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Last night we were picked up from our hotel and taken out into the desert for dinner and to watch the sunset with Uluru as the backdrop. We stood on top of a sand dune sipping champagne, listening to a didgeridoo player and eating canapés while the sun set over Uluru and Kata Tjuta.
It was a short walk down the hill to a dinner of pumpkin ravioli, a buffet of salads to go with chicken, barramundi and kangaroo - all delicious. We were entertained by some traditional dancers and by an explanation of the constellations in the night sky. The Stars were amazing with all lights turned out.
Our desert was a selection of macadamia cheesecake, lemon myrtle pudding and quandong and apple crumble - again all lovely. When we got back to the resort we were well satisfied and tired after a long day!
We got up early this morning to head out to Uluru for a ranger guided walk along one section of Uluru. It certainly is a giant monolith and amazing to see the diversity in the rock and around the base. It must be amazing to see it in the wet season!
From there we drove around the rock before moving on to Kata Tjuta. This is another amazing rocky outcrop that grows as you get closer. It's make up is different to Uluru and there are not the same smooth rock faces. We walked into a gorge - a little over a kilometre each way, over a fairly rocky path. The rock sections that have come down resemble peanut clusters or something like it - very lumpy. Most of our walk was in the sun but the end of the gorge and the resting place was a seated area in the shade. It caught lovely breezes coming through the gorge.
After these two walks it was time for a quiet afternoon with a bit of time for a dip in the pool.
The dip did the trick and refreshed me for our sunset helicopter flight over Uluru and Kata Tjuta. We took off a little after 6.30pm and headed for Kata Tjuta. It was amazing to see the desert from above, it has so many more sand dunes and rocky ridges that you realise! As we approached Kata Tjuta we could see Uluru in the distance. Kata Tjuta seemed to have a series of run-off areas on one side. No doubt these fill with water in the rainy season. From the front we could see the gorge we had walked up today and get a sense of what was on the other side of it.
The flight over to Uluru showed the rock in many different colours as the sun continued to set. We only approached from one side but the different light made it look amazing. This was a great trip and well worth the money.
We dined at the Outback Pioneer BBQ where you bought meat and cooked it yourself on one of the 30 or so BBQ's before helping ourselves to lots of salads. While we ate our BBQ we listened to a fellow playing guitar, very pleasant!
The shuttle bus took us home and we collapsed into bed after a long and eventful day.
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