Gemma and I are up at 4, and we head out at 5 as the moon sets and dawn tinges the sky. We drive to a lookout over Kata Tjuta, also known as The Olgas, to watch them as the sun rises. There is a layer of cloud on the horizon, and it has 2 little holes in it that the sun peeks through... for a while it looks like a demonic mask with fiery eyes.
Sunrise on Kata Tjuta is not as impressive as that on Uluru, but the formation itself is every bit as striking. Once the sun is up, we drive around to enter Kata Tjuta itself, but stop when we see a camel foraging by the roadside. Then we see another near it, and another... all up there are six wild camels munching away on bushes and trees. They watch us bemusedly for a moment, then return to their breakfast. We take some photos and then drive on, just as some tourists see us and stop and jump out, cameras poised like assault rifles. Really guys, chill out... its just a bunch of wild camels....
We park at Kata Tjuta and start on the Valley of the Winds walk, which leads a winding path between the domes of rock. Up close the scale of them becomes apparent, and that we are mere ants walking between these megaliths. This time I borrow a fly net from Gemma, and remain unmolested throughout the walk, which is much more peaceful. There is one point, standing between two of the domes, looking down a sloping gulley leading to a large area of rolling hills bounded by the domes of Kata Tjuta, that is breathtaking. The sound of the wind sighing through the trees and canyons, and the sounds of the animals.... and nothing else. No voices, no crunching gravel under footsteps, no cars, no planes.... I could well understand why the Aboriginals feel the place is sacred, and feel that way myself. No climbing is permitted on these domes, unlike Uluru.
At the base of the gully, there is a wallaby with a joey browsing through the spinifex below a tree, in the shade of the dome above. The joey occasionally pokes its head up to look at us, but they both seem otherwise unconcerned as we approach and photograph them.
We continue the walk at an easy pace, encountering again the phenomenon where tourists walk fast to catch up with us, then slow down to match our pace, tromping along a metre or two behind no matter how fast or slow we would go, until we stop completely then they move on. I think the solitude bothers them and they wish to be near others, or they feel it is too rude to overtake someone on a path... that doesn't explain them speeding up after being overtaken though. It is curious.
After completing the walk, we drive back, Gemma keeping a keen eye out for Thorny Devils, cute little spiky lizards indigenous to the region. She spots several other lizards by the roadside, and finds one on the road that she stops and moves off the road and into the grass, to keep it from becoming roadkill. They can move really fast! No Thorny Devils though, unfortunately.
We visit the resort's shopping centre... there is a bank, newsagent, supermarket, restaurant, post office, cafe and several souvenir shops. Who ever heard of all those at a resort? But then it is needed, at nearly 500km from the nearest town, the residents need to able to obtain supplies somewhere. The residents live in blocks of what they call flatettes, down an unmarked road and out of sight of tourists. Finding it was a little bit of a challenge the first time around, I ended up riding in circles looking for it!
I do a bit more washing, and will need to start packing for an early start tomorrow. The earliest I can leave is around 5:15, as the service stations won't be open before then but that is plenty early enough. I want to get as many miles as I can done early, so I get a bit of a chance to look around Coober Pedy... based on Gemma's experiences there it seems to be an interesting place.
The rain starts lightly, then gets heavier. Gemma and Adam, even after many months and seeing Uluru near daily, are still excited by the rain and keen to see the waterfalls running off Uluru. We drive out and up close to Uluru, and saw waterfalls running off it, down into the water holes. The rain lets up and just on the horizon the clouds break and let the sun through as it sets, while the storm clouds beyond Uluru continue to unleash lightning bolts, zigzagging across the sky. It makes for a magnificent sight, one I will remember for a long time.
Tomorrow is an early start and a long ride to Coober Pedy, one of the most daunting legs of the trip....
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