Sunrise was just after a late 7:15am and we watched from the viewing area at the resort.
Later we met our friends at their hotel and headed in convoy to Kata Tjunta (The Olgas) which are about 52k’s by road from the Ayers Rock Resort.
When we purchased our three day pass for the National Park entry, we were asked to write our names on the pass. Today ours passes were checked against driver’s licences before we were allowed to proceed. In the past, people staying for less than three days would give their passes to someone else. National Parks finally stopped this practice by the addition of a name and then by checking the written name against identification.
Close to Kata Tjunta we stopped at a viewing area that provides expansive views towards Uluru (in the distance) and Kata Tjunta. The landscape is very flat and very photogenic. We noticed that the walkway to the viewing area had also acted as a fire break during the recent fire. We were lucky that there were very few flies about.
We had lunch in the Kata Tjunta viewing area before heading to the car park for the “Valley of the Winds” walk where we took photographs. We had decided not to do this walk so we then headed to the car park for the “Wolpa Gorge” walk where again we took photographs.
The boys did the Wolpa Gorge walk and were able to photograph the moon rising through the end of the Gorge. They were also able to find some water where reflections of the gorge provided further photographic opportunities. When you do this walk you head into a shade area where the temperature drops dramatically. It was very pleasant inside the shadow but we knew we were in the outback when we returned back into the sun. The temperature has actually been high over the past couple of days and clothing wise we had catered for winter and not summery conditions.
Before returning to our camp site we stopped to refuel the Navara at the sole source of fuel in the Ayers Rock Resort. Diesel cost $2.21 per litre, unleaded (Opal fuel) was $0.01 cheaper. This is the highest we have ever paid for fuel but other than carrying your own, there was no other alternative. We did get a $0.05 discount having a docket from the local IGA and further discounts were available if you spent over $100 at IGA ($0.10cpl) as well as discounts for spending $10 and over at the Shell Shop (a further $0.05cpl).
We eventually returned to the caravan where we had “happy hour”. As we have stated in the past, having ice available in an RV is the icing on top of the cake when camping.
We had fish and chips in the resort café for tea and the meal was very enjoyable.