Weşandin: 13.06.2019
And off we go again, the #backpackerlife. From place to place with only the essentials in our backpacks.
Uluru! After a more or less restful night at the airport, I finally arrived, but it was worth it! You can already see it from the plane, the rock in the middle of Australia.
And the next thing I notice when I get off the plane...? The flies! They're everywhere and constantly fly into your face. They don't mind if you shoo them away 20 times out of annoyance... Well, luckily I have a highly recommended fly net with me (thanks Anna!).
I'm picked up by Mulgas Adventures, who offer 3- and 4-day tours around Uluru and the Outback. There are 20 backpackers from all over the world with me, including 4 Germans. As it should be, you can't escape them 😂. Everyone gets along well and so we can get started.
I always thought that you stand like 2km away from Ayers Rock, look at it and take your typical tourist pictures, but no... First, we do the 30-minute Ayers Rock Walk, where you're basically standing inside Uluru 😂.
This is the men's cave. Where the young men were trained in combat.
Just your typical tourist picture... 🤷🏼♀️
Then we went to the sunset viewing point. Here we were given bubbles by Jesse (our tour guide) (🥂), which 'the people from The Rock Tour didn't get', so we should rub it in their faces 😂.
And then you just stand there, at a distance, watching Uluru in the sunset, which you've seen so many times in travel guides and on postcards, and it feels so unreal...
Afterwards, we went to our first camp. We prepared our dinner together and then spread out our swags. These are thick sleeping bags with mattresses inside, where you can sleep under the stars with an additional sleeping bag... A great experience!
The next morning, or should I say in the middle of the night the next day (5:20am), it was time to roll up the swags, pack our hiking gear, and get on the bus. For us, it was off to the sunrise viewing point of Uluru.
When it was daylight and everyone had taken enough pictures, we went to Kata Tjuta. What is it? That's what I asked myself at the beginning too. Kata Tjuta is a range of hills (you can't really call them mountains here 😉) consisting of sediment deposits from the last million years.
Here we went on an almost 3-hour hike through the hills, with Jesse telling us more interesting information and facts about Kata Tjuta.
🐘-Rock. Can you see it?
Afterwards, we returned to the camp and prepared lunch. And yes, if you're in Australia, you shouldn't miss out on the country's specialties. What did we have? Kangaroo steak. (very delicious) And before all the animal lovers get upset... There are camels here like, well, like sand in the desert. And to be precise, there are more camels in the Australian outback than there are people in Australia, and that's already 20 million. They have to be shot from time to time because as their numbers increase, they destroy the vegetation of the outback. So why not make use of it instead of wasting it??
Fun fact: In the 17th century, camels were imported from the Middle East to facilitate the exploration of the country. Afterwards, the animals were released and found a new home in Australia. Since the conditions here are optimal for camels, Australia now has the best camels in the world and is exporting them back to the Middle East (for a lot of money).
After lunch, we went on a 4-hour trip to the next camp, where everyone had dinner. Speaking of Australian specialties... There was kangaroo steak. Everyone can think what they want...
After another night under the stars, we set off again in the middle of the night (4:50am) for the next spot. The Kings Canyon. It's even bigger than the Grand Canyon. But only because it's not actually a canyon 🤷🏼♀️😂.
After the heart-attack hill at the beginning of the 4-hour hike, this trip was really enjoyable. There was beautiful nature and a great sunrise 🌅 to admire.
And when you leave so early, you're back early too 😂 we finished Kings Canyon by half past-nine and were back at the camp by 11, where those of us who had booked a 3-day tour went to the pickup point and from there to Alice Springs, where the tour ends :(.
I met some amazing new people in these 3 days, whom I unfortunately had to say goodbye to, but that's how it goes when you travel, and who knows... Maybe, or rather probably, we'll meet again soon ☺️❤️.
The next day, I continued on to Cairns. A stopover before heading to Mission Beach and then Townsville on 14.6. And this time, no stupid flood will get in my way!
To be continued... Xo