We left Kings Canyon with a cool breeze and light rain. Making use of the large shelter sheds over one of the camp kitchens to roll up the swag and have breakfast. A good opportunity to chat to fellow travellers. There are several valuable rules to follow when on the road, always stop at a fuel station and always stop when greeted with information particularly from fellow travellers, knowledge about up coming road and camping conditions is invaluable. The other golden rule is always check on the health and well-being of those stopped on the side of the track. We have over the years helped drivers out of show stopper events if not for our help.

We travel south where we enjoy the endless picturesque scenery, the views from jump ups and desert oak country is always wonderful.

We drive past Mt Connor an isolated mesa and impressive geological feature on a flat sandy plain. Some mistake this for Uluṟu. We reach Uluṟu in good time to setup in the daylight.

At Uluṟu we spend time at the cultural centre, this is a must visit information centre, very informative. While you can circumnavigate the rock we spend time exploring the shorter walks and spend time just sitting and watching the antics and daily activity of wildlife. The flocks of zebra finches are so large and numerous you can here the hum of displaced air as they pass over head.

The next day we explore the town centre, it’s buzzing with tourists, a food store, post office and an assortment of typical town businesses can be found along with some good places to eat.

In the afternoon we explore Kata Tjuta and its surrounds, mammoth mounds of conglomerate rock covered with spinifex and other grasses where they can find a footing. We watch a brown falcon contouring the rock face and a hooded robin, Melanodryas cucullata allowed some closeup shots. We note other ranges and geological features in the distant south and west these are places to be explored on another trip.

The trip back to camp was wonderful, with the sun now in the west, transforming the desert oak county to a golden sea of grass and Uluṟu took on a mauve colour.

Its going to be a cold night, a cold wind has whipped dust to create a multi-shades of gold sunset which transitions to magma red, stunning colours. We head South tomorrow so it’s early bed to retreat into the warmth away from the cold wind.