33 Uluru (Ayers Rock) - Day 2

the Olgas
I woke up at 3:30 with a very bright half moon right above me. It was cooler, but it was not cold enough for me to get under the sleeping bag. We had to be ready to leave at 5:45 to catch the sun rise!  Our location allowed us to watch the sun rise over Uluru, and catch the change in colour on the Kata Tjuta.  Kata Tjuta is also known as the Olgas and is about 50 km from Uluru.  Unlike the Uluru, which is a huge monolith, Kata Tjuta consists of a number of smaller, but taller, domed rock formations.  In general, sun rise is not as nice as sunset; and since there were no clouds, today's sunrise was quite ordinary. But since it is a barren landscape for as far as the eyes can see, it is still a rather unique experience.

the Olgas are made up of a lot of these relatively smooth domed rock formations
and below the smooth surface, you will find a bunch of
smaller rocks fused together 
We then went on the Valley of the Winds hike.  Instead of doing the entire circuit on our own, we went with our guide on a shorter guided hike.  Today's hike was more difficult because of the terrain; the path is rocky and at times there are loose gravels.  The walk was more enjoyable as it was not that hot yet. There were some shades along the way and there was one part where we could lay on the smooth incline to chill. The two lookouts we went to were not that special, I did not think it was worth the climb.  Our guide continued to help us understand more about the aboriginal way of life and who / how the area was explored and named.

After the burrito lunch by the resort pool (and quite a few people went for a dip), we headed out to Kings Canyon. It was a good 4 hours drive and most people nodded off. We got to the new campsite and had an outback BBQ.  We all agreed that the kangaroo meat, specially prepared by the guide, was the best.

Tonight we had our own tent with bunk beds. Although it was hotter than yesterday, we decided to stay indoors partly because David's allergy was acting up. As it turned out, it was a good choice, because the mosquitoes came around 3 am and kept the outside sleepers up.  I did not had any problems sleeping. We all went to bed by 10 as we had to leave at 5:30 tomorrow morning for a longer hike.


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