops  have to be owned by locals selling local goods. 

Kings Canyon

 Curtin Springs was a great place to stay, the toilets were a bit rustic but perfectly adequate and our bug tent was the envy of all the other campers. We waved goodbye reluctantly as we had enjoyed being in one place for a few days but we were headed for Kings Canyon only two hours away and we were going to be there for a while too. The route was really quite green with huge tree covered hills running alongside the road for miles before we arrived at the huge Kings Canyon Resort. It was $80 a night unpowered but it was the only game in town if you wanted to visit the canyon and there was a bar and restaurant so we were able to recharge our batteries a bit, although the food and drinks were eyewateringly expensive. Only guests were permitted to buy drinks at the bar so everyone was given a pass on arrival. The views were fabulous and there was a light installation which punters paid $30 each to see at night, fortunately it was set up on the area adjacent to our pitch so we saw it for free every night. 

  Although pet friendly, the resort was not the kind of place where we could leave Harvey unattended in the van and the canyon was a national park. The caravan pitches were close together and the people behind us had not stopped vacuuming since they arrived so I imagined they might be the type who would complain if he let out a woof. With this in mind we chose to walk the canyon on different days with Ian going first. It was fortunate we chose to do it that way because the full Canyon Walk started with a sheer climb which would have been too much for my fear of heights so, when Ian reported back, I was able to choose the South Wall Walk which began with an incline which was punishing but not terrifying. 

 We do a bit of walking but this was tough, all on rock and climbing all the way for a couple of hours ever onward and upward. The scenery was breathtaking (literally) and it was astonishing to see flowering plants thriving on the solid rock. The birds were plentiful too and the sight of the canyon at the end was well worth the effort. The descent was tricky in parts because some sections had been climbed on all fours and were more difficult to negotiate going down, I was glad I took a walking pole. I was following the markers on the descent when I came to an arrow that just pointed over the edge of a cliff, surely not I thought. Being too scared to look right over the edge, I hung around for a bit pretending to take pictures until some other people appeared. They too saw the arrow and looked at one another in horror until the bravest of them looked right over the edge of the cliff and spotted the tiny steps cut out of the rock across the sheer face and down they went. I reasoned that my only choices were to follow them or be airlifted out so I went for it. We must have come up that way but I obviously had not paid attention but with the drop ahead of me I could not look away. It was terrifying but mercifully short  and it was a great relief when the car park came in to view. 

 Kings Canyon was a wonderful visit and apart from the Canyon Walk there was also a Creek Walk which was full of birds and flowers and only an hour return. It was the most expensive place to stay on our whole trip but worth every cent.