I have to say, sleeping in the swag last night was a lot more comfortable than I imagined! Everyone in the group was awake by 4.30am and we were all soon on the bus headed for the other side of Uluru - this time to watch the sunrise - unfortunately, the clouds were there too. The drive was only about 20 minutes, so we were there just after 5am and the sun wasn't due to come up until 5.50am. At this time of the morning, Uluru was definitely a different colour - it was pitch black. Pretty soon, the sun was starting to come up and the different sides of 'the Rock' were getting lighter - in different shades, at different times. Once the sun was high in the sky (and hidden behind the layer of cloud), we all boarded the bus and drove over to Kata Tjuta, which translates from Aboriginal as 'Many Heads'.
Kata Tjuta is actually more sacred to the Anangu men than Uluru is - because the whole site is considered to be so. According to Creation Stories, the 36 rock domes to be the heads of their creation ancestors. That's all we were told - because Anangu men are the only ones who know the full story.
Today the whole group did the full walk through 'The Valley of the Winds', which was 7.4km and took about 3 hours. Some of the views were spectacular. The rock domes are made of a different substance to Uluru - but are a similar colour and when it started to rain slightly, it turned from a reddish colour to a grayish green. The track was quite demanding - but the views were definitely worth the effort. After the long walk yesterday, Nikki wasn't sure if she'd enjoy this one - but she did, and she did it without moaning once... that's my girl!
After our walk we all re-boarded the bus and set off on a huge drive out of the Uluru / Kata Tjuta National Park and towards tomorrows destination - Kings Canyon. On the way, to break up the driving, we stopped at the side of the road at a place called 'Mount Connor Lookout', which is often mistaken to be Uluru - but is in fact MUCH BIGGER - it's huge! We had some lunch and then drove on for a few more minutes before pulling over and gathering some wood to make a camp fire tonight.
Late this afternoon, we pulled into Kings Creek Farm, where we're spending the night and unloaded the van. After a while, me and John (an Irish guy) were in charge of starting our camp fire, so that we could start cooking our tea. We spent this evening sat around chatting, trying to play the didgeridoo and heating marshmallows over the camp fire.
Boy... the Outback is AMAZING!
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