KINGS CANYON & ULURU

Finally we left Alice Springs and continued our trip, we stopped at the Rainbow Valley and The Meteorite Crater for some photos, we arrived at Kings Creek Station, a unique 2,000 square-kilometre station overlooking the George Gill Ranges, our dream to see a station came through!!, but this was even better it was a camel station. We asked why the surrounding was so green, because we expected to see everything red, they told us they have had constant rain and that we were very lucky because even the owner of the station, who has lived in the station for the last 30 years it is the first time he has seen everything green. The campground was enormous; you get a big camping spot for yourself, we set up and went to the Kings Canyon Resort, (which it is 40 km from the station) and had dinner, there was an outback show which was very entertaining.
Next day ready to explore the Watarrka National Park and its surroundings; we commenced with a pleasant walk to Kathleen Springs home of Kathleen Gorge and a permanent waterhole.

Kathleen Springs, NT

We went to Kings Canyon, (called “The Australian Grand Canyon”) where we enjoyed the bird life and admired the massive sheer rock face of the Canyon which soars above cycad gardens.

Kings Canyon, NT

We wanted to watch the sunset so we stayed around in the area to get some photos but the sky decided to become cloudy and spoiled the show, we rushed back to the Station for The Stock Camp Show, we enjoyed listening the history of this region through the eyes of locals, we caught the excitement of wild camel on video and watched a live demonstration of animal handling with camels and toped the night with a traditional supper of billy tea and damper.
The next day Gabriel went on a self drive Quad Tour (4-wheel drive motorbike), he was so lucky to be the only person with two tour guides. Drove through desert groves; tackled sand dunes; spotted some wild camels (introduced to Australia in 1870), enjoyed some spectacular views. Learned a little bit on how the aborigines survived in the desert, what they ate and their shelters and where and how they used to find water; saw some of the flora and fauna of the place. When he came back to camp he was very happy because he had the opportunity to see a station.

Unfortunately Rosario could not go to this trip because of her broken arm. However she enjoyed staying back helping the ladies in the souvenir shop, walking around the station and looking at the camels.

Kings Creek Station, NT

After lunch we headed to Uluru. On our way we saw a big rock and thought it was it, we stopped at the lookout and realised it was Mount Conner, which is located at Curtin Springs Cattle Station, took photos from the distance and kept on going.

Mount Conner, NT

Later we arrived to the Ayers Rock Campground, set up camp and rushed to see the sunset on the sand dunes at Yulara where you can find accommodation for all tastes and budgets.

Ayers Rock, NT

The next day off we went to see “Uluru”, no matter how many photos you have seen, nothing will quite prepare you for the first view of the magical rock, even from the distance it has something special (very hard to describe), when we reached its base it started to rain we were so lucky to have rain because it was an amazing spectacle; we saw waterfalls running from the rock.
Uluru rises 348 metres from the base of the rock, has a gird of 9.4 km, it makes it the words most famous monolith and it is estimated that at least two thirds of the rock lies beneath the surface. We drove around the circumference of the rock, did the walks, and enjoy every aspect of the rock that is different. We visited the cultural centre, which displays art work and videos that helped us to understand the importance to the traditional owners “The Anangu People”. Went to the guided walks, we could not climb the rock because it was closed due to the weather conditions.

The last day we got up early and went to watch the sunrise. It was amazing how the colours of rock changed during the sunrise.

Uluru, NT

We travelled approximately 50 km and found “Katatjuta”, the name is an aboriginal name meaning "many heads", there are 36 separate domes (rock formed) and the tallest is in fact 200 metres higher than Uluru. There is a place called “Valley of the Winds” with different walking trials. Is was fascinating to see the different colours on the rocks.

Kata Tjuta, NT