Australeana: Jeremy and Leana's Continued Adventure!

It was very exciting to reach Yulara, the resort town close to Uluru. We were going to be spending two nights here, so there would be a brief break from the long days of driving. Here's a small bit of info about Yulara:

Yulara (
25°14′S 130°59′E / 25.233°S 130.983°E) is an isolated town in the Southern Region of the Northern Territory, Australia. It lies as an unincorporated enclave within MacDonnell Shire. At the 2011 census, Yulara had a population of 887.^[1] on an area of 103.33 km². More than three-quarters of the residents of Yulara are from either overseas or another Australian state^{[citation needed]}. The name is derived from local Aboriginal words for howling and dingos.^[2] It is 18 km by road from world heritage site Uluru (Ayers Rock) and 55 km from Kata Tjuta (the Olgas). It is located in the Northern Territory electorate of Namatjira and the federal electorate of Lingiari.

There is quite the monopoly on accommodation in Yulara, but luckily we had our trusty tent. Still, camping wasn't cheap! At $18/person per night for an unpowered campsite, it may be the most expensive tent camping I've done! The campsite wasn't anything to write home about, but it DID have free hot showers and decent bathroom facilities (my nose was stuffy during our stay at Dalhousie and I couldn't really smell, but Jeremy swore he could detect the awful bathroom stench from 200 m, and at Coward Springs you needed to light a fire under a water tank and wait 20 minutes for it to heat up in order to enjoy a hot shower). It was also walking distance to several restaurants, etc. We had our first non-camp dinner at a restaurant and then headed back to do some reading before an early bed time, since we would be getting up very early to drive to Uluru for the sunrise.

Here's some wiki stuff about Uluru: Uluru (English pronunciation: /ˌuːluːˈruː/), also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies 335 km (208 mi) south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs, 450 km (280 mi) by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. Uluru is sacred to the Anangu, the Aboriginal people of the area. The area around the formation is home to a plethora of springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. Uluru is listed as a World Heritage Site.

Jeremy had been here with his family as a kid, and he had personal intentions for returning. I had never been particularly excited about visiting it, but I am glad to have experienced it. Unfortunately for us, the sky was overcast (until the day we left) so we didn't get to experience the wondrous sunrises/sunsets with the rock changing colour that you hear about. We started the walk around the base, but took a wrong turn and became annoyed. We decided we had spent enough time at Uluru and drove the 50 km to Kata Tjuta (or The Olgas). The Olgas were a pretty incredible sight, and we did one of the little hikes in the area. By this point, we were pretty exhausted from being up early every day and so much driving, so the most appealing thing to do was head back to the campsite to relax. We returned to Uluru for sunset, and that was pretty much it. Another early night in preparation for our long trek to Coober Pedy the next day!

Uluru at sunrise, enveloped by fog.

So early...why am I here?? Jeremy with his coffee in front of Uluru.

The aboriginal people ask that you do not climb Uluru, but the climb is still an option. On the day we were there, it was closed due to the potential for rain. We went to the museum and there was a binder full of letters from people who had previously climbed Uluru or taken rocks who were apologizing for what they had done. The white track you see leading up shows where you start the climb.