I flew into Ayers Rock airport from Sydney and was picked up by Mulga's Adventure Tour group who had driven from Alice Springs that morning. I dropped my stuff at camp and met the rest of the group. Our group had a total of 14 people from all over: France, South Africa, Holland, Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, Korea, China, and UK. It was a great size for the group and we all got along well. Our guide, Matt (AKA Scruffy) was entertaining and had a background as a previous camelier, zookeeper, and accomplished chef. 
We all headed out for a hike at Kata Tjuta, otherwise known as the Olgas. They are a cluster of 36 domed rocks and we went on a walk amongst them, learning a little about the Aboriginal culture, marveling at the beautiful red rock, and looking down on the Valley of Winds. 
Afterwards, we visited a lookout to see the Olgas from a distance. There were storms rolling in fast and it started raining. This changed our plan to enjoy champagne while watching sunset at Uluru. We went back to the campsite and got situated, helping prep for dinner. There was finally a break in the rain right as the sun disappeared, so we made the best of it and watched the sunset from a hill near camp. 
We enjoyed a rainbow while sipping our champagne. We had burritos for dinner and then helped clean up and got to know each other better. Took a quick shower at the campsite facility and were shown how to set up our swag, am Australian canvas set up for sleeping on the ground with a mattress inside. I pimped out my swag with my thermarest Neoair ultralite that I always travel with, my monkey travel pillow and my own sleeping bag and silk bag liner. Everyone else set up on a concrete block under a roof, but I moved my swag out away from the group as I trusted it would not rain again that night and I wanted to see the stars and faraway lightening storm while I fell asleep. It was warm at first, but then became a perfect temperature and was super comfy. Lucky for me, it didn't rain that night!
We woke up at 4am, rolled up our bed roll swags, and had a quick breakfast (or just coffee for me, as per usual). By 5am, we were headed off to Uluru sunset viewing area in the darkness to try to catch sunrise. There were was too much cloud cover for a spectacular sunrise, but it was still enjoyable. We then drove over to Uluru and had several unguided hours to walk around the whole base.
Being a primarily solo traveler in the past, tour groups tend to me make feel constrained and overwhelmed. It was nice to be given the independent time and I got away from the group and just walked alone, taking it all in. The colors are extraordinary as the rock gets much redder as the sun gets higher. 
I had heard about all the flies in the outback, but the rain was helping in making them not a problem (as well as keeping it a little cooler). There was also plenty of flowers in bloom, making for a colorful contrast to the red earth. I loved every minute of it, marveling at the different colors and shapes and the sheer size of it all. 
I stopped to play with birds I could find and stopped to check out gnarled looking lone trees. We then met back up as a group and Matt, our guide, walked with us for the last little part, explaining some of the Aboriginal history behind certain areas. Apparently, all of the guides must attend a school to learn the story the Aboriginals want told of the area. 
But there is a lot that they choose not to tell. It was nice to see that our tour guide was respectful of the cultural aspects, especially after seeing people trying to sneak photos when specifically asked not to in certain areas. Or seeing so many people climbing on the rock, even though the sign specifically states a few of the reasons not to (and our guide told us of many others). 
He also told us only one person on his tour opted to climb it, and he was kicked off the tour. Granted, there is a guide rope and the rock is all worn down in the place people climb, but it just seems to me to be deeply offensive of the local culture and both natural and spiritual significance of what you came to visit. We finish off at the Uluru Cultural Center for a few minutes before heading back to camp for lunch.After a most delicious lunch of camel burgers, we pack up our bags and head off for the several hours drive to our next camp near Kings Canyon. I got to sit in the first seat of the minivan and helped look for creatures. Like me, our guide loved lizards and snakes! Sadly, most of the lizards we saw had met an untimely death by vehicle while crawling to the heat of the road. But I did see three groups of wild horses and I think what was a brown falcon. The guide told me that anyone who catches a wild horse or a wild camel can keep them in Australia! Luckily, neither of those animals appeal to me much or I would be moving here and chasing after them, straight away. The scenery is beautiful with blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds up against expansive red earth that seems to go on forever. The landscape is broken up by more gnarled trees. They each seem to have character, some smaller scrubby trees and some that remind me of the Dr. Seuss Lorax trees.
Mixed in to what seems to be endless landscape is pale yellow grass and occasional wildflower patches. There are occasional hills and rock formations and a few small areas of water from nearby rains. We make a pit stop at a Cattle Ranch. We also visit a salt lake lookout which is normally white, but was unfortunately muddy after the recent storms. Nearby is Mount Connor, a flat topped mountain that looks like Table Mountain in South Africa. 
Apparently, plenty of tourists have confused this mountain with Uluru. I guess I can see it? We stop close to our second nights campsite to gather firewood along the side of the highway for dinner and marshmallow roasting. Unfortunately, I while jumping on a big branch to try to break it up, either I landed wrong or the branch moved. Either way, the pop I heard was NOT the branch, and in the battle of Betsy versus branch, branch won. I could barely walk. First I thought it was my Achilles tendon as pain shot up my leg. But it appears to be a calf muscle tear of some sort. I wrapped it with an ace wrap in my bag and tried alternating heat and ice with elevation.Once we arrived at our campsite, our guide cooked us up a fabulous dinner! We had grilled kangaroo, campfire cooked homemade bread and au gratin potatoes with a green salad.
Super yummy, especially followed with tim-tams and roasted marshmallows. This camp is more rustic than the last, but still quite civilized. A woman got bitten by a scorpion outside the women's bathroom (she had climbed up Uluru that day... maybe karmic payback?) and a large snake was found in camp (not sure if it was the same python that was found in camp the day before) while I was in the shower. I laid my swag out on the ground by the fire and had a view of the Milky Way above me and a bagazillion stars with a faint lightening storm behind the canyon. It was a great sleep and 4am came fast.
My calf was even more sore and slightly bruised. I could barely stand on it. I had to opt out of the Wattarka, or King's Canyon Rim Hike with the hundreds of stairs up "Heart Attack Hill". I almost considered coming home early if walking was going to be an issue, but decided to make the best of it. Luckily, it loosened up a little and I learned how to walk on it with less pain if I keep my knee bent. 
I went with the rest of the group to the Canyon and then did my own little hobble on the Creek Walk and up a few of the stairs toward the Southern trail. Enjoyed being near the water and seeing more interesting trees and interesting rock formations. I did get to see a Perentie lizard, the largest monitor lizard in Australia, moseying across the trail. 
Shockingly, he heard me coming and moved faster than I thought he would. I asked nicely, but he didn't seem to want to stop for a photo. Rude! Sad I missed the big hike, but still had fun any way. We had lunch, cleaned up camp, and drove back late afternoon to Alice Springs, making a pit stop at a Roadhouse with good coffee (and my new favorite bottled soda, Coke with coffee... a night shifter who often lives on caffeine's dream!)Woke up and did some good ol' sink laundry at my hotel in Alice Springs. They had a clothesline to dry my stuff, which was nice. I tried to book my shuttle to the airport for the afternoon, as their is no public transport to the airport. It was all full for the entire day. A taxi was almost $40, but the nice woman at the front desk helped me out by posting on Facebook to see if any of her friends could drive me for $20. A sweet woman who worked at a restaurant next door came by and said she would do it. That gave me several hours to explore Alice Springs. I went to several art galleries. Lots of kitchy tourist stuff, but one off from the main area was great. The owner was nice and the gallery has studio space for the aboriginal artists and works with them to create unique stuff for fair prices. Also stopped by the Flying Doctors to check it out. Also went to the Reptile Museum, but it seemed expensive for what it appeared to be. Alice Springs was definitely not a place I wanted to spend a lot of time. Felt like a seedy Mexican border town... ugly with all the high concrete walls and barb wire on everything due to high crime rates. I was glad to be moving on.
Caught my flight to Cairns. We flew over several grassland fires which glowed orange in the night. Talked to my seatmate on the flight over who is a government worker, living in Perth and dealing in water resources. He and a co-worker were heading to an investments meeting and they let me hitch a ride in their taxi to the city center, instead of waiting for the shuttle and then the city bus as I had originally planned. Their hotel is a quick 4 minute walk from the bus terminal and the hotel they are staying at is super nice (at least the lobby is). The concierge let me store my backpack and I ditched my night market plan as we all went to watch the Arsenal soccer match in the attached casino sports bar that supposedly has the largest TV in Queensland. Super weird to go from the outback to such a posh place in a Vegas style casino with people dressed up in evening gowns for a Christmas party (yes, they appear to start even earlier than we do in the Christmas department... perhaps because they don't have Thanksgiving?). We said our goodbyes when it was time to leave for my 1 am bus and the hotel staff returned my bag and gave me a snack and water for the bus trip. Everyone is so nice and helpful in Australia! And an Aussie girl told me she liked my accent tonight and invited me to join them going out. Ha!
And now it is about 5:30am and the bus has just pulled in to Townsville. I think I have about an hour wait until the first ferry to Magnetic Island (or Maggie as the locals appear to be calling it) at 6:30am. Hoping my leg heals up well enough to dive. If I have to dive with one leg, will I just go in a circle around the Great Barrier Reef? Just kidding. This is, however, my chance to try to see a koala in the wild. Rare, but worth a shot... keep your fingers crossed for me!
Love,
Betsy
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