Uluru

We caught an early flight to Uluru and picked up our rental car. We would be car camping for the next 4 nights with our tent. The car rental fee was outrageous but I guess that’s what happens when you book last minute. They also cover only 400km and charged for any overage which was certain on our trip since we anticipated driving 900km. The plan was to spend today and tomorrow exploring Uluru.

From the airport, we drove to the Ayers Rock Resort which was a small resort town with tourist accommodations a couple restaurants and a town square with a sizable grocery store. After checking in to our campground and setting up our tent we attempted to find butane for our little stove. Chance would have it that we couldn't find it anywhere and butane is not something you bring on an airplane. We checked all the gas stations and shops and decided to worry about it later as Uluru was calling.

Short on sunlight, we headed to Uluru and were only able to fit in short walk on the Mala track. Uluru is around 863 meters high and surrounded by flat desert. It was amazingly tranquil walking around the base when you weren't surrounded by tourist. I was also surprised to see so much water around the base, a few oasis and lots of puddles. It was really nice to just sit and listen to the wind blow and the birds chirp. I had expected very flat and dry dessert surrounding the area but it was much greener than I expected and had lots of low scrubs and brush.

The place everyone goes when at Uluru is to watch the sunset. As the sun sets the Uluru glows a vibrant red and is just exquisite for pictures. The thing to do is bring wine and snacks and enjoy the show. We missed the memo on that and wish we had our campervan with us. Many people turn the Uluru experience into a road trip from Darwin. The place was packed with families and other travelers.

We headed back to camp and were not sure what to do for dinner. The campground had a few flat panel BBQs available so we decide to make grill cheese sandwiches. Yum! If only we had some ketchup.Read more