May 19th

Time to catch up on more from Uluru…

Our Sunrise Segway tour started at 5.30 am. A bus picked us up and took a group of 20 out to the Rock. We were served breakfast as the sun rose. The beautiful sunrise promised a good day ahead.

The Olga’s came to light in one direction and the Rock in another



The birds hung around to pick up the crumbs from breakfast, and we were then taken back to the base of the Rock to get some training on the segways.


All kitted up, and feeling confident we were off.


We passed all the interesting formations ,that you don’t see from the road.



We stopped for photos every now and then, we had a great tour guide and we all were having a great time.


It didn’t take me long to get confident enough to take photos as we rode around. I was placed at the head of the line behind our guide, so I was able to chat with her most of the time . And take photos of those following behind. Great fun !




When we completed the ride around we went on a walk into a water hole. A nice serene place to finish off the tour.




On the way back we stopped in to view some Aboriginal rock art in a cave.






What a great tour ,we parked our segways and were bussed back to Ulara camp ground.

The next morning Chris and I drove out of town and did the Kathleen Springs walk








It was a lovely walk with a good mix of colourful rocky cliffs, bird life, wildflowers and waterholes.





We had moved on to camp at Kings Canyon and that evening we went up to the bar area at the park and sat around watching the sun set and the laser lights with the ranges in the background, Meanwhile a solo singer performed Aussie songs.





Just as well we had had a relaxing evening as the next day Chris and I drove out to Kings Canyon to do the rim walk.

The climb up at the start, was very steep, I mean steep!





There were many stops on the Way up. Just when you think you’ve reached the top ,another cliff pops up in front of you to climb up.







Wc think this is around the top, but as its a rim walk, there was no flat area. The going was still rough and rocky, up and down , one cliff edge after another.




Thank goodness I like taking photos as doing so, took my mind off where we were, there was no turning back ,it was a one way 6+klm trek, and the only way out was to go forward.













I’ve always like rock hoping, especially at the beach, but considering it was now the middle of the day, no shade and we were only just nearing the end of the canyon, like half way . How stupid am I..?
















Finally we got to the the end and and crossed the little bridge to the other side of the canyon. Hoping that that side will be a easier walk ,we moved on.

















Not so this side was still hard going and maybe even more spectacular than the other side.




We took a 600mtr diversion and went down into the garden of Eden. It was lovely, so worth the extra effort.













Back on track after having a quiet sit by the waterhole, we felt we were homeward bound.

How amazing are the cliff faces that we had just walked over.












The track did get a little easier on the way back, just a few cliffs to scramble around ,at least we were going downhill.



When we got back to the carpark we read a sign relating to the way we had just come back. Yes it was hot!


It had taken us 5 and a half hours, and we were quite pleased to have achieved the hardest walk we have even done.!