Steffi

The alarm went off very early so we could make the most of the day, especially for the long journey ahead. We were in the car bright and early. Our first stop, however, was at a gas station to make sure we had a full tank before driving into the desert.

I was actually driving towards Yulara, to Uluru (better known as Ayers Rock) - I still couldn't believe it! Could we really be so lucky?

Our route took us along the Stuart Highway. We were going to follow this for a few hundred kilometers. Thankfully, the speed limit in the desert is at least 130 km/h. We noticed that we had somehow imagined the "desert" differently. Everything here was much more overgrown and greener than we'd pictured. There were (green) bushes and trees everywhere along the way. Our path then led us past a camel farm, where we briefly drove through the grounds, but decided it wasn't very inviting and continued on.

Further along the road, we spotted some eagles feasting on roadkill. We slowed down and tried to get a photo of the eagles, but they were gone faster than we could see them, and we also had to keep an eye on the traffic, so we couldn't look for long.

Then we saw something quite large heading toward us... Could it actually be a road train?! Yes... it was. Foot off the accelerator, keep to the left, camera shooting, and then it was already past us. The road trains are truly indescribably long and impressive!

Meanwhile, the "bathroom facilities" issue became urgent again - and we were in the middle of nowhere! HELP! Fortunately, our prayers were answered. Somewhere on the roadside, there was what looked like a parking area and a toilet block! There was nothing but red earth, a dry riverbed, and this little metal building! I had visions of venomous snakes running through my mind, so I sent Seb to open the door and take a look.
When he declared it "safe," I went over, and I can tell you: I've never seen such a clean toilet... at any rest area in the world!

The journey continued, and after a few hundred kilometers, we reached the junction. There was also a gas station with a "restaurant," which we visited before continuing on. The saying "fill up at every opportunity" was definitely true - the prices were much higher than usual! Refueling was starting to really hurt the wallet.

I had already been thinking about how much we would end up paying compared to all our previous fuel stops on the trip... but we hadn't yet realized just how expensive it would actually be.

There was also an exxxxxxxtra-long road train at the rest stop, and of course, we didn't miss the opportunity to take a closer look. Then we went to the shop and looked at the emus on the edge of the gas station, which lived in a fenced area there.

After our fuel and "bathroom facilities" stop (you should always take advantage of both), we continued on State Route 4. We still saw some eagles and other birds as well as their associated roadkill, and there was another road train. The temperature display in the car and the kilometer count kept rising and rising.

But then we were slowed down quite quickly when a convoy with one or more houses on trailers entered the road in front of us. Overtaking was out of the question! We crept along for a while before deciding to pull over to the side of the road and have a meal. After 15 minutes, we drove on, but quickly caught up with the convoy again. Fortunately, there was eventually a rest area that was no longer in use, and the convoy had parked there. Finally free! We were able to pick up speed again until we were stopped by a "bull." This stood right by the roadside, with no fence or anything, and was completely unfazed by anything or anyone. So we quickly took some photos and moved on.

As the kilometer count increased, we saw the first rock from a distance (*note: see closing comment). There was also a small bay with a toilet block.

We stopped, and while Seb stayed in the car since it was too hot, I got out and took a picture or two and, of course, looked for the surprisingly clean toilet building.

After many more kilometers, we reached the next and last gas station before our destination. So we pulled in to refuel and stretch our legs. While Seb filled the car and almost started crying at the price (I should never have predicted how expensive it would be), I walked around to stretch my legs. There were some flowering shrubs on the edge of the gas station that I wanted to look at more closely until something right next to me caught my attention. A toilet block had been built there, and I had seen a gentleman go in shortly before. Nothing special... until I spotted the small monitor lizard (about 40-50 cm long)! It was creeping behind the toilets and peeking into each cubicle until it chose the last one. The one the gentleman had gone into!

I felt like I was in a movie during the next few moments; the lizard stuck its nose in, looked around again, and then disappeared into the cubicle... seconds later we heard an "Ahhhhh!" and the gentleman came rushing out. I couldn't stop laughing! I felt sorry for the man, but honestly... stay serious? No way! Unfortunately, Seb missed the whole scene, but he arrived shortly after with the painfully high fuel bill, and then we continued on.

We finally reached Yulara. Yulara is a small town created for tourists about 20 km from Uluru. The place consists only of accommodations, a gas station, a small town center, and the obligatory tourist information. And of course, as is common with Australian towns, it has its own airport.

We headed to the reception desk of our lodging. For cost reasons, we had booked just a 4-bed dorm room this time. So we quickly checked in, got directions to the room, and went. With a strange feeling and praying that no one else was there yet, we put the key in the lock and lo and behold: there was indeed no one there. So we had free choice of beds! The room was... well, just a place to sleep. There were 2 bunk beds, a mirror, air conditioning, and a window. That's it! We immediately claimed the two lower bunks.

We quickly gathered everything we needed for the evening, visited the bathroom facilities, freshened up, and left. First, we headed to the "center," where the supermarket, café, and other shops were. Many people had told us that everything would be extremely expensive there and that we should stock up well beforehand. We had done that! But it wouldn't have been necessary, as the supermarket prices weren't much different from elsewhere and there was plenty to choose from!

Next, we headed to the souvenir shop and immediately discovered some great souvenirs. Everyone who knows us knows that we like to buy ourselves T-shirts from the Hard Rock Cafés in the cities we visit, if there is one. There was no HRC here, but there were "T-shirt imitations" in the form of "Hard Rock With No Cafe" shirts with Uluru on them. I quickly tried one on and headed to the register. Unfortunately, Seb couldn't find his size and had to go without. Outside the store, we had seen racks with different head nets to protect against the many flies, completely overpriced of course, which we didn't pay much attention to after a brief look. We didn't yet know how much we would regret this decision.

Back in the car, we didn't get very far because we discovered a parking area connected to a path that led to a viewpoint. Carefully watching where we stepped to avoid anything nasty ruining our day, we walked up to the viewpoint which offered an absolutely beautiful view of Uluru and the surrounding area! During our photo session, we were bothered by numerous flies and were almost constantly swatting at them, which was really getting on our nerves. Since it was time to drive to the national park, we made our way back to the car and continued our journey.

At the National Park entrance, we bought tickets for 2 days. We decided to first look for the best spot to view the sunset later.

Once that was settled, we continued exploring the area. Uluru was getting closer, and the mood in the car became quieter. We were both simply awestruck and amazed at the radiance of the massive rock right in front of us. During our trip, we had heard the following statement in various conversations:

And that's exactly how it was. The aura that this rock emanates can't be described, but it really does overwhelm you! We decided to drive around Uluru and ended up at the cultural center. However, everything was closed there - not a single person to be found, nothing to see - so we only used the toilets and drove on.

The next stop was a parking lot right at Uluru! Seb refused to get out due to the heat and flies, so I went alone to take pictures (even though the many signs discourage this) and let it all sink in. Then it was time to head to the spot we had selected earlier, as the sun would be setting soon. At least we hoped so - the clouds in the sky were making us worried. Had we organized all of this only to miss out on a clear sunset at Uluru???

We quickly reached the parking area, and as expected, the fly plague was already there in full force. As soon as you touched the car door, they would swarm all over you. While I set up the tripod and camera, I had to constantly swat and swat and swat. Seb's mood, on the other hand, had already hit rock bottom. He stayed in the car! Everything was extremely annoying, but I didn't want to let these stupid flies ruin our trip. So I closed my eyes (quite literally) and got on with it!

I took many, many photos, spotted a small lizard on the ground here and there, and then the sunset began to approach. Finally, I was able to lure Seb out of the car so that we could at least get a few photos of us together or of him there. However, this turned out to be quite an ordeal. We were annoyed, constantly swatting at flies, but still tried to look happy for the photos! It was such hard work! Why didn't we buy those overpriced nets??? (Seb actually owns one, but it had remained in Adelaide... if only we had known!)

Seb retreated to the car pretty quickly, while I remained, simply in awe of Uluru. The whole spectacle was over quite quickly, and after sunset, the parking lot emptied rapidly. We stayed for a while longer and then slowly drove back to our accommodation.

Things were buzzing back there, with BBQ dinners and music playing. First, we headed to our room and to our great delight, we still had it all to ourselves! We unloaded everything and headed out to join the action, where we sat at a table and devoured our ordered burgers. At the bar, there was a large dispenser where you could get free, well-chilled water, which we happily took advantage of. Along with our meal, we uploaded the photos from the last few days to the computer, and then it was time to shower.

The amazing thing was that in the entire resort area, there weren't many flies around, so we could enjoy a relaxed evening! Unfortunately, all the flies had congregated in the shower area, which made for an unpleasant showering experience as I kept flinching and twitching. That's what happens when people build accommodations in the middle of nowhere.

The lighting on the grounds between the buildings was unfortunately quite poor, so you had to concentrate carefully on the paths. This isn't easy when you're imagining all sorts of dangerous creatures lurking in the undergrowth. You're happy when you reach your room safely.

We talked for a while until our eyes started to close, or at least one of us. Somehow, I couldn't find real peace and couldn't fall asleep at all.

Still, good night.