Hey, everyone! The past few days have been pretty exciting, with the highlight being visiting Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. I wasn’t sure I would make getting to Uluṟu a priority while in Australia, but I’m really glad I did. It is pretty magical.

Olive Pink Botanical Gardens

On my last evening in Alice Springs (or so I thought at the time), I went to Olive Pink Botanical Gardens, a spot I had heard about online that apparently was home to some rock wallabies and kangaroos around dusk/dawn. I wasn’t sure if that would be the case, but I decided to check it out anyway.

The gardens themselves were alright, but the rock wallabies stole the show. I first heard about rock wallabies when I was in Kalbarri National Park. While I have seen some wallabies since then, rock wallabies are different. They have a unique pattern on their fur, and they’re really gorgeous and unusual looking.

Sure enough… I spotted some movement at the top of a hill. Zooming in on my camera, it was apparent it was a rock wallaby. Yahoo! And then… another one. And another one! As the sun was going down, they all started to reveal themselves.

While kangaroo tails are long as well, I was shocked by how long the rock wallaby tails were. They were longer than the rest of the body!

(The rock wallaby in the right picture was sitting, watching the sun set)

I was overjoyed to spot a momma and her baby, exiting their rock shelter after a long day hiding from the sun.

At the time, I thought this was my final day in Alice Springs – it felt like a lovely way to wrap things up.

Getting to Uluṟu

Planning a trip to Uluṟu was quite the task. They do not make it affordable. At one point, I considered flying to Yulara and staying at a hostel, but they don’t have hostels there anymore. Every hotel is over $300 a night. So pricy, compared to my ~$35 accommodation everywhere else in Australia.

A one day tour – from Alice Springs to Uluṟu and back is around $330. Not bad, but that’s also pretty pricy to only be at Uluṟu for a few hours, as it is about 4.5 hours from Alice Springs one way. Yikes!

Another option was a multi-day tour, at $685. At first it seemed pricy, but comparing it to the single day tour, it looked like a good option. Except… it was all sold out for the next few weeks!

Trusting in the kindness of strangers has been a wonderful experience for me for the most part. After chatting with a fellow “Steve” online about Uluṟu and the town of Yulara, he invited me to stay with him for the weekend. We talked some more to make sure we vibed and I proceeded to buy a bus ticket from Alice Springs to Yulara. On the bus ride over, I saw a goat – reminding me of the random times I’ve seen them in the wild, most notably in Kalbarri.

Yulara

Steve had work until the afternoon that first day, so I was left to my own devices for a few hours. The bus dropped me off in the town center of Yulara – which is not a large town. Its population is about 1,000 people. But hey, bigger than Coral Bay.

I didn’t do that much while waiting for Steve, since I had all my luggage with me and couldn’t exactly go on a hike. Instead, I sat in the shade and worked on a drawing. After a certain point, I decided – maybe I’ll just walk around for a little bit. I’m glad I did.

I exited the town center and walked through a red dirt trail that lead up to a lookout of Uluṟu. Along the way, I saw… a central netted dragon! Never having seen one of these guys before, I was thrilled. He was beautiful!

And then… my first real view of Uluṟu (even though I could technically see it a little it on the bus ride in). As I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t sure if I would make a visit to Uluṟu a priority while in Australia. Part of me said “it’s just a rock, it’s okay if I miss it.” It’s not just a rock. It has a lot of cultural significance to the Aboriginal community, and is also a staple of Australian tourism… for good reason.

Uluṟu was… striking. That’s what I kept saying all weekend – “it’s so striking“. Looking along the horizon, only to see a massive red rock sticking out of the ground. It’s absolutely gorgeous. I couldn’t wait to go check it out.

After I went back to the town center, Steve had wrapped up with work (early). He picked me up and we went back to his place to drop off my bags and chill out for a moment. Steve works at the only school in Yulara… and is also the only teacher. It is called Nyangatjatjara College (try pronouncing that!) – and on the grounds is also where Steve has his housing!

We caught up and immediately it felt easy to spend time with my fellow Steve. He has only been in Yulara for less than eight weeks at this point, but he loves it there. He loves Uluṟu, too! And with that said… off we went for a drive around Uluṟu and to see the sunset.

Introduction to Uluṟu

Uluṟu used to be called Ayer’s Rock. Ayer’s Rock is actually the white man’s name for it. Uluṟu’s sister is Kata Tjuṯa – another impressive series of rocks about 40min away from Uluṟu. Looking out to the horizon, you see Uluṟu at one side, and Kata Tjuṯa off to the right. I had briefly heard Kata Tjuṯa mentioned in the past on my backpacker websites, but didn’t really know what it was. Kata Tjuṯa’s white man name was The Olga’s. There’s a little backstory for ya.

Anyway! We drove into the national park and stopped at the cultural center.

The cultural center has lots of information on the Aboriginal community and the significance Uluṟu has for them. Many of the paintings feature Uluṟu as an important meeting place. In a way, it seemed to be portrayed as the center of everything. There were various stories about Uluṟu showcased at the cultural center as well as tools for hunting, etc. Very cool!

We then did a lap around Uluṟu (aka “The Rock”). Boy, was I impressed. I had never seen images that properly represented Uluṟu before. As you drive closer to it, you see these massive holes in it – slices/gashes, shallow caves, boulders laying at the bottom, etc. So many details that get lost in the “overall picture” of Uluṟu. And many of these details (i.e. some of the boulders) have Aboriginal stories tied to them. Uluṟu is regarded as a highly spiritual place, where Aboriginal communities would host ceremonies (inmas). There are even old, faded markings on the caves.

After a drive around the rock and a short hike, we parked at the sunset viewing spot. There were so many people there. And for good reason! A sunset at Uluṟu is a sight to behold. At one point, I overheard someone say “all this for a rock,” which I found hilarious.

As the sun began to set, the rock lights up in a brilliant bright orange/red hue. It is – as I’ve said before – striking. Truly magnificent. (I did not edit that photo at all, btw. It is that bright!)

I hadn’t even been in Yulara for 12 hours and already, I was in love with the place.

After sunset, we went for dinner and then retired to Steve’s place to watch Kill Bill and unwind.

Uluṟu Base Walk

The following morning, we returned to Uluṟu to do a short, guided tour and then do the Base Walk hike around the rock.

The tour was pretty interesting. Some of the information I’d learned at the cultural center the night before was reiterated, but there was a lot of new insight as well. For instance, the cave paintings used to get very dusty from the red dirt and in the past, rangers used to douse the wall of the cave with water to get rid of the dust. Unfortunately, over time this led to the cave paintings fading. You could still see them, but they were pretty faint. I didn’t take a picture of them. A lot of places around the rock had signs saying not to take pictures due to certain areas being sacred sites – so I mostly just took pictures of the landscapes where it was appropriate.

After the tour, Steve and I continued on to do the Base Walk hike, which is a flat trail that goes along the entire perimeter of Uluṟu. It was not a challenging hike, but there were many flies and it took a few hours to do the entire lap. I haven’t mentioned this yet… but the entire time in Yulara, I was obsessed with the potential to see a thorny devil. I know I mentioned it last week, too. I am literally a man obsessed. I figured – Uluṟu is my last chance to potentially see them in the wild, since from here on out, I will no longer be in desert regions the rest of my time in Australia. Thorny devils also temporarily hibernate between June and July. Anyway… I was on the hunt for them the whole time.

The base walk was very enjoyable. We took a break halfway through in a shady spot to have a snack and then continued on. After we were almost back to the car, we saw a procession of “itchy grubs” crossing the trail. What a joy! They reminded me of the caterpillars I had seen with Liam back in Perth many, many moons ago.

We stopped for lunch and then chilled out for a moment before meeting Kata Tjuṯa for the first time at sunset.

Woma Pythons and Sunset at Kata Tjuṯa

While I’d seen Kata Tjuṯa along the horizon, I hadn’t yet “met” her up close. We decided to drive out there to watch the sunset – to see if it looked similar to Uluṟu as the sun went down.

After leaving Steve’s accommodation, we saw a group of tradies standing on the side of the road, pointing at something. It was… A SNAKE!

Steve pulled over so I could get a closer look. A snake catcher had removed it from somebody’s house. Yikes. It was a woma python, non-venomous, unlike my dugite friends back in Perth. That said, it was MASSIVE.

I was so excited to be seeing it that I started physically shaking. I love my wildlife hahaha. It was such a gorgeous creature, and was really cool to see a snake catcher removing it and putting it in a barrel (labeled “Snakes”) before undoubtedly setting it free in the wild somewhere.

I also had thought that snakes were hibernating in Central Australia at the moment. Nope. They are not. Apparently, snakes don’t even hibernate – they enter a dormant period called brumation. On exceptionally hot days, they will still be out and about. And some snakes… like the woma python… are even active at night. Little did I know! Now I always have to be snake-cautious hahaha.

Anyway… after that excitement, we continued along to Kata Tjuṯa. On the way, we had our eyes peeled for thorny devils, wild camels, dingoes, and kangaroos. The snake was our excitement of the day, though. Nothing else was sighted.

Kata Tjuṯa’s sunset was just as lovely as Uluṟu. The sunset before, a group of people had set up a whole smorgasbord of cheese, crackers, olives, etc. and we were feeling jealous… so this time, we came prepared with crackers and dip.

The sunset was a lovely introduction to Kata Tjuṯa – I was excited to go hiking there the following day.

In the evening, we got dinner and then watched Kill Bill Vol. 2. What excellent films! It had been a while since I’d watched them.

Valley of the Winds

After meeting Kata Tjuṯa the night before, we headed there again in the morning to do a hike called “Valley of the Winds” – fitting for someone with the last name “Wind”.

The hike itself was slightly challenging at times – but overall, it was an excellent hike. So many changes in scenery and terrain. We would walk next to boulders, up boulders, through slightly forested areas, and more. It was incredibly windy as we walked through the valley (aptly named), which mostly kept the flies at bay.

One of the tour guides at Uluṟu suggested that location has lost its “magic” over the decades, due to increased tourism, but that he still feels it at Kata Tjuṯa. Personally, I still felt it at Uluṟu. More so, I think – although the hike was a lot more interesting at Kata Tjuṯa.

Before dinner, we stopped back at Steve’s place. I went out to his backyard, which overlooks a large stretch of the outback. While there wasn’t a thorny devil, there was a blue tongue skink basking in the sun. My third reptile in three days – and yet, I somehow still wasn’t satisfied!

In the evening, we watched the sunset again – this time from a vantage point that showed both Uluṟu and Kata Tjuṯa.

Once home, Steve made us a vegetarian curry dish. We watched A Cry in the Dark, a film from the 1980’s starring Meryl Streep, about Lindy Chamberlain and her daughter that was allegedly taken by a dingo at a campground near Uluṟu. Such a wild story.

Last Chance of a Thorny Devil

My final day in Yulara was all about my mission to find the thorny devil. At this point, I had discovered that it had been a colder May than usual and the devils prefer warmer temperatures – over 35 Celsius, which is… hot. It had been low 20s.

I walked and walked and walked – all day. Steve had work and my bus wasn’t until 7pm, so I was walking around red dirt tracks and sand dunes in search of the thorny devils.

No such luck. I was feeling disappointed and frustrated, but that’s the thing about wildlife. You just don’t know. I wasn’t expecting to see a netted dragon or woma python – they just appeared for me. And it’s so special that they did! I am feeling let down that I was so obsessed about the thorny devils. I feel I wasn’t able to be fully present, which is my goal. That said, I do have to give myself a little leeway in that it was my last chance to try and spot them and I was certainly on the lookout.

Once Steve finished work, we went out for dinner and then checked out the sunset over Uluṟu before I had to catch my bus. We said our goodbyes and he was kind enough to say I’m welcome back any time.

It was so nice to be able to have a comfortable space for a few days. I’ve mentioned this before, but there are certain privacies that just aren’t available in hostels. A private toilet and shower, a place to set down or hang up your clothes. A place to unpack for a bit, and to not worry about your things getting stolen. We also would eat movie snacks, have tea, etc. It was very kind of Steve to share his space and knowledge with me, and to show me around Uluṟu. He also put up with my thorny devil obsession hahaha. Thank you, Steve! (Steves have each others’ backs.)

Miscellaneous

A few other random tidbits…

In and around Uluṟu, the red dirt and sand dunes were often so dry and compacted, they looked like clay.

Drinking alcohol in Alice Springs and I believe in the communities around Yulara are prohibited for Aboriginal people. It is so bizarre to me that they’re banned from drinking alcohol, while white folks and others are allowed to freely. If that doesn’t paint a picture for you…

While in Yulara, I discovered there is a Greyhound bus system that does daily runs all over central Australia and the East Coast. You can buy 30, 60, 90 day passes and it is essentially a “hop on, hop off” system. I ended up buying a 90 day pass for $530 – it was about the same cost as a flight from Alice Springs to Darwin, and now I can use it as much as I want/need during the remainder of my time in Australia without needing to get on a plane. Yay!

Art of the Week

Another amorphous shape. Trying to get back in the groove of things!

Reflections

I was originally going to be taking a bus up to Darwin last night, but due to my last minute planning at times… all the hostels in Darwin were booked up! So I’m staying in Alice for a bit longer – which is all good. I went on a hike along the Larapinta Trail yesterday and saw a couple of euro/wallaroos. I will likely go back again today. I also saw a piece of kangaoo/wallaroo fur that had perhaps been torn off by a dingo.

Tomorrow evening, I jump on the Greyhound for a 22 hour bus ride from Alice to Darwin. What a long journey it will be. That said, I would rather experience more of the Northern Territory by wheels vs in a plane. Even though a lot of the bus ride is overnight, I’ll still have plenty of daytime hours to look out the window. There are stops along the way as well.

I will be staying with Michael (my caravan buddy) for a little while but then will switch to a hostel. I’m not sure how long I’ll be in Darwin yet – trying to go with the flow. Michael sent me a picture of a snake this morning and said “in the caravan park this morning”. Darwin is tropical, so snakes/reptiles don’t really go into brumation there. I have heard there are a lot of huntsmen spiders as well – maybe I will finally be able to see one of those evil, gigantic spiders that everyone in America fears, after almost nine months in Australia. Oh, and human-eating crocodiles to look forward to!

All in all, I am really enjoying my time in the Northern Territory. I wish I had been able to stay in Yulara longer. I love Alice Springs, so I’m glad I was able to return for a few days… and soon Darwin. It is really lovely here.

That’s all for now. If you enjoyed this post, please share on social media! xx