Mulga's Outback Tour (Day 2)

I woke up this morning to the sun rise in the outback.  Just stunning.  There is something really magical that comes with being awoken by the sun.  Very natural and peaceful.  Much better than hearing an alarm blast at who knows when!  We quickly took camp apart and had a delicious breakfast of eggs and bacon before heading on the road again to Uluru.  Our first stop of the day was the Uluru Information Center or Visitor Center.  Here there was lots of information about the Aboriginal People who live in this area as well as their culture and expectations of us as visitors.  Uluru is interesting because it is co-owned by the Aboriginal and the Australian Government.  So they way it works is that recently the Australian Government gave back the land that Uluru lies on to the Traditional Owners, who then leased it back to the Government to allow use for tourism.  But there is still a council which consists of 6 Traditional Owners, three men and three women, and 2 non-Traditional Owners.  Pretty cool stuff!

After this we headed to Kata Tjuta another rock formation nearby which is actually larger, but less famous.  And officially considered two rocks since erosion has split it.  Here we stopped for lunch and then embarked on yet another hike (I seriously was not expecting all this hiking and I LOVED it!)

Another 8 KM hike 

Very Red Rocks!

Rammy Ram and I Made It!

One of the Amazing Views!

Kata Tjuta From Afar

After battling the elements (read HEAT)  and the black flies (read MOST ANNOYING THINGS EVER!) we got back to the bus and headed off to see the sunset on Uluru.  Pretty excited for this!

Rammy Ram Making Sure His Eyes are Protected From the Sun!

The Changing Color was Pretty Amazing!

Kata Tjuta From Afar

Loving the View!

One Final Shot Before the Night Comes!

After our amazing sunset we headed to our camp site.  This one was different from where we were yesterday.  A little busy (somewhere where all the tourists buses go at night near Uluru)  but we still managed to have a good time.  Between Camel Burgers and Kangaroo Carpaccio, marshmallows and dance parties, and of course a good old campfire we had a blast.  But tomorrow is another early morning so off to bed under the stars we went!