Do-it-yourself Uluru Tour: Day 4 - From the air

Uluru and Kata-Tjuta from the air.  It's big and it's bald and it's beautiful. 

I'm pretty happy with how these turned out despite being shot through the windows. The price of chartering a helicopter so I could fly with the doors off was a bit too expensive when I'm not shooting commercially. So I was happy to do the touristy thing. 

I was up early thinking I'd grab a cup of tea from reception as they must put the tea out for the early morning bus pick up. I even had my gold coin ready. But when I got there, no tea! I asked at the counter and was told by a lovely young man that they only leave the urn out until the restaurant opens out the back (despite not being able to just buy a cup of tea from there). Missed it by 5 minutes. He took pity on me and found a cup and a teabag I could take to the communal kitchen and I was so very grateful to him. 

Do-it-yourself Uluru Tour - Day 3

Saturday.
Sleep in.
Sick.
Cold.
No room buddies = blessing.

Drag myself out of bed with the thought of a hot cup of tea to tempt me. I have a $50 note and a 10c piece. I'm just about desperate enough to donate 50 for a cuppa. I feel miserable. It's 14 degrees and between that and the cold/flu I can't stop shivering. (I'm in the desert. Why isn't it hot?). I walk in to reception. No tea. It must be only for the early bus pick ups. Shit. Plan B. Catch the shuttle into town. It's 10am. Shuttle doesn't start until 10.30. I try the restaurant at the back of the resort. Sure, $36 for a buffet. Fuck. Go to town, she says. I say the bus doesn't start til 10.30. No, she says, start at 7. She's wrong. I stick my head in the communal kitchen. I don't have the energy to initiate communication to beg a cup of tea.
So here I am sitting on a park bench waiting for a bus.

Plans for the day. 
Write and send postcards.
Book bus to kings canyon
Book mon night accommodation.
Book helicopter. 
Go on nature walk. 
Wildflowers at sunset.

10.45 still waiting for the shuttle. Next time I'd hire a car.

There is a cafe in the town centre that is used for hospitality training for Indigenous folk.  Kulata Academy Cafe. They make a pretty good hot chocolate and some decent tucker. I find a sunny corner and write some postcards. I'm still trying to figure out the best (read cheapest) way to get to Kings Canyon. The bus is too expensive and the times aren't the most suitable. You can do a day trip but I really want to go at sunrise. I've already booked accommodation, I just need to get there. I was planning to try and catch a lift with someone heading that way but I've been too sick to strike up any conversations. And I realise no one will want me coughing in the back of their car all the way to Kings Canyon anyway. So I decide to hire a car.  
I book a helicopter flight for sunrise the next day. I still haven't booked anywhere to stay for the last night.

The camel rides seem popular but I'm not the least bit interested. There are plenty of free activities around the resorts so I go on an interesting nature walk given by a lovely indigenous man (though not from the local Anangu people). 

After the nature talk I went in search of some art works and found an interesting blend of photography and jewellery with an Artist in Residency.  Mike Fewster takes Australian nature photographs and his partner Suzette Watkins, then makes jewellery inspired by those locations.  I found a lovely little ring inspired by the McDonnell ranges. I don't tend to make rash buying decisions so I thought I'd sleep on it and if I still wanted it I'd buy it on the last day. Well, I ran out of time because I got carried away with the wildflowers around Uluru. But I remembered Mike saying they would be at Floriade so I tracked them down there and bought it. So it's a souvenir of both Uluru and Floriade. And I love it. When you buy a piece of jewellery you get a little picture of the area that inspired it and I was going to photograph the ring with the photo. But I've put it somewhere safe and haven't discovered where that is yet. Oh, you can also buy prints of the images. Check out their work here (Surprisingly, the photos of the jewellery aren't that great)

Back at the Pioneer Outback I ask about the best place for wildflowers and discover there's a walk to a lookout right at the back of the accommodation. It turns out to be an absolute treasure trove of wonderfulness and I'm astounded at the abundance and variety of flowers. The gallery below is some favourites from that walk, starting with a couple from the grounds (the Geraldton Wax) before I got off the beaten path. 
I've included a couple of shots for reference of scale. Look for the overall Uluru shot with the bus in it to see where I was wandering. It's also where I took the shot above of the front row seat. 

The slides play automatically but if you want to pause it you can just hover your mouse over a photo. 

Day 2 - Uluru Sunset

I dunno, how many photos of a rock can you look at? 

Sunset was pretty spectacular. And this time I was glad to be on the bus as they have a special 'tour buses only' viewing point. There were a shit tonne of people having champagne and bbqs in the car park but at the end of the long dusty path, there wasn't another soul around. With views to the sun setting behind Kata-Tjuta and the changing light on Uluru, it was a pretty magical time. And once again. the bus was waiting for me, but I didn't care.

The do-it-yourself Uluru Tour - Day Two (Afternoon)

I dragged my sick and sorry ass off the bed to catch the early afternoon bus, only to inform the driver I was going back to bed and would catch a later bus. That made it too late to do the base walk but I was more than impressed with the short walk it explored. Uluru is stunning and I felt an immediate connection with it. Like an old friend welcoming you with a big hug. 

Out of respect for the traditional owners I had no intention of climbing it. There has been a lot of work put in place to provide walks and information around the base and they've done a really good job. It's clearly signposted where the sacred sites are that are not to be photographed. 

Once again, the vivid colours really had an impact. Wow! And I was surprised to see so much lush greenery. And the wildflowers, well, I was just tickled pink. I'm also a bit of a sucker for the late afternoon light shining through grasses. My first up close and personal encounter with the rock was very rewarding. (It helped that the cold and flu tabs were kicking in too) 

Back on the bus to see the sunset now. The bus drivers throughout the day have all been lovely, however a little bit ironic in the afternoon to have a young  Indian bus driver sharing the history of the rock. 

The do-it-yourself Uluru Tour - Day Two (Morning)

Up at 5am. Walk around like a Zombie (combo of not a morning person + a cold). Discover tea for a gold coin donation at reception. Yay! Off to Kata-Tjuta (formerly known as The Olgas) this morning.

I've pre-booked the Hop on - Hop off bus. It was bit hard to find out about it but after layers of clicking on the website it turned up and looked like it gave a bit more flexibility than the AAT Kings tours. Turns out it wasn't as flexible as I would have liked. Photography is all about being in the right place for the light but the bus drivers have different priorities. Like getting away from the Sunrise Viewing platform quickly so you get to the Kata-Tjuta car park early enough to beat the queue for the loo. As it was, they were all on the bus waiting for me because the sun was in just the right spot and couldn't walk past it. I grabbed a couple super quick shots and then had to leave. 

There are two walks you can do at Kata-Tjuta. A long one and a short one. I was going to settle for the short one because I felt like death warmed up, but at the last minute chose to suck it up and do the 3 hour walk. Aptly named Valley of the Winds. 

I expected this to be the highlight of my trip, having been told more than once that Kata-Tjuta was even better than Uluru. I think my experience was unduly influenced by being sick as a dog with only Paracetemol to get me through. It is definitely an amazing place, but I didn't have the spiritual connection to the environment that I feel would be possible. I was just too sick to connect with anything other than a packet of tissues. The wind was howling, it was cold, and the track was rough. Apart from that, it was great. The colours were absolutely jaw dropping. Rich reds, vivid greens and bold blues like I've never seen before. I felt the pressure to keep moving so I'd make it back in time for the bus pickup. I'd assumed a drop off/pick up bus would mean you could just get on the next one, but it didn't work that way. Without the time pressure I think I would have enjoyed it much more, could have gone at a slower pace and stop and rested more often. And stopped and taken more photos! Or taken more time to take better photos? 

Did I mention the size? Phenomenal. (Look how tiny the people are in the above photo). And the gorges and valleys were delightful. There were enough wildflowers to buoy my spirits but the time constraints and being sick and my dodgy old knees meant I missed ample photo opportunities. 

Made it back to the bus with time to spare. In to town for cold and flu tabs, a jumper, and brekky/lunch. And then a sleep, with the plan to get back on the bus to Uluru in the early afternoon to do the base walk. 

The do-it-yourself Uluru Tour: Day One

Despite Damascus offering at the last minute to accompany me on my Uluru adventure, I set off on a solo jaunt. I did try to get a travel buddy to share some expenses but the timing just didn't work out. 

It took quite a bit of research to organise this holiday. Far more than I would have expected. I was initially planning to fly from Brisbane but there are no direct flights from Bris to Yulara, which is the town just outside the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. I could have flown to Alice Springs but then there's still the matter of getting to Yulara (about a 5 hour drive!) and then back again. Jetstar had cheap flights direct from Melbourne so I planned my stay around the best prices. Fly in on Thurs, out on Tue. 

After an aborted flight (all strapped in, ready for take off), we had to swap planes. Finally arrive at Yulara, step out the door of the plane and Look Look Look. There it is! The Big Red Rock!

Travelling for Dopey Dora's. (Notes taken on the trip)

I didn't realise NT was a different time zone. Duh. 30 mins behind. ( *This was in August. Don't know about daylight savings)
Also, it's not as hot as I thought it would be. I expected the nights and mornings to be cold but not all bloody day. ( *I had to buy a jumper as I didn't have enough warm clothes).

There's a courtesy bus from the Airport that stops at all Accomm.  If I had someone to splits costs I would have hired a car, but it seemed a bit pricey just for one person for that length of time so I started off with buses. Uluru Resort and AAT Kings buses pretty much have everything stitched up to offer tightly packaged deals. There's not much in the middle range of accommodation, with Camp Grounds and Backpackers at one end and straight to bloody expensive at the other. I chose a 4 bed mixed dorm at the Outback Pioneer Lodge. I wasn't quite bold enough to go for the 20 bed female dorm. Besides, you never know who you might meet in a mixed room! (*Note: No one interesting)

First impressions of the Outback Pioneer Lodge were pretty good with a beaut range of flowers to tempt me to get the camera out. 

Notes for Dopey Dora's.

Print out all bookings.Pack various size zip lock bags. 

I'm sick.
Ugh.
A cold. 
This is not good.
Trying to be positive. Failing

I had woken that morning feeling a bit off but put it down to not enough sleep in the lead up to getting away. On the plane I was a bit worried I might be getting sick. By the time I checked in there was no more denying it. I had the bloody flu.  (OK, maybe it was just a cold, I don't know the difference, but I was sick and getting sicker). There was an issue with the cleaning and my room wasn't ready.  I confusion over which bus was the courtesy bus that would get me into town (to buy some cold & flu tabs!) so I wasted a couple of hours around the grounds of the Lodge, finally got my room key, had a debate with an older guy over who got which bed, he wasn't convinced that I was right so off we went to the front counter before he finally admitted defeat. Too late to catch the bus in to the town centre by then as I had the Field of Lights Tour booked. So I dosed up on Panadol and off I went. 

There are three options to see the Field of LIghts. It's on until March 2018. The $39 pass gets you there after sunset and into the installation. You can't use a tripod in amongst the lights but in the $85 option you watch the sunset from a higher platform (with Champers and Canapes) and you can use a tripod there. There is another Option for dining but I wasn't interested in that. As far as I could tell, you had to catch the bus (AAT Kings, of course) and couldn't just drive yourself out there to have a look. I could be wrong though. 

I hadn't found my photography groove at all at the sunset platform. My head was foggy and I was aching and there were people everywhere (I'm making excuses for the shabby photos). The lights were impressive though and I've included one pretty ordinary (and very noisy) shot just to say I was there. 

The guide did say we could use a tripod as a monopod down amongst the lights. There are walking tracks right through the installation and it covered a bigger area than I expected. So it was impressive and I enjoyed it and I'm glad I got to see it. However, it did seem a bit contrived to simply get more money out of the tourists (there's not much else to do at night so it's a clever idea) and by the end of the trip I decided the Fields of Wildflowers were far more impressive. And they were free!