Judy & Brian Tour Oz: Uluru NT Kata Tjuta Ayres Rock Olgas

Yesterday we went out to do the obligatory Mala Walk at Uluru, but the crowd! Yuk. Couldn't get interested really, so we went around to the Cultural Centre and had a browse through there instead. One thing we did was watch the 20 minute video. Neither of us could believe that they were still playing this over and over. The newest footage in it must have been from the 1970s, and well frankly, all of us have moved on. I would really like to see them make a video of their world today so that we have a proper perspective of how the relationship has advanced or otherwise.

Didn't really do much else, we both elected to have the rest of the day off.

Today we headed out to Kata Tjuta, which we reckon is equally as awesome, using the word in it's true meaning if you like, than Uluru. We did the Walpa Gorge walk, as we did last time. This is a magic walk, up and up through the narrowing gorge, the rock faces rising perpendicular on either side, the orange colour of the rock becoming brighter, the foliage more vibrant green and that sky, that unbelievable deep blue of the perfectly clear sky. I am a hopeless case and took another few hundred snaps, each one trying to capture that elusive essence of the place and Judy's snap taking wasn't far behind.

Not satisfied with that, after a late lunch we went back to Uluru, at about 430. This time there was no crowd, just a few idlers like us. The sun was lower and softer, the colours even more unbelievable and even more elusive than Kata Tjuta. But we gave it our best shots and are pretty happy that we have captured something special. (It still absolutely amazes us that people still disregard the customs and culture of the local people and continue to climb the rock. I thought we all had a little more respect these days. JB comment)

Lauren was asking if this rock was big. It's so big its impossible to catch the size of it with a camera, because there's nothing to help get the right perspective. But, if it helps, you can see it clearly from 35km away. The standard pictures of the rock at sunset show its full-length: 3.4km. It is 340m high, which is way higher than Centrepoint Tower in Sydney and The Eiffel Tower. This 'bit' of rock is just the tip of it. It is suggested by geologists that it extends straight down for at least 5km. Now that is one large single piece of rock.