Hike Around Uluru

View from base of Uluru.
Cave drawings at base of Uluru - hundreds of years old.
View from crevice at base of Uluru.
This is where you climb Uluru - if you click on the pic to enlarge, you can see the chain they have going up the steepest part. I've done the climb twice before, but now the land has been returned to the Aboriginal people. They won't tell you you cannot climb, but they make it clear they would prefer you did not, as it's a sacred place for them. None of the four of us made the climb.

View of Uluru in the afternoon.
View of Uluru at Sunset.
Tour groups line up all along this fence to view Uluru at sunset. The group next to us had tables set up with champagne and cheese and crackers. We drank beers instead.
This cracks me up - its looks like one of the postcards you would make in a machine at the mall.

This was our tour group.
The rock changes colors as the sun sets.

Hiking Through Kata Juta

This is Kata Juta seen from a lookout point about 30 minutes away from Kata Juta and Uluru (also know as Ayers Rock).
Uluru (Ayers Rock) seen from the same lookout point.
This is the last photo I have of Cody and Trevor for the hike through Kata Juta, because once the hike started, they left us in the dust and I still haven't gotten copies of the photos they took.

Kata Juta - Aborginal word meaning "Many Heads".
This is spinifex, and indigenous plant in the Outback. It has a high content of oil, which makes it very flammable. We used it to help start our campfire each night. Aborginal people use it to do a controlled burn of certain areas on a cycle to increase food production.
Here is what Kata Juta looks like close up. We had a hard time capturing the massiveness of these rock formations with our puny little point and shoot camera.
Leigh Anne at Kata Juta.
Damon at Kata Juta.

Enormous rock formations.
Beautiful scenery in Kata Juta.

Love this shot.

Can't really tell from the photo, but this was a very steep downhill section.
At the end of the hike, Cody and Trevor pitched in and helped make wrap sandwiches.

Hiking in Kings Canyon

We boarded the bus for our Outback trip at 6:00am. Ug. Then is was six hours of driving, through red dirt. In the afternoon we hiked in Kings Canyon, which was breathtaking. And mercilessly aerobic. We were the oldest and youngest people on the trip - because we took the "roughing it" trip, almost everyone else was a backpacker in their early 20s. But having done it a couple of times before that way, I feel it's the very best way to get a true feel for the Outback. Maybe next time I'll opt of the more luxurious trip. The hike began with "Heart Attack Hill", shown below. There is a reason this is at the beginning of the hike - you'd never want to do it at the end.
View of the Canyon from top of Heart Attack Hill.

Can't really tell that I nearly just keeled over.....
Damon makes it all look so easy.
Hiking through Kings Canyon.
This is my favorite picture from that day. Beautiful little tree hanging on for dear life in the middle of rocks in the desert.
View into Kings Canyon.

Stairs on either side of Canyon that allow you to walk down into it and up the other side.
This is the "Garden of Eden" in the valley of the Canyon. At some times during the year, there is a beautiful swimming hole here where you can cool off, but there hadn't been any rain.
Stairs on the other side.
Climbing out of the canyon.
Cody and Trevor looking over the edge.

They had a pretty good time. The heat wasn't too bad, since it's the middle of winter. The flies were a nuisance (actually, I swallowed one), but nothing nearly as bad as they can get.
Trevor scaring me to death at the canyon edge.
View at edge of King's Canyon.
Hi, mom. (that's me)
Trevor and Cody - the novelty of hiking is starting to wear off.