Uluru and The Olgas and on to Alice Springs

Well they do say third time lucky, and so it proved for Sandra and I on our trip to Ayers Rock or Uluru. The first time we had visited the rain was sheeting down and the rock was a grey lump with water cascading down its sides. We were advised by everyone that this was a rare experience and we should have considered ourselves lucky to have seen the Rock in these conditions – we didn't! Several months later we re-visited and, although the conditions were not quite so bad, it wasn't the experience we had hoped for. However, eventually on our third trip the weather was much kinder and we saw the Rock looking more like it does in the tourist brochures.

Mount Connor - the "false" Ayers Rock

Leaving Coober Pedy after getting a new shock absorber fitted we drove north for a day and pitched our tent at the Kulgera Roadhouse for a one nighter then on to Uluru a further 300k or so up the road. First time visitors are often confused (at least we were) when, about 100k short of where you think the Rock is, appears a great, red monolith. This is Mount Connor which is in private hands and not generally open to the public. We set up camp at the very flash and up-market i.e. expensive, Ayers Rock Resort, had a poke around the resort, then drove out to the Rock paying our $25 entry fee on the way. We parked in the Sunset Viewing area, got out chairs, books and a few beers and waited for the sun to set and took a few photographs - several hundred more like!

The "real" Ayers Rock

Me, a beer, a sunset and Ayers Rock - and the beard's coming on well!

Plans for the next day were to circumnavigate the Rock on foot – about 10.5k - then drive 50k to the Olgas to see the sun setting on them – the whole tourist shebang. That night, as if to remind us the rain gods had not let us totally escape, we were woken by lightening and a tremendous roll of thunder followed, inevitably, by rain. However by morning everything had dried up and it was a beautiful day.

An Ayres Rock waterhole

Sandra during our circumnavigation

Our circumnavigation took almost 4 hours and we saw the Rock from almost every conceivable angle with Sandra, our tour photographer, overdosing with the camera. Back to base, a quick shower and change of clothes, then off to the Olgas. These are a very impressive range of rounded hills appearing as if from nowhere out of a stark desert landscape. Once probably much like Uluru but considerably larger, they have been eroded from a single mountain to over 30 individual rounded summits of differing heights and shapes. Settling down as before with books and beers to await the sunset we were not disappointed – it was a gorgeous evening and made up for our last foray into The Olgas which necessitated Gortex, boots and brollies.

A few Olgas at sunset

The rest of the Olgas

Sandra snapping the Olgas

And a final Olga shot

The only other notable event before leaving Ayers Rock Resort was the sound of a crash followed by a roaring noise. A neighbouring camper had managed to knock over a gas cylinder with the valve fully open and the gas had somehow ignited. It was now performing like a flame thrower with several feet of flame torching his tent. Despite Sandra's warning shouts the obviously not too bright camper tried to put the flames out by pouring water over the gas cylinder. Unfortunately we didn't get to a camera in time.

Leaving Ayers Rock we drove to Alice Springs via the Henbury Meteorite site, an old favourite of ours, where in splendid isolation we camped under the stars by a campfire in almost total silence – wonderful. In Alice we re-established contact with Johann and Stretch – the latter still trying to get his tax affairs sorted out via the internet and trying to get yet another puncture repaired.