Mighty Uluru

Stage 6: Coober Pedy - Erldunda 495km
               Erldunda - Yalara 250km

Weather: Mornings have been COLD 2-5degrees but 20's by 9 o'clock. Have not seen a cloud for 3 days!

Monday 14th May

Travelled all day under clear blue skies. At Coober Pedy we had been inundated by flies but the numbers  dropped off the further north we went. Reached Erldunda mid afternoon.

Tuesday 15th - early start, reached Yalara and set up by lunchtime. Spent the afternoon at Uluru. It is so good to be back here. This is my 6th visit but only Merilyn's 2nd - the last was with the family in 1985. Four of my visits were with 40 teenagers after having sat in a bus with them for 3 long days of travel so were not quite as relaxed as this visit. The rock of course has not changed, still immense, inspiring and awesome. Around the rock however there are some changes and I see them as necessary and positive. Tracks are well defined and they insist you stay on them, there are boardwalks over fragile areas, there is very good signage explaining the significance of features to the aboriginal people and also detailing plant and animal species, and there is an attractive and very informative Cultural Centre about 2km from the rock. The freedom to roam which was there when we explored the area in 1985 has gone but to this had to happen because of the impact of the huge number of visitors the area attracts. We started our visit at the Cultural Centre which was interesting and very well presented, and walked from there to the rock to on the Liru Walk (4km return), continuing on to the Mala Walk (2km return) which took us to Kantju Gorge, an inspiring place.

                         From Merilyn's diary  '...The Gorge is a place for silence and stillness with its sheer walls towering above and the golden hue of the rocks surrounding us. There was water in the plunge pool too....'   After this we watched the Sunset at the rock from the new, more efficient, viewing area.

Wednesday 16th May
 A wonderful day at Kata Tjuta (The Olgas). Picnic lunch, 7km circuit walk (sometimes difficult) in the Valley of the Winds with 2 excellent lookouts. Everywhere we have been the vegetation has been lush, some plants flowering, water in some pools, and some colourful birds. The road approach to the walk was much easier than it was in 1985 when we took the XD Ford around the back of the Olgas on a 4WD track. Now its only a few k's on a bitumen road. The other main difference is the number of people, we saw busloads. The Kata Juta domes are just delightful.