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Australia - 2005-04-19 - 1 - Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park - Ayers Rock (Uluru) Climb (Page 1)
Yulara is the city build for tourists near Uluru & it is done really nicely.
There is only what you absolutely need (one petrol station, one supermarket,
one camping place). Things are expensive, but it has a really earthy look,
doesn't take up much space, & isn't over done which is nice. The night
before, after watching the sunset at the Olgas, we had went to the supermarket
to get some supplies for the next few days. Then we headed to the caravan
park where we were staying. It was really nice & we had a really good
meal of Chinese that Adrian prepared. After that we practiced German &
English until Adrian was too tired & went to sleep. I worked on my pictures
a while before doing the same. The next morning we headed out for Uluru
to do the famous rock climb. The Aboriginal people ask that you don't
do it, but it has been done for years. Also you pay such a steep price
to get into the park (costs more for one person than a statewide park
pass for a whole vehicle in Western Australia for 4 weeks). Plus it is
the only walk offered to see it features (there is one around the base
of the rock, but you see the same thing by driving around it). So we headed
got our sun cream applied, grabbed our water & headed for the base of
Uluru. The thing I never knew about the climb was how difficult it would
be. You first part is by far the toughest & if you slip you are dead.
Some of the pictures on the first page show the view looking down. The
only thing you have to help is a handrail, although I can proudly say
I didn't use it at all on the way up (used it all the way down though).
The walk is also very tiring, but we did it pretty fast (Adrian much quicker
than I, but I took a couple of pictures!). The views from the walk are
amazing as you can see the Olgas consistency, as well as the ground &
other parts of the rock. The other thing that struck me was the different
textures, colors & shapes that you see along the way. For some reason
I had thought it would be very consistent & the same color. The flies
were really bad at the bottom, but thankfully as you get higher they get
to be much less of an issue. I was even able to do most of the walk without
the fly mask, which was a nice change. After reaching the summit I took
in the view a little before exploring some of the other parts of the rock
off the official trail. There I found several rock stacks & lots of places
where parts of Uluru have broken off. After the exploring I headed back
down to the truck but got quite light headed on the way (not a good place
for this to happen). The good thing was that I was ok by the time I got
to the dangerous path down the rock. I was walking very fast, but held
onto the chain in case I lost my balance & to slow me down as I went.
After reaching the bottom I celebrated with a couple well earned peanut
butter & honey sandwiches. The climb was well worth it, but the first
Olgas walk we did the day before was much better. There was more diversity
& color. The one thing that Uluru has the title for is being the most
scary walk I have ever did. I have never worried much about any of that
before, but you have to be so careful because of the height & "trail".
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