Big-ass rock

Let's find a rock, I mean a big-ass rock

Let's find a rock

My time in Melbourne was at an end. I had done my goodbyes the previous night, as I was off early to get to the airport. I was on the first tram into central Melbourne to get the bus to the airport for my flight to Uluru, via Sydney. I arrived at the bus station just as a bus was pulling out. I had to wait 15 minutes for the next one. I knew that I would still arrive at the airport in plenty of time but my mental itinerary was now thrown out. At that hour in the morning and without a coffee to wake me up I struggled to work out what time I would arrive. In the end it was enough time to clear security and get some breakfast before boarding the first flight. The flight to Sydney was not quite long enough – no sooner had I nodded off for a nap I was being woken up for landing. I had a window seat for the Sydney to Uluru leg and it seemed like we were flying over nothing but red dust for a long time. The place didn’t look completely barren though, which surprised me a little. There were plenty of trees dotted across the landscape too. As we came in to land I got a glimpse of Uluru/Ayer’s Rock. From the air, with nothing else around it, it really stood out. I could also make out the resort, a tiny speck of civilisation in the middle of nowhere. It seemed very artificial and out of place.

We landed at the tiny airport and after a little while the doors were opened for us to disembark. Stepping out of the door onto the stairs the heat hit me. It had been cool and drizzly when I had left Melbourne so I was wearing jeans and a jumper.  It was a little warm in them to say the least. At the bottom of the stairs I stepped to one side to take my jumper off. As I pulled it over my head my t-shirt started to go with it. Thankfully I had been one of the last people off the plane so there was only the air stewardess stood at the top of the stairs there to witness my impromptu striptease. Having rescued my t-shirt from inside my jumper and put it back on I headed into the airport. The airport was very small and there was hardly any wait for the luggage. Outside the airport was a fleet of air-conditioned coaches waiting to take everyone to the resort. I was staying at a place called The Lost Camel and was directed to the first coach for the short journey across to the resort.  

Uluru at sunrise

Once I was all checked in I had a little walk around the resort. There was a supermarket, a couple of shops, a café and a takeaway place called Ayer’s Wok. I did a little shopping at the supermarket and made myself some lunch before heading out for a walk to one of the viewing points. There was a free shuttle bus that ran a route between all the different hotels and the look out point but I decided I would take a walk. I had a map of the resort so knew roughly were I was headed. It was a little further than I expected but I found the spot and got my first proper look at the Rock in the distance. I was looking forward to my tours the following day when I would get to see it from a lot closer. After staying a while taking in the view I set off back to the hotel. It looked like there was a small track leading from the look out point across the scrub. I took a few steps along it and then thought I heard something moving in the grass up ahead. I promptly turned back and took the long route along the road back to the resort just to be on the safe side. Once back I had a swim in the pool to cool down, had some dinner and an early night.

I mean a big-ass rock

Viewing platform at Uluru

I had booked to go on the sunrise tour, which involved a 4:45am pick up. I am not the best in a morning so my alarm going off at 4:15am was not a welcome sound. I resisted the urge to snooze for 5 minutes knowing that I would not wake back up for a couple of hours and would miss the trip. I managed a shower and a strong coffee before joining a couple of other bleary-eyed people in the reception. Our coach arrived and we boarded. The coach was already about half full and we made one more stop. I suspected the final hotel was the nicest one at the resort; they got the last pick up so they got to spend longest in bed. I had a quick look round at my fellow trippers on the coach. It could easily be mistaken for a coach taking us to a casting call for a remake of Cocoon.

We drove for about half an hour or so through total darkness until we arrived at the sunrise viewing area. There was coffee waiting for us and I needed some. I grabbed a cup, and finished it rather quickly, heading off to get a good spot on the viewing platform before it filled up. The advantage of being on a trip with a slightly older crowd meant that I got to the viewing platform quicker than they did. I tried a couple of spots before settling on a place with the view I wanted for my photos. The sun was slowly coming up, behind us, Uluru set out in front of us. It was stunning to watch it slowly change colour as the sun rose. Despite the large number of people on the viewing platform it was remarkably peaceful. It was another bit of the trip where I wished there was someone with me to share it with. Having got some photos I went for a bit of a wander, getting a great photo looking back at all the people still up on the viewing platform. It was spectacular and worth the early start. Once the sun was up we headed back to the bus. The rest of the trip saw us take a walk around the base of the rock before a quick stop at the cultural centre.

  

Kata Tjuta at sunset

Having been dropped back at the resort I had time for a snooze before grabbing lunch and getting myself sorted out for an afternoon tour to Kata Tjuta, the other large rock formation in the area. It was going to be quite a hike and we had been told that we needed to carry two litres of water for it. They were pretty strict too. I had two 750ml bottles with me but they made me get some more. On the drive out our guide, Adam, explained that everyone would walk to the 1st lookout point. From there, if the temperature was below 36 Celsius, then we could walk to the 2nd lookout if we wanted. The guide explained that it was a 5km round trip from the 1st to the 2nd lookout. Adam told us that it had been above 36 for the last two weeks and that meant it was too dangerous to take people up to the 2nd lookout. We were lucky, it was only 34 degrees so we could do the walk. About half the group opted to do the walk, the other half returning to the coach for a driving tour.

The hike to the 2nd lookout was tough. I was pleased they had made me get two litres of water as I got through most of it. I estimated that if I took my pants off and wrung them out then I would find about a litre of the water I had drunk. The views from the 2nd lookout point were worth the effort though and on the way back I got my first glimpse of a kangaroo out in the wild. I wasn’t quick enough to get a good photo of it though. Post hike we waited for the coach to return to pick us up to take us to a spot to watch the sunset. There was some liquid refreshment waiting for us at the spot where we got to watch the sunset. I got myself some wine and grabbed one of the little folding seats and found a spot away from the main group to wait for the sun to set. A woman spotted me sat on my own and came to sit near me. She said that she had seen the size of my camera (not a euphemism) and had decided that I obviously knew what I was doing and how to pick a good spot for photos. We chatted for a while as the sun set. It was another spectacular sight and it rounded off a great day. The drive back was almost in silence and even though it wasn’t that late I was ready for bed when I got back.

“Let's find a rock, I mean a big-ass rock” 
Lyrics from Big-Ass Rock from the musical The Full Monty