Our shortest day of towing today, just 3 hours along the Lasseter highway toward Yulara. It was not long into our journey before the landscape begun to change, with red dunes, and more strikingly, a variety of trees. None of us expected there to be this much vegetation in the red centre – the most abundant being the spinifex grasses, and the “desert oaks”. The desert oaks are quite a striking and unique tree, looking a bit like a drooping pine tree.
We were of course on the lookout for “The Rock”, and at one point Kate thought she had spied it through the trees and dunes. However, once we had a clear view we realised it was quite a different land form. A flat top mountain, with a “skirt”, in the middle of a plain. We pulled over for a view (along with a bus and several cars – you are never really alone along the roads we were venturing) of Mount Conner, and over the dune on the opposite side of the road was another salt lake.
Eventually the real McCoy came into view, that icon of Australia’s dry red centre, Uluru. In some ways, I think seeing the rock in person for the first time was like meeting a famous actor. Someone you have only seen on screen.
Our campsite at Yulara was right on the red sand. Superfine and dry – so it got into everything, but didn’t stick. After setting up we went exploring and found the well-stocked IGA with prices quite reasonable for some items (Old Gold chocolate, Connoisseur Ice-creams, and Paddlepops all on special and cheaper than at home, bonus!) and quite expensive for others (especially capsicum at $12/kg!).
In the late afternoon we headed to Uluru. After paying for our Park pass (they extended it beyond the normal 3 day expiry free of charge, so it would be good for our entire stay) we headed to the Cultural Centre, which was closing so we only had brief visit, before arriving at the Marla Carpark. The kids had a quick climb 20 metres up Uluru, then we walked clockwise along the base for an hour or so. This was the biggest surprise of our trip to date – the walk was stunning. The rock was glowing in the sunset, the sky a striking saturated blue, and the path lined by trees, and cooled by a gentle breeze. Never had I imagined that the base of Uluru would be so picturesque, having imagined it just rose from the desert sand. The walk covered various caves, rock art, and finished at a small gorge – that at this time of year is completely dry. Our first experience of Uluru brought a smile to our faces and satisfaction to our hearts.
