Day 18 (11/21); Yulara to Alice Springs; 460 km (car); Uluru Base Walk (12 km); Alice's Secret Hostel
Thursday was a very full day! Got a good early start and headed out by bicycle (with a single partially loaded pannier, man that felt good) for Kata Tjuta National Park (The Olga's). Had a nice tail wind for most of the 53 km ride over--that was sweet as well. Once at the Olga's, I did the two main hikes there, the Valley of the Winds and the Olga Gorge hikes. Both these trails were very scenic as I walked around/below/past a number of the dozens of red sandstone domes that make up the park. It was quite hot too I might add, probably pushing 40 C in the sun (over a hundred F!).
After the hike, I hopped back on the bike to find the wind had shifted to a northery breeze. That made it hotter but also mostly a cross wind on way back, not the head wind I was expecting. I really liked that as I had had enough of the sun when I got back to the hotel about 4 pm. No sunset on Uluru tonight, was out cold by about 8:30 pm (alone this night in my 4-bunk room, shared with a german couple previous evening).
Next morning packed up, gassed up, and headed back to Uluru. My dilemna as to whether to climb Ayers rock (you are allowed to do so but strongly discouraged by Aboriginal owners--they ask you to "choose not to climb") was made easy--the climb was closed because rain was forecast. So along with many others, I did the walk around Uluru. Fortunately, they all went clockwise, I went anticlockwise (not sure why I did this) so passing large groups went very quickly and I was alone most of the time. While Uluru is probably more impressive from a distance it is quite powerful and moving up close and personal. Like many things in nature, it is amazing how large it is too! The number of intricate features you can see from close up are also fascinating; cracks, gashes, streaks of color, hollowed out holes, pockmarks, etc. Many of these have aboriginal stories attached to them, some described on signs, others revealed only to properly instructed individuals (not yours truly of course).
Again, it was quite warm on the hike and subsequent 5-hour drive up to Alice Springs. I even closed up the car and used the a/c for the first time on the trip. Made my way through busy town to Alice's Secret hostel, a small, friendly, cosy place 5-minutes walk from "downtown." Getting back into a busy town (already tired from day's activities) I had to be careful again driving on left. Did pretty well navigating--didn't get lost a single time! Walking into town for dinner after showering I did get soaked in a 5-minute downpour, but it was hot enough that it felt kind of good.
I feel a bit typed out and have some other web research to do so will close. Hope everyone is well and happy so far away. Cheers!
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