Ayers Rock

I was looking forward to this section  of my trip as I had booked a 3 day tour with AATKings to see Uluru, the Olgas and King's Canyon. I thought I would be able to relax as someone else would be in charge and I wouldn't have to worry about being in the right place at the right time.  I couldn't have been more wrong. It was not an escorted tour but a guided tour - big difference. I really had not done my research for this part and didn't realise the distance between Ayers Rock and the King's Canyon and Alice Springs! After travelling for almost 1000km in a coach and 3 nights in3 different hotels I have learned my lesson to always do my own research and not rely on others!

However the red centre of Australia is a landscape that I have never encountered before. I was surprised that there was so much greenery around but apparently that's because it is not the Summer yet , so although the temperature was in the late 30s that was quite cool compared to the Summer temperatures. It is a dry heat and we were continually told to drink plenty of water as dehydration is not something to be blase about.

The Olgas are made up of 36 domes of rock and as you get closer to them you see the different shades of the sandstone which is very pale in colour but the iron oxide changes it over time into the glorious shades of red and grey. We walked along a path that took us to the gap between the domes.

 As we got close to the rock we could see that it was made up of a mixture of gravel,pebbles and boulders that had cemented together with mud and sand.
It was now very hot and late in the afternoon so we then went to see the sun set over at Uluru/Ayer's rock.

 I did take lots of photos of the sun going down but they weren't that inspiring but the drinks were good!

Had to be up at 4am the next day to see the sunrise. I had to check out of the room before getting on the coach so it was all a bit hectic at a silly time of the day. But it was worth getting up at that time just to see the stars. The lack of light pollution and a cloudless sky made it a fantastic spectacle. I could have just stayed there looking at the night sky.

The sun was just coming up as we arrived at the viewing point.

Once the sun was up we were taken closer to the rock so we could see some of the caves and aboriginal paintings.

Parts of Uluru are particularly sacred and you are asked not to photograph them as it is important that they are only viewed in their original location. There are many stories associated with the rocks that have been handed down through the generations of the aboriginal people and form part of the laws by which they live.