{"id":26750,"date":"2011-03-29T03:20:19","date_gmt":"2011-03-29T07:20:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/26750\/great-australia-road-trip-page-twelve\/"},"modified":"2026-11-01T16:44:52","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T16:44:52","slug":"great-australia-road-trip-page-twelve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/26750\/great-australia-road-trip-page-twelve\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great Australia Road Trip \u2013 Page Twelve"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day 12 – Monday – September 27, 2010<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Weather:\u00a0 Sunny & Hot<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Destination:\u00a0 Yulara, Northern Territory, Australia<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Odometer Reading:\u00a0 99507<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Total Distance Traveled:\u00a0 4164 kilometers (2587 miles)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Price of Fuel:\u00a0 Erldunda – $1.74.0 liter, 48.02 liters, $80.07<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Route Taken:\u00a0 Erldunda to Mount Ebenezer to Curtin Springs to Yulara.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Highlights:\u00a0 Today we headed to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, more commonly referred to as Ayer’s Rock.\u00a0 The drive was full of anticipation to see one of the most iconic symbols of Australia.\u00a0 We stopped at a rest area for a stretch and the trees around there reminded me of the truffula trees from the Dr. Seuss story “The Lorax”.\u00a0 I took a few more photos of the birds and a couple of the trees, and we were back on the road.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When we first spotted a mountain off in the distance, we got all excited that we might be almost there.\u00a0 It seemed that we had made it so quickly, too, but something didn\u2019t look quite right.\u00a0 As we got closer it turned out to be Mt. Conner and we still had at least an hour to go.\u00a0 Oh, the downside of anticipation.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We finally saw Ayer’s Rock and from the road it looked exactly as it did in its pictures.\u00a0 It was eerie in a way.\u00a0 We arrived about 10:00 a.m. and checked into the campground so that we would have our spot for the night.\u00a0 Always better to be safe than sorry.\u00a0 We changed into our hiking boots and we were off to The Rock.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The entry fee to the park was $25.00 per person and you get 3 days.\u00a0 Park fees and attraction fees are outrageous here compared to the States.\u00a0 Most parks in the States that we have been to charge a fee by the vehicle and allow you entry for a week.\u00a0 Since we bit it for The Prom and the penguins, we were going to bite it for The Rock, one of the most iconic land forms on the planet.\u00a0 Thankfully, it was also good for getting over to see The Olgas, too.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We grabbed our frozen waters and our cameras and headed out for the walk around the base of Uluru.\u00a0 The walk is 10.6 kilometers and it was a nice, even path.\u00a0 With every step the view looks completely different.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Rock is one of the most interesting places I have been to so far.\u00a0 As you walk around the base, you get a different emotion with each turn.\u00a0 It could have been the side effects of the heat and dehydration, too.\u00a0 I went through almost three bottles of water before we made it all the way around.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As we came around to the other side of The Rock, we heard some rustling in the bushes.\u00a0 Then I heard something coming up behind us and when I turned there were three dogs, a mother and her pups.\u00a0 They walked right by us and only the pups even glanced our way.\u00a0 We ran into this trio several times from then on as we finished the walk.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At this point in our walk, we thought that we were about half way around.\u00a0 Boy, we were wrong.\u00a0 It was more like a third, but this part of the walk was through a grove of trees and the shade, although sparse, was a welcome relief.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Every time we thought we were almost to the end, there would be another stretch and another turn in front of us.\u00a0 When we made it to the third rest station, it was mid-afternoon and hot.\u00a0 Right about this time The Man\u2019s video camera ran out of juice and he took over the camera for the rest of the walk.\u00a0 I was grateful because we still had at least another third of it to go and my drass was aggin\u2019.\u00a0 The less I had to carry, the better.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The loop took us over 3 hours to complete and then The Man wanted to hike up it.\u00a0 Going around it was enough for me (I\u2019m also very afraid of heights) and I told him I’d meet him back at The Beast.\u00a0 I crawled off to keel over in The Beast and he crawled almost up to the top of The Rock.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When he finally made it back down to The Beast (about an hour later), we headed over to the Sunset Parking Lot.\u00a0 The sunset on The Rock is said to be a spectacle of color.\u00a0 The change is really so subtle that it didn\u2019t look that spectacular as I was watching it.\u00a0 Maybe because I felt like a brain dead zombie, I just couldn’t be that impressed with a sunset on a rock.\u00a0 It just got dark.\u00a0 Thank goodness for photography.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Stops:\u00a0 About 367 stops for shade and a drink of water while walking around The Rock, including the 3 shade rest stops that are built along the trail.\u00a0 One has water and they all have emergency phones if you want, or need, to give up.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how anybody could do this walk in the middle of summertime.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Where We Stayed:\u00a0 We checked into the Ayer\u2019s Rock Campground which is a mega campground with just about everything available to you at some place within the Ayer\u2019s Rock Resort.\u00a0 The rate was $39.50 for the powered site.\u00a0 By the time we got back to our space it was after dark and the place was packed.\u00a0 Good thing we registered earlier in the day.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Where We Ate:\u00a0 We stayed in The Beast and had McCain’s Tuna Mornay (tuna casserole), the cheese and crackers, and a salad for dinner.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day 12 – Monday – September 27, 2010 Weather:\u00a0 Sunny & Hot Destination:\u00a0 Yulara, Northern Territory, Australia Odometer Reading:\u00a0 99507 Total Distance Traveled:\u00a0 4164 kilometers (2587 miles) Price of Fuel:\u00a0 Erldunda – $1.74.0 liter, 48.02 liters, $80.07 Route Taken:\u00a0 Erldunda to Mount Ebenezer to Curtin Springs to Yulara. Highlights:\u00a0 Today we headed to Uluru-Kata Tjuta […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,2,42,25],"tags":[651,2810,2812,2432,2800,2431,2603,2813,2811],"class_list":["post-26750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","category-other","category-photography","category-world","tag-australia","tag-ayers-rock","tag-hiking","tag-motorhome","tag-outback","tag-road-trip","tag-scenic-views","tag-sunset","tag-uluru"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26750"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116522,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26750\/revisions\/116522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}