COOBER PEDY TO YULARA 11/7/21 to 17/7/21

COOBER PEDY TO YULARA – 11/7/21 TO 17/7/21
After filling up our water tanks for $1 for 30 litres at the only place where water was available for purchase, we headed north again and turned off the Stuart Highway towards the Painted Desert along a very corrugated dirt road towards a station named Arkaringa. We paid our $20 to stay there for the night (which allowed us toilet and hot shower facilities) in a large dusty area near the homestead along with about a dozen other campers. After unhooking, we drove along more rough and corrugated road to see the Painted Hills which are similar to the Breakaways (which we saw near Coober Pedy) but these were more expansive and quite beautiful. The weather eroded ranges which have little vegetation looked spectacular in the late afternoon sun which brought out the richness of the ochre colours which were in contrast to other pale sand-coloured areas of the rocks. On our return to camp we watched the sun set over the flat plains. The next morning we drove back to the Stuart Highway passing many flat topped and weathered ranges and mesas as well as flat gibber plains covered in clumping grasses and some undulating areas where rows of trees indicated dry creek beds. We arrived at the Marla roadhouse and set up camp in the caravan area at the back which soon became packed with vans. There have been more caravans on the road than we have seen on any of our other trips. In the camp grounds Frank met by chance a chap who he knew from working days and we later enjoyed a drink and dinner in the roadhouse bar with him and his wife. The next morning saw us heading north again along the Stuart Highway’s straight stretches of road, passing more weathered mountain ranges and huge expanses of open plains. There was an endless stream of caravans heading south (we nearly got RSI from giving each one the Wave!!) We finally reached the N.T. border and with our border passes already arranged we stopped at the N.T. police checkpoint for our Covid entry to be checked. Driving on we came to another roadhouse at Erldunda, situated at the junction of the Lasseter Highway which leads to Yulara where we stopped for the night. The weather became warmer reaching 31C in the afternoon. Next morning we headed off towards Yulara passing the Mt Ebenezer roadhouse and many red sandhills covered in clumping vegetation and some areas of acacia and desert oak trees. There was no livestock or wildlife to be seen. We stopped at the Mt. Conner lookout to view the immense flat-topped mountain before continuing to Yulara. Soon the familiar shape of Uluru became visible in the distance. We arrived at the Ayers Rock Camp Ground situated within the huge Yulara resort complex. Because we were a day earlier than our booking, we stayed a night in the overflow, red dirt area at the rear of the ground before moving to our booked powered site for our three-night stay. On our first day we drove the 18km to Uluru and went on a walk part way along the base of the rock. We saw caves in places and huge curved rock overhangs, one with Aboriginal rock paintings. Higher up on the rock are huge potholes where pieces of rock have broken away and other areas where waterfalls have stained the red sandstone surface a black colour. From a distance the rock seems smooth except for the undulations which have formed from weathering over millions of years. However, on closer viewing the surface has a crusty, scaly appearance. After returning to the car we drove around the entire base of Uluru, viewing it from every direction. There are enormous valleys and folds which have eroded over time. We called in to the cultural centre which gave traditional stories about the formation from an Aboriginal perspective. We went on to a sunset viewing area where we waited and watched the rock turn vivid orange in the rays of the setting sun and finally a darker brown as twilight fell. The sky behind the rock seemed to have a subtle pinkish/mauve colour. The following day we drove 50km to Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) which are just as impressive as Uluru although much taller and instead of sandstone, they’re made of conglomerate rock. The huge rounded domes have been eroded over time. There are enormous cracks in some sections which have weathered into canyons. Our first walk was into one of these canyons called Walpa Gorge and after a steep climb we entered a sheltered gorge with green vegetation and sheer red cliffs rising on either side. At the head of the gorge was a small fresh water spring. Our next walk took us to an area called the Valley of the Winds where we tackled another steep rocky climb past more rugged soaring red cliffs to a lookout. After our return to Uluru in the evening we went on a bus tour to the Uluru Field of Light display. On disembarking we were amazed at the enormity and beauty of the Field of Light. We made our way in the darkness along pathways out into the field where slender stems topped with a frosted glass sphere were illuminated in different subtle colours. The 50,000 lights seemed to stretch to the horizon. We were lucky to be allowed to climb to a sand dune for a better view and it was stunning. We could see that the lights had circular patterns of different colours and the dark shape of Uluru could just be seen in the distance beyond the lights. Our last day at Yulara was spent catching up on chores and maintenance in readiness for our drive to Kings Canyon.Read more