A day with many beautiful impressions

Today, the plan was to take a three-hour walk through Kings Canyon, then drive 300 km to Ayers Rock Resort and, depending on the conditions there, take a tour to Uluru, as the Aborigines call Ayers Rock. However, the day started with a hike through the canyon from Kings Canyon Resort. From around 09:00 am, the Kings Canyon Rim Walk is closed because it gets too hot and there is a risk that it will be too strenuous or even dangerous for some people. The first ascent is called 'Heart Attack Hill' for a reason. It goes up almost one hundred meters on a natural stone staircase in just a few meters.

That's why I started at 07:30 am. Once again, I didn't do much research beforehand and didn't expect much. Just another canyon... But I have to say, I was partially overwhelmed by the beauty of this canyon.

The sandstone looks like it was stacked layer by layer and then shaped. It looks like Lego. Through these individual layers, the paths and stairs also look like they belong to the natural environment.

Over millions of years, time has created very bizarre structures.

But the highlight is of course the canyon itself, with its steep walls that rise 100 meters in depth and you can actually approach from any side...

After that, I headed towards Ayers Rock. I had the impression that the nature was becoming more beautiful and colorful along the way. I had to stop a few times to take some photos. But this time I stayed within sight of the car...

From reading other travel reports, I was prepared to drive past Mount Connor, which some mistakenly consider Ayers Rock. So I coolly took a photo and left the mountain behind...

And then, Ayers Rock appeared on the horizon for the first time and immediately captivated me.

I quickly checked into the hotel and immediately headed to the national park. I paid 25 AUD for a three-day entry and there it was, the second largest monolith on earth.

"In ancient times," Ayers Rock was underwater here. A climate change isn't always a bad thing... Like an iceberg, Ayers Rock only protrudes a fraction from the ground, with most of it lying beneath the surface. But no one knows how deep it goes. Uluru, the "place of shade," is the spiritual sanctuary of the Aborigines. In 1985, the land around Ayers Rock was officially returned to the traditional owners, the Anangu, who leased it back to the Australian government for 99 years. The existing national park has been jointly managed since then. Countless signs draw attention to how sacred this place is to the Aborigines and that it should not be climbed. However, the Australian National Parks Service even offers climbing tours to Ayers Rock. This just shows how important "reconciliation" with the Aborigines is to Australians... The photo shows the climbing route.

Since it was over 41° Celsius, some walks around the mountain were closed. But there are parking lots on each side of the mountain, so I couldn't do the 3-4 hour walk around Ayers Rock and still saw a lot. One three-hour tour a day is enough after all...

Actually, I'm not really the spiritual type, but there's something about the mountain that you can't exactly explain. I have to admit, I even asked it a few questions that were on my mind. But the spirits didn't answer. Either they were too busy or they were on a break or it wasn't important enough...

After spending the whole afternoon at the mountain, I drove to a specific parking lot one hour before sunset. It's all clearly signposted. From a large parking lot, you have a particularly beautiful view of the mountain at sunset and from another parking lot you have a particularly beautiful view at sunrise. And then you stand there with hundreds of people and enjoy the changing colors until the sun goes down.

That was truly an eventful day and since my ticket for the national park is valid for three days, I decided to also watch the sunrise at Ayers Rock the next morning. So I went to bed early and got up early.

And beware of spoilers!

The next morning, there was another surprise with the time zone... I still don't understand it because it was so mysterious... And I even have a witness who didn't understand it either. Luckily, because I'm starting to doubt myself...