Ayers Rock

We spent two nights here and did two tours.  The first was a trip to the Kata Tjuta Domes with a walk through the Wolpa Gorge.  This was an afternoon trip and very hot but we had an excellent guide and with only four of us on the tour we had a superb afternoon.  These domes are about 45km from Uluru and are not sandstone like Uluru but a much harder rock.  There are 36 of them and the highest point is 500m.  We were lucky enough to see camels on the trip back but we still haven't seen any kangaroos except the two spotted from the train.

                                                           Kata Tjuta Domes                                                               

                                                                                                  Wolpa Gorge

                                                    Camels with Kata Tjuta in the background


Our second tour was a sunrise tour which meant a 5.15 a.m. start.  We drove out to one of the viewing areas, had coffee and waited - unfortunately the cloud cover meant we didn't get to see the sunrise but the eerie atmosphere at that time of the morning made it worth the trip.  We were then taken to the Cultural Centre for breakfast before going on a guided walk with an Aboriginal guide and intepreter.  This included a demonstration fire making and weapon making with lots of information on the Aboriginal way of life.  The Aboriginal culture is very much gender specific and Sara was not allowed to have a go at fire making!  We were both allowed to try spear throwing though.  By the time the demonstration and "teach in" had finished the sun was up and we continued our walk slowly towards Uluru.  Once there we had the chance to look at the Rock close up before being taken back to our hotel.

We spent the rest of our morning changing flights and hotels as Cyclone Yasi was moving rapidly towards North Queensland and Cairns Airport was closed.  We are now going straight to New Zealand and sadly missing a visit to the Great Barrier Reef so we will just have to come back!

                                                 Ayers Rock (Uluru) at Sunrise

Our guide preparing to make kitty which is an epoxy like substance used in making weapons etc.

Sara demonstrating women's work

                                                       David demonstrating men's work

                       At the foot of the Rock

The Rock from near the Base

The only kangaroo we saw!