Ayers Rock & Kings Canyon

19/3/94 After a sad farewell to our friends and WA we flew to Ayers Rock. We originally booked into a very nice hotel but then realised that we would be out all day during our stay and only really needed somewhere to sleep so we cancelled the hotel and stayed in this very basic caravan.

It was all right, the site was very good with all amenities, even hair dryers! It was only for 2 nights and we saved a lot of money.

We went to the Olgas this afternoon but I didn't walk around them because it was very hot and although I love hot weather I didn't want to do anything energetic because I knew we were going to go to Uluru, the world's greatest monolith, to do the "Chicken Run" as it was called then. 

It's the first stretch of climbing the rock, it's quite short and steep and scary. If you couldn't do that bit they suggested you shouldn't attempt to climb to the top. I was very nervous but did it so we were set to climb the rock the next day. 

The sunset was stunning.

Another early start to see the sunrise over Uluru and climb the rock. It's stunning: remote, sacred to the Aborigines and patrolled by dingos. It's a kaleidoscope of colours, crimson at sunset, burnt umber at dawn and dusk, and silvery grey in the rain, which thankfully we didn't see. 
Before the climb we had a saftey talk, no hats or bags because it was too windy. We were allowed to take small cameras that could be put in a pocket. I can't remember how long it took to to get to the top but I can remember being terrified, it was windy and at times very close to the edge, some parts were very slippery and it was completely open, so we felt very exposed to the elements.

View from the top. The Olgas in the distance

We did it!

I was very relieved to get back down

20/3/94 Very early start for a trip to the breathtaking Kings Canyon.
We were waiting for a coach to pick us up, it was 6am, dark, a little way away from the campsite and we heard what we thought were dingos in the distance! They seemed to be getting closer so we were relieved when the coach arrived!

We had a guided tour up and over the top of the Canyon. It was awesome, I preferred it to Ayers Rock.

After all that activity we had a relaxing flight to Cairns to meet some other friends.