OMG! What a huge and fantastic day! It all started at 5 am when a busload of tourists woke up and decided to have showers before heading off to the Sunrise on the rock...so i got up for a walk to the toilet...and a dingo followed me in the shadows....eerie!
At 8am I was picked up and taken to the airport to board a helicopter with my dad. We had a 36 minute flight past the resort, Uluru and Kata Tjuta...and it was amazing....the rock and Kata Tjuta looked so different from so high up. Looking down onto the red sand was also unreal...the spinifex looks like a coral pattern from high up
When we landed, we all got organised and went around to Shaun's. Once there, we got in the cars and went to the local camel farm for a ride. Georgia and Frey had a go first and they loved it. Then Heather (Mrs Mac) and I got on and had a ride too....apparently my head looked like an acorn with the funny helmet on it! The ride around was great, as you could see Uluru and Kata Tjuta.
After that we went into the National Park again. We stopped at the sunset viewing area for Uluru and took a family shot with the rock behind. Awesome view. Then off we went to the climb...which you're advised not to do, but I felt the need to do it... Heather, Dad, Bec, Georgia, Freyja and I were keen, but when we pulled up and Heather saw how high the first part of the walk was...she was out! Lol... Dad and Bec started the climb...but got to Chicken Rock, which is about 50 metres up....where the chain starts....Frey and Georgia went up like a pair of mountain goats...so I decided I might as well take them both up. Well...the first half of the walk was as scary as hell! A thin chain....with sheer drop-offs on both side. My water bottle slide out of my pocket and fell about 100 metres to the ground, bouncing around and sliding all the way down! It looked like a Woomera rocket! Lol...
We climbed up slowly...the two girls in front of me...all the way....to the top! What a feeling when we got there. I texted a lot of people sending photos of the girls. We tried ringing Bec (below the rock) and Ryan (so Georgia could tell the class), but there was no answer....so we decided to start the big trip down. It was pretty Ok going down, until the last stretch where the drop is pretty steep. Both of the girls preferred to slide on their bums and hold the chain...until finally we were down after 2 hours. Frey had worn a hole in her pants coming down...that's how much sliding there was! We were so proud....Dad 38, Georgia 10 and Freyja 6....and she looked like the youngest up there today. Many people commented how fantastic the two girls were doing it and they couldn't believe the little one....but for those of you that know Freyja well...I'm sure you're not surprised....when you think of the energy and determination she has!
After the walk we met up with the rest of the family. They had driven around the rock, walked a couple of sections and sat waiting for the mountain goats! We went for a look at the Cultural Centre and then had a late lunch. After that we raced to the Yulara Primary School to see Hanna and have a quick tour of the school. We also saw the oval...greenest oval I've ever seen surrounded by ghost gums...the home of the Yulara Flies Football Club...Shaun has had a lot to do with getting the club going....
After the visit to the school, we drove into the visitors centre to visit Mandy. We looked through the interesting displays of desert life and bought some souvenirs. After this we had a coffee (which is fantastic here Anne and Ryan) and went to Sails in The Desert Resort. Shaun toured us through the restaurant, pool area and art gallery/shop. The Aboriginal dot paintings here were magnificent, but the one Bec and I loved was around $7000, so we decided to give it a miss.
We returned to the campground to clean up...and had tea at Shaun's. We got takeaway from the Outback Pioneer and while there I met friends of Brendan and Lisa Evans from Carisbrook. How funny is that?
Anyway...I'm going to try to post some photos too....so I better go....read on and see where we are next time...
At 8am I was picked up and taken to the airport to board a helicopter with my dad. We had a 36 minute flight past the resort, Uluru and Kata Tjuta...and it was amazing....the rock and Kata Tjuta looked so different from so high up. Looking down onto the red sand was also unreal...the spinifex looks like a coral pattern from high up
When we landed, we all got organised and went around to Shaun's. Once there, we got in the cars and went to the local camel farm for a ride. Georgia and Frey had a go first and they loved it. Then Heather (Mrs Mac) and I got on and had a ride too....apparently my head looked like an acorn with the funny helmet on it! The ride around was great, as you could see Uluru and Kata Tjuta.
After that we went into the National Park again. We stopped at the sunset viewing area for Uluru and took a family shot with the rock behind. Awesome view. Then off we went to the climb...which you're advised not to do, but I felt the need to do it... Heather, Dad, Bec, Georgia, Freyja and I were keen, but when we pulled up and Heather saw how high the first part of the walk was...she was out! Lol... Dad and Bec started the climb...but got to Chicken Rock, which is about 50 metres up....where the chain starts....Frey and Georgia went up like a pair of mountain goats...so I decided I might as well take them both up. Well...the first half of the walk was as scary as hell! A thin chain....with sheer drop-offs on both side. My water bottle slide out of my pocket and fell about 100 metres to the ground, bouncing around and sliding all the way down! It looked like a Woomera rocket! Lol...
We climbed up slowly...the two girls in front of me...all the way....to the top! What a feeling when we got there. I texted a lot of people sending photos of the girls. We tried ringing Bec (below the rock) and Ryan (so Georgia could tell the class), but there was no answer....so we decided to start the big trip down. It was pretty Ok going down, until the last stretch where the drop is pretty steep. Both of the girls preferred to slide on their bums and hold the chain...until finally we were down after 2 hours. Frey had worn a hole in her pants coming down...that's how much sliding there was! We were so proud....Dad 38, Georgia 10 and Freyja 6....and she looked like the youngest up there today. Many people commented how fantastic the two girls were doing it and they couldn't believe the little one....but for those of you that know Freyja well...I'm sure you're not surprised....when you think of the energy and determination she has!
After the walk we met up with the rest of the family. They had driven around the rock, walked a couple of sections and sat waiting for the mountain goats! We went for a look at the Cultural Centre and then had a late lunch. After that we raced to the Yulara Primary School to see Hanna and have a quick tour of the school. We also saw the oval...greenest oval I've ever seen surrounded by ghost gums...the home of the Yulara Flies Football Club...Shaun has had a lot to do with getting the club going....
After the visit to the school, we drove into the visitors centre to visit Mandy. We looked through the interesting displays of desert life and bought some souvenirs. After this we had a coffee (which is fantastic here Anne and Ryan) and went to Sails in The Desert Resort. Shaun toured us through the restaurant, pool area and art gallery/shop. The Aboriginal dot paintings here were magnificent, but the one Bec and I loved was around $7000, so we decided to give it a miss.
We returned to the campground to clean up...and had tea at Shaun's. We got takeaway from the Outback Pioneer and while there I met friends of Brendan and Lisa Evans from Carisbrook. How funny is that?
Anyway...I'm going to try to post some photos too....so I better go....read on and see where we are next time...
