Life in a Humpback

Day 22: Yulara

This morning we got up at 5:15am to catch the bus to our Sunrise Journeys tour. We were taken out to a lookout of Uluru and greeted with warm muffins, hot chocolates and chai tea. All of which were much appreciated as it was very cold!! We then sat down to watch a sound and light show created by three female indigenous artists that was projected onto the trees and landscape with the backdrop of Uluru and the sun rising. We all really loved this. It was beautifully done. After the light show we stayed in the area to watch the sunrise over Uluru while having breakfast - lots more hot chocolates, pastries (including cheese and kangaroo croissants), egg and bacon rolls, and so much more. I think by the end we rolled back to the bus we were so full!

Back at camp the boys laid down for a nap, while the girls headed back to another dot painting session and a walk through the "town square". John and the kids headed back into the park again to pick up a boomerang for Theo. While at the visitors centre they got to watch some local dances in celebration of NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islands Day Observance Committee) week.

Later that afternoon we went along to a didgeridoo workshop followed by a talk on women's tools and how they are used.

Day 21: Kata Tjuta

Today we had pancakes for breakfast. Then we did dot animal paintings next to the gallery. I dot painted a snake but I rushed it a bit because we only had one hour. There was also scratch art that I took home.

Then we went out to Kata Tjuta and we did the Valley of the Winds walk. You weren't allow to take photos of the rocks because the formations were sacred to the traditional owners.

Then we went home and had a snack and went to the camel farm for a tour. You weren't allowed to bring you own bags, so they gave you a bag to put your stuff in. You also got a sheep skin to put on the saddle. I went with Mum and our camel was named Khan. Khan had a muzzle, our guide told us it was because he liked stealing water bottles 😀. We went pretty slow and got to watch the sunset. But Theo and Dad's camel Trigger could go up to 75kph because he was a racing camel. When we got back, I got a keychain and badge. The keychain was a picture of Khan. I also got a Solo and juice. We went out to dinner and I got a burger and chips. The camels were awesome and amazing!🐪

Day 20: Uluru

Today was our first full day in the Uluru & Kata Tjuka National Park. Our first stop was the Ranger guided Mala walk around part of the base of Uluru. We learned about the rock art "classroom black board", the geology of the area, and about some of the medicinal plants.

After lunch we headed to the Uluru visitor centre to rent bikes and ride the 10km around the rock. This was a lot of fun even if it was rather warm doing it in the late afternoon.

To finish off the day we headed out to the Field of Lights for the night time viewing (around 8pm). It was pretty cool to see all the lights spreading out in front of us when we first arrived. But as we walked through the display we all thought that it would have been even more interesting if there was more movement within the lights. Its only going to be here for another 2 years so glad we got to see it while it was here.

Day 19: Ghan to Yulara

Despite the road trains we had a restful sleep and were up early to continue our travels. We arrived at the Ayers Rock Campground in Yulara (just outside the Uluru and Kata Tjuta National Parks) before midday. We spend the afternoon taking our first showers in a week and doing a hundred loads of washing.

To wrap up the day we headed out to the Uluru sunset viewing point to watch the rock change colours for the first time. We arrived early which allowed the boys to play their daily chess game in the tray of the Ute while the girls did their daily NY Times puzzles until it was time to watch the light fade.