A slow and sleepy start, but once it got going this day was very special.
First, a final (FINAL) tooroo to this wonderful family. How lucky to have crossed paths in such different places.
Kata Tjuṯa is one of the two major rock formations in this national park. Some parts of it are actually 200m taller than Uluṟu, and from a distance it has a hazy blue sheen. It’s made up of a conglomerate rock, so you can see rocks and boulders of granite and basalt in the rock face. And judging from our trip today, it’s much less visited than Uluṟu; while still a busy walking track there were none of the blobby masses of humans following around ranger guides, the bike troupes (which included us!), whirring Segways and other weird tourist paraphernalia.
Here we go, Valley of Winds walk! Lux smiling before she realised how long it was going to be. As with Uluṟu, a number of areas of Kata Tjuṯa forbid photography unless it’s of people or foliage (not just the rock formations).It was really a fertile walk, with a number of different native flower species dotting the track. A proper oasis.Frog spotting.Ringneck parrot. The bird calls echoed off the gorge walls. Is this Mitch’s ‘sparkbird’, the bird that makes him a twitcher?Lookout #2. Very hard to show just how picturebook perfect this outlook was. So, it got a bit hot. The walk was 7.4km long and much to Lux’s shock and consternation we did the LONG version (there were shorter options that doubled back, but who wants to do that). Luckily she was able to catch a ride now and then. Goodbye Kata Tjuṯa, you were truly mindblowing!
I feel compelled to pause here and be cheesy for a moment. I really felt overwhelmingly grateful to be able to enjoy that walk, to be permitted onto that country by the Aṉangu, and for all the care and work that national parks put into making these experiences possible. What a funny, but essential thing, that humans do – go on walks.
Meanwhile back at the camp, kids catching a ride on the side of the 4WD cos we are outback now.
Despite all being a tiny bit exhausted, we’d already booked into an Uluṟu experience in the evening – the Field of Lights art installation.
Oli is happy because she gets a soft drink as part of the experience FOR FREE!A gorgeous evening on the dune overlooking Uluṟu, waiting for the lights to start up. Red dirt + white tablecloth service. The lights start to glow. There was a story behind this artwork and even an artist’s name but sorry I wasn’t listening!Venus.And the Milky Way really winning the impressive light battle above.
We got bussed home and have all now collapsed, bodies sore and brains twinkling.
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