Uluru and Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) – nature at its best

One of the key reasons we undertook this whole trip was to take the boys to Uluru and Kata Tjuta.  By going around the outside of Australia we had missed the centre and the boys had asked a number of times since to visit here.  So we left Wattarka (and hopefully the wind) behind and began the drive to one of the most iconic places in Australia.

But before you get to Uluru there is an amazing place to see on the way – Mount Conner/Artilla

 

You can’t drive up close or walk around Mt Conner as you can Uluru but the view from the road is spectacular.  We learned later that Mt Conner is 3 times as big at the base as Uluru.  We also learned that Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Mt Conner are all close to being in perfect triangle, and yet each is a different structure, different rock and formed completely differently.  On your way into Uluru make sure you stop at the look out and observe this really amazing place.

Uluru and Yulara

 

Uluru and Kata Tjuta are now in a national park – there is no accommodation or camping in the park and you do have to pay an entry fee to enter (we chose a 3 day pass).  For this there are a number of walks including ranger guided walks and a cultural centre you can visit for free. 

Accomodation is down the road at Yulara – a Voyages resort with a range of accomdation options.  We of course chose the campground for our trusty Jayco Swan.  It was quite large, had a good sized pool and a viewing platform we could access from the back of our caravan site (literally).  Yulara has a range of restaurants and activities of which we sampled many (actually more than we were intending).

The National Park

Over our three day pass we did a range of walks and spent several hours exploring the Cultural Centre.  The cultural centre has some great exhibits and incorporates two aboriginal art galleries that have a great range of paintings and wood art made by the local people.  There is also a café with amazing views of Uluru from its windows.  There is also a gift shop which ranged from kitsch to classy. 

Ranger-guided mala walk

Park rangers guide a daily Mala Walk (a relatively short and very flat walk). A ranger took us along the base of the rock, stopping to tell the story of the mala (rufous hare-wallaby) people. Along the way we stopped at several caves and the ranger explained the cultural significance.  The rest of the way he talked about various plants and animals native to the area.

The walk runs from - 8.00 am (October - April) and 10.00 am (May - Sept), and is an excellent way to start your journey here as it will inform the other walks you can do by yourself.  The walk ends at the Gorge and we strolled back to carpark taking more time in the caves this time without the accompanying large group of people.

This was definitely a sight worth contemplating for a bit.

Kuniya walk to Mutitjulu Waterhole

From the Kuniya carpark on the other side of the rock from the Mala walk, there is a short track to Mutitjulu waterhole, home of a wanampi, an ancestral watersnake. 

Here we learnt how Kuniya and Liru (the woma python woman and poisonous snake man) helped create Uluru. The Anangu believe that Kuniya (her spirit) is still here. There are art caves nearby that apparently are still used by Anangu today. This is a beautiful and peaceful place.

See it is the heart of Australia

Kata Tjuta

Kata Tjuta is made up of 36 domes composed of a conglomerate rock (this means there are rocks of all sizes held together with sandstone making it very different from the uniform sandstone of Uluru).The highest dome 546m high which makes it 198m higher than Uluru.

There are two walks at Kata Tjuta but the best by far is the Valley of the Winds, it also the hardest.  Like the Kings Canyon walks on days over 36 this walk is shut.  The day we went it was in the low 30s.  BUT it is still really hot here, the rocks radiate heat.  The walk is quite long and has some steep rocky bits (definitely wouldn’t wear thongs on this one – although we often see tourists doing exactly that).  Also take a lot of water – we had litres and litres but still ended up using the water station 2/3s the way through to top up.

The walk takes you to two lookouts – the Karu lookout about 1k in and then the Karingana lookout.  Karu is pretty cool, but Karingana just knocks your socks off.  If you do make it this far do yourselves the favour and walk the rest of the track.  The path runs through the domes and is totally amazing!