Nele & Andrew Around Oz: August 2011

Devil’s Marbles Campsite, Devil’s Marbles Conservation Reserve, NT

Day 180 – 15^th August 2011

Devil’s Marbles Campsite, Devil’s Marbles Conservation Reserve, NT

We first treated ourselves with a yummy vegetable juice (the perks of being in a bigger town) and after the usual grocery shopping and filling up with fuel we left Alice Springs. We had lunch at Aileron where Nele went for a walk up the hill for a closer look at the statue of the Anmatjere man to find out more about the story (day 157) but didn’t get much the wiser. Back down a visit to the nearby Aboriginal Outback Art Gallery revealed the statue (12m high – tip of spear 17m high – approx. 8 tonnes – the project to complete the “Hollywood” style Aileron sign and the statue took 18 months) was built to honour the local Anmatjere people. Some progress was being made to the statue of his family with the artist working on the addition of a lizard. We continued on with a short stop at the Red Centre Farm near Ti Tree to buy some of their delicious mango ice cream and at the Central Mt Stuart Historical Reserve where a cairn commemorates John McDouall Stuart’s naming of Central Mt Stuart which he thought was the centre of Australia (although he was a fair way off – the true centre lies at the Lambert Centre near Finke – SE of Alice). We camped the night at the Devil’s Marbles campsite which was very crowded (popular place). We went for a short walk to have a closer look at these huge boulders and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

Vegetable juice!

Aileron

Tall man!

Lizard is being added by the artist

Yummy mango ice cream at Red Centre Farm

Central Mt Stuart Historical Reserve

Anyone want some roadkill? The birds love it and you need to keep
slowing down as otherwise you'll add a few birds to the roadkill as well

Devil's Marbles

Marble split in two

Can you see Nele?

Lots of marbles

Sunset at Devil's Marbles

G’Day Mate Tourist Park, Alice Springs, NT

Day 179 – 14^th August 2011

G’Day Mate Tourist Park, Alice Springs, NT

Today we drove back to Alice Springs with a quick stop at Erlunda for lunch and a visit to the Henbury Meteorite Craters Conservation Reserve, a cluster of 12 small craters created when fragments of a meteorite hit the ground about 4,500 years ago (1.5km loop - 20min).

At the road signs, you can really tell how touristy Uluru is

Scenery - burnt out cars

Some cows along the gravel road into Henbury Meteorite Craters

Henbury Meteorite Craters Conservation Reserve

These cows just have the best backyard

Kernot Range Rest Area, NT (145km E of Yulara)

Day 178 – 13^th August 2011
Kernot Range Rest Area, NT (145km E of Yulara)

We got up early this morning to watch the sun rise on the rock. Again a big crowd had gathered but we thought this was not that spectacular. Afterwards we drove to Talinguru Nyakunytjaku where we had breakfast (porridge to warm up) and did a short walk (500m return - 10min) providing 360° views on top of a sand dune of Uluru and the Olgas. Next we drove to Kata Tjuta (meaning ‘many heads’) with a quick stop along the way at another dune viewing area for a photo opportunity of these domed rocks. We did the Valley of the Winds Walk which took us to the Karu and Karingana Lookouts and through the valley with great views of the domes (7.4km loop – 2h15). After lunch we set off on the Walpa Gorge walk (2.6km return – 45min) leading into the sheer-sided Walpa (Olga) Gorge. Well, we pretty much did it all so time to leave the park.

Sunrise at Uluru

Sunrise

Small rock, big van

Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)

Valley of the Winds walk

Karu Lookout

Karingara Lookout - gorge

Karingara Lookout - valley

Valley of the Winds walk

Walpa Gorge walk

View of the valley

Walpa Gorge walk

High cliffs

Walpa Gorge

Ayers Rock Resort, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, NT

Day 177 – 12^th August 2011

Ayers Rock Resort, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, NT

Today we visited Uluru in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta NP ($25 pp entry fee). We decided to climb the rock in the morning before it gets too hot (2h). The climb is quite steep, especially at the start. The first part is without a chain as they figure “if you can’t make it to the chain without help, you will be in trouble later”. Well, Nele almost didn’t make it as it’s steep and the rock is slippery (the path is smooth from thousands of footsteps)– a combination she doesn’t like! But eventually she reached the chain and from there on it got easier - it’s still steep but at least you can hold on to something. You get a great view on the top of the surrounding area including The Olgas (Kata Tjuta) and Mt Connor. We had lunch after a visit to the cultural centre - very informative introduction to Anangu culture and also home of the ‘Sorry Book’ (a stack of letters from people around the world who in a fit of guilt or superstition have returned rocks after taken them from the park). In the afternoon we did the base walk around the rock (10.6km loop – 3h) with photo opportunities at Kantju Gorge and Mutitjulu Waterhole (a large area at the back of the rock is sensitive – secret men’s or women’s sites - where photography is not permitted). We finished the day with the must see sunset viewing to watch the colour changing of the rock while the sun sets down.