6 Apr: Ayers Rock and The Olgas
We were up early this morning (5:45 am) and entered the park as
it was
opening,
a
half an
hour
before
sunrise. We
drove to
the
viewing
area which
is much
smaller
than the
sunset
viewing
area;
tourists
must like
their
beauty
sleep! As
the sun
rose the
rock was
illuminated
from a
dark red
to its
daytime orange
glow. We
then went
to
the
start
of
the
rock
climb
walk
to
see if
it
would
open
today. Yesterday
morning it
was open,
but closed
at 10:30
am
due to
strong
winds. It's
only open
about 100
days per
year as
it's often
closed due
to wind,
bad
weather or
for
Aboriginal
cultural
reasons. A
lot is
done to
try
to deter
people
from
climbing
the
rock, as
it's
against
Aboriginal beliefs
and it
must be
said that
it's a
challenging
climb,
definitely
not
suitable
for the
faint
hearted!
We respect
other
peoples'
cultures,
religions
and
beliefs,
but if we
get the
chance
to
climb
the
mythical
rock, we
will!
Unfortunately
today, the
climb
stayed
closed all
day...
After a quick look at the cultural centre, we decided to drive
about 50
kms
towards
the Olgas,
to do a
7.4 km
walk
around the
rocks,
also named
Kata
Tjuta. The
Valley of
the Winds
walk
merits
its name.
The wind
blew
strongly
in the
valley and
we were
glad
to
have
our
fleeces
with us.
The
scenery is
stunning
and
surprisingly
different
from it's
neighbour
Uluru. The
rock is
made of
granite
and
basalt
pebbles
and
many
have
been
literally
cut in
half by
ancient
rock
movements.
The three girls spent the afternoon at the campground, between
the cabin,
the pool
and the
playground
and
François
returned
to do
the
10 km
base
walk
around
Uluru.
Gaelle and
Sophie
were too
tired
to
walk
any
further
today...
In the evening we enjoyed a super BBQ with T-bone steaks, updated
all our
Internet
pages and
went to
bed with
our
fingers
crossed
that the
climb
would open
tomorrow
morning.
 |
 |
 |
| Sunrise at
Uluru |
Scrambling up
the
Valley
of
the
Winds
at
the
Olgas |
The Valley of
the
Winds
walk |
 |
 |
 |
| The Olgas
(Kata
Tjuta) |
The closed
climb |
The gorge on
the
Mala
walk |
7 Apr: Ayers Rock to Sydney
The alarm woke us at 6:30. We had two plans for this morning.
Plan a, if
we were
lucky, was
to climb
the rock.
Plan b,
was that
François
and the
girls
would do
the small
Mala
ranger
guided
walk
whilst
Jenny ran
the base
walk. We
arrived at
Uluru just
before 8am
and were
somewhat
surprised
but
delighted
to see the
climb
open! Off
we
set on
the
348
metre
climb up
the rock!
A low
chain
railing
was
installed
in 1975 to
add a bit
of safety
,
but apart
from the
back-breaking
low chain
you
basically
scramble
up the
steep rock
face;
there are
no steps
or
ladders!
Before
reaching
the summit
the walk
flattens
out, the
railing
disappears
and white
lines
painted on
the rock
indicate
the
path
to
the
top.
The
wind
up
there
was
strong
and
blew
right
through
our
fleeces;
we were
certain
that the
climb
would be
closed
by
the
time
we
got
back
down...
It took us 50 minutes to reach the summit and we were rewarded
with
stunning
views of
the
surrounding
plains,
The Olgas
and Ayers
Rock.
We
were
all
so
pleased
to
have
been
able
to
climb
the
majestic
rock,
one of the
symbols of
Australia
and a rock
rich in
Aboriginal
beliefs.
If
only it
could talk
and relate
the
wonders it
has
witnessed
since
it's
creation...
Sophie
cried in
the car on
the way
back to
the
campground.
She
was
extremely
sad to
leave the
rock
behind!
We flew out of Uluru at 1:30 pm to Sydney and reset out watches -
there's a
novel half
hour time
difference!
We arrived
at the YMA
(youth
hostel) in
Bondi
Beach
where we'd
reserved a
room for
four with
a
bathroom,
backpacker
luxury! No
sooner had
we set
down our
luggage,
we learnt
of a YMA
Tuesday
night free
meal
special at
Shacks
bar/café
in Bondi
Beach.
With
vouchers
in hand we
tagged
along with
the
backpacker
crowd to
check
out
the
plan!
We
were
pleasantly
surprised
to find
ourselves
in
a nice
bar
near
the
beach
with
a
choice
of
meals.
With a
beer and
some
lemonade
to wash
everything
down, it
was a
perfect
evening!
 |
 |
| At the summit
of
Ayers
Rock |
On top of
Ayers
Rock! |
8 Apr: Sydney
Jenny set off for an early morning run (6:30) along Bondi Beach,
already
crowded
with
fitness
fanatics
and
surfers.
After
breakfast
we
walked
down
to
the
beach
to
catch
an
open
topped
double
decker
sightseeing
bus around
Bondi and
Sydney
city
centre. We
hopped off
the bus at
The Rocks
for a look
around. We
saw
the oldest house
in Sydney,
a cottage,
a stone
throw away
from the
waters of
Circular
Quay.
We
also
visited
The Rocks
museum
which
explains
the
European
colonisation
of the
area, the
convict
history and
the
decline of
the local
Aboriginal
community.
For
lunch
we ate
sandwiches
on the
waterfront
with a
fantastic
view
over
Sydney
Opera
House and
the
Harbour
Bridge and
watched an
Aboriginal
street
artist
playing
his
didgeridoo.
He
combined
the
didgeridoo
with
contemporary
music and
the result
was great.
We
even
bought a
CD!
Next we went off in search of a didgeridoo as a present for
friends in
Nouméa.
Fingers
crossed
they
haven't
already
got one!
We
visited
a
number
of
Aboriginal
art shops
before
finding an
authentic
one
hollowed
out by
termites
that
played
well. Then
a look at
Argile C
ut,
a
tunnel
carved out
by
convicts
and the
first
church
built in
Australia,
before
hopping
back on
the bus to
continue
the
commented
sightseeing
tour
around the
city.
It was dark when we arrived back at the youth
hostel. Another special
night was
on; takeaway
pizzas
for
$8. We
ordered
two and
got
the kids
homework
out of the
way
before
dinner.
 |
 |
| Sydney Harbour
Bridge |
A Street
entertainer
playing
the
didgeridoo |
BACK
| 
