One day I woke up and decided that it's time. Time to get away from some things that were causing me a lot of pain.
A long time ago, I already wanted to go see the magical "big rock" in the middle of this massive continent but driving there for 17 hours, geez, do I really wanna do that on my own?!
Well, I didn't wanna do it on my own, but my mind was telling me to go and get away from everything, clear my mind and rebuild myself.
I woke up on the day of my planned departure and started freaking out. What if I get stuck?? What if my car breaks down? What if ...?
On that day, I didn't end up going and cried it out instead. Next day, I said "screw this, I'm going"!
And that was it, the long journey in my old car begins...Is my car working ok? Yes. Are my tyres in good condition and pumped up? Yes and not really. Do I have any basic tools and spare parts? No, and even if I did, wouldn't have a clue on how to use them. Had my car serviced before I go? No. Have enough water to drink? YES. Spare tyre? Yes. Know how to change it? No.
OK, good enough, I'm off!
Before I left, I checked out a few blogs of the people who went on the same journey, either solo or with people. And they went a lot more prepared but it was good to check it out , just to have a bit of an idea of what to expect.
I made sure to stop at every petrol station and fill up my tank and get coffee. What can I say about the drive? Long, long, long and extremely boring. It's about 1600 km to get from Adelaide to Ayers Rock or Uluru as Aboriginals call it.
The first bigger town is Port Augusta, and as soon as you go past, this is how most of the trip looks like:
So pretty much nothing, with more nothing and maybe if you're lucky you'll spot a tree or two so watch out for those :D
I stopped in smaller towns Pimba and Glendambo where you just have to stop and take a photo of these funny looking signs with typical aussie humour :D There is definitely insane amount of flies and you really need to wear a net hat as they will not leave you alone!
Last stop for fuel so make sure to load up!
Coober Pedy is where I decided to spend the night. I was tired from driving (which by then already took almost 9 hours and 850 km) and it started to get dark. You do not wanna drive at night there, so many animals on the road!
I spent the night in a really scary dungeon kinda hostel , it is called Radeka Downunder and I took the cheapest option, which was about $30 a night and I literally had to walk down in the dark cell lookalike dungeon, with no signal and not a lot of light! I went when not many tourists were around so the place was pretty much empty and I didn't have to share the room and at least had a lock on my door and some of the rooms just had curtains and I could hear some guys (I assume) snoring pretty loudly. Good times.
So, next challenge was, reaching SA/NT border, which took another 4 hours! But yaay, I made it! Nearly there! Well, sort of...
Actually, another 4 hours to get to Ayers Rock National Park. Damn, this country is huge! In 4 hours I can see 3 countries in Europe :D
It takes a while to get used to these distances, I remember as I came to Australia, even getting to the nearest bus stop and shop felt far for me! But aussies will be like "yeah, only 3 hours left to get...somehwere". And I'd be like huh??? "Only" 3 hours!
Well, as I finally get to the National Park, I felt better. I reached the destination and even though everything is so expensive there, I didn't care. But yeah, rip off for sure. Probably cheapest "accommodation" is a small "car-van" park with electric plug for camping, which cost over $50 per night! My first intention was to sleep in my car but it was so hot, I don't know how I would cope. I still bought 2 nights (as the third one was free) but I got lucky! I met a Hungarian lady who generously offered me to spend the night on a couch in her hotel room (which cost her $250 per night! Regular price is apparently over $320 but she wouldn't accept that). I offered to give her some money for it, but she refused. She just told me to pay if forward - easy enough, I do that on a daily basis. I felt very grateful to the lady and next day we went to see the sunrise together and see the spectacular Kata Tjuta (The Olgas).
Ayers Rock or Uluru
I finally get to the famous Uluru! Some interesting facts:
It was formed about 600 million years ago and it previously sat at the sea bed and today it stands 348 m high - 28 meters more than the Eiffel Tower and rising 863 m above sea level.
2.5 km of the rock is located beneath the ground.
It measures about 3.6 km and 2.4 km wide, with a circumference of 9.4 km, however contrary to the belief, it is NOT the world's largest monolith - that would be Mount Augustus in Western Australia (which is more than twice the size of Uluru!).
The rock is located in Australia's Simpson Desert , only a few minutes drive from Australia's Red Center.
Uluru is considered as sacred ground by most of Aborigines of Central Australia and believe it or not, most climbers who went ahead and climbed the rock (therefore disrespecting the Aboriginal culture) have died while attempting to climb the rock (an estimated 37 people).
Uluru offers mesmerizing views during dawn and sunsets when it appears to change colours. It glows red during both times !
Kata Tjuta or The Olgas
Another amazing place to visit and I would say The Olgas are even more amazing to see.
Some facts:
There are 36 dome shaped sandstone rocks
Kata Tjuta is spread over 20km
The highest point is called Mount Olga (named after Queen Olga of Württemberg). On a side note, my grandma's name was Olga and she died about a week before my birthday nearly 2 years ago. Rest in peace "mama" as we called her.
Kata Tjuta is higher than Uluru - at 1066 m, Uluru is 863m above sea level.
The sandstone domes are over 500 million years old
The Anangu people have inhabited the area for over 22,000 years
Kata Tjuta means ‘many heads’ in Pitjantjatjara Aboriginal
The Anangu people now hold most of their spiritual rituals here rather than Uluru.
Breathtaking views while hiking and absorbing and feeling the energy of this serene place. An absolute must on everyone's bucket list. If I get a chance, I will definitely go again.
Thanks for reading, part 2 of my trip will be coming shortly.
See you next time, hive tribe!
Kat