Uluru at sunset

Uluru at sunset, a photo by thewideblueyonder on Flickr.

The purpose of the the trip - seeing for real what we had seen in however many pictures before.  This was the end of a long day#1 of our four day organised tour with 'Intrepid'.  We were picked up from our motel in Alice Springs  about 6.20 am.  We picked up another person then headed off in a 24-seater 4x4 bus for the 450 km approx journey  to Yulara - which is about 12 km from Uluru.  The trip was fast and roads nearly empty - 450 km is much faster in outback Australia than a journey of similar length would be in NZ.  The group numbered 12 at the most which made the tour very comfortable.  It would not have been so good with a full complement of 24.  There is something to be said for traveling in a recession.  This was peak tourist season as well.  For the record the group comprised an Italian couple on honeymoon, 5 Germans from Munich (2 groups - the city in common was coincidental), an American, a Japanese lady, an Aussie nurse from Sydney, and us.  Most of the others had flown into Yulara and met the tour group there.  Day #1 of the trip had involved a stop at an outback 'roadhouse' and at a camel farm where we declined the opportunity for camel rides.  We entered the Uluru/Kata Tjuta National Park and visited the cultural centre there - that was well worth a look. 

Terry (our driver and guide) drove around one side of Uluru and took us to a point from where we could walk around the other side to finish at the main car park which is also the point from where people may climb Uluru (despite being asked 100 times not to!).  No-one in our group had any inclination to climb the rock.  The walk was a good couple of hours and well worth doing.  At the end of the day we drove to a car park some distance from the rock where all of the various tour groups in the area assembled.  Champagne, wine and snacks were served while we could watch the colours of Uluru change as the sun went down.