Nele & Andrew Around Oz: 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.