'Wherarwee' in Oz: Log 05-06 Uluru

Leaving Mt. Isa the spectacular prehistoric scenery continued for another 40K’s before we came onto the Barkly Tablelands. The scenery changed to flat grasslands that continued for another 400K’s. At the Northern Territory border town of Camooweal we stopped for lunch & fuel. We were told fuel in NT was dearer but an extra 40¢ a litre was a bit steep. We stopped that night at Wonarah Bore, half way between Camooweal & Tennant Creek. Someone made a fire & we had a great night chatting & keeping warm.

Moving on the next day, Liz drove first & the road had only 4 curves in 225K’s before we turned on to the Stuart H’way & in to Tennant Creek. We spent an enjoyable time there, at the museum & looking at paintings by local artists, of which Liz bought a couple. Driving on to The Devils Marbles we decided to stay the night as they are a sight to behold, I must have taken 30 photos. A lot for me.

We decided to stay another day at the marbles before moving on & spending 2 days at Alice Springs exploring the museums, art centres & cultural center as well as Simpsons Gap & Standley Chasm, both well worth the effort. Alice Springs has certainly grown since my last visit, with a mall in the main street & a huge inner city shopping complex & business center. Temperature here is a mild 25º during the day, dropping to minus 2º at night. The van park we stayed at was backed by the magnificent MacDonald Ranges, about 5K’s out of town.

Our next stop was a free camp at Finke River rest area where some caravaners gave us tips on where else to stay before arriving at Ayers Rock.

Moving on, we next stopped at Curtain Creek where you can free park or pay. There is a quaint old pub with a restaurant alongside, cabins to stay in & a bird aviary. There is also an emu that wanders around the campground & we have seen little mice running around (worrisome). Showers are $3.00 each but when we went to have one there was no water as their pump had broken down. We had stopped only 100K’s from The Rock but as it was later in the day & overcast, so no sunset, we thought it prudent. Also we wanted to arrive there early today, Sunday, & spend the whole day looking around.

Arriving at 9:00 AM we booked a site at the resort (the only place you can stay) then drove to the Rock parking area where Liz opted out for a walk around the base (12k’s with side trip) & I climbed to the top. The sign says only the fit should do this & the climb should take 2 hours return. Well.it took me 2 ½ hours & Liz finished her walk just as I was climbing down the last section. Both of us were worried that the other would wonder where we had got to. Then, after a quick lunch we headed off to The Olga’s. There are several walks there but we decided not to try, After a walk around the base we jumped back into Wherearwee & headed back to the sunset lookout parking area for the Rock. We had 2 hours to wait & by sunset the area was full, people everywhere, it was a party with people talking, drinking, eating, whatever. It was very overcast again but at the last minute the sun broke through & we got a couple of shots.