Hi Again,
Day 6 - Base Walk around Uluru. 10.6kms
We started at the Cultural Centre where we read about the Aborginal creation stories relating to the area, some history of the area and the Aborginal lifestyle. We left quickly when Chris started speaking inappropriatley and loudly about his disgust with the aboriginal diet and general way of life. This resulted in a 10min lecture in the car on accepting other people, their ways, etc and also a run down of all the animals that he consumes on a day to day basis - I think he will end up vegetarian if he suffers through many more of those lectures.
Base walk began pretty well. We caught up to a ranger tour and listened for around 5 minutes. Matthew couldn't keep quiet and at the pace the ranger was moving the walk was going to be finished Tuesday next week so we moved on. The detour in (adding 850m) to see a gorge was I thought well worth it at the time - lovely shady area, quiet, calm, peaceful water - however in hindsight the extra distance was probably a bad idea. We got to the first rest area and Andy told the kids we were halfway. Madi had a look at the map, asked where we were,I pointed to us and she announced it would be quicker to go back. After an apple,some water and a brief rest we convinced her to keep going. Half way round there was no turning back. A game of eye spy, which Andy said the whole park could hear, got us to the 2/3 mark. Promises of icecream at the end got us to the 3/4 mark. Then we made the fatal mistake of telling her we only had as far as school and back to go. A: she never walks, always scooters and B: it was a bit further. With 600m to go she fell to her knees and declared she couldn't go on (At this point I realised hindsight is a wonderful thing and maybe the gorge wasn't such a good idea). There was,I pointed out, a flaw in her plan. Dad and the boys were way ahead, her father having deserted her in her time of need and I can't carry her. Also, I had no food or icecream only water and her only option was to sit there and die. She pondered all of this for a while, mentioned a few times how unhappy she was Dad wasn't around and how could he leave her (actually quite a wise move on his part), puffed out her very red cheeks and rose to her feet. She literally dragged herself, because if I held her hand I was apparently dragging her too fast, the last 600m. I cheered her over the line and she collapsed in the closest chair which is were we collected her from with the car. Anyway, fact is she made it. She is also very resilient, and bounces back very quickly. She practically ran into the IGA to get her icecream.
Day 7 - The Olgas, Valley of the Winds walk(7.6kms)
We began this walk positively by discussing how much shorter it would be then yesterday. What we didn't mention were the rock climbs, steep descents followed by ascents, water crossings, etc that made up the entire walk. To be fair - this is listed as a difficult walk on the tourist guide and Madi does have balance issues which make walking on loose rocks,etc very challenging. The start of the walk is very windy (could be the reason for the name) and Andy almost lost his hat again. Lucky he had a practice run at Uluru. The walk itself was very enjoyable, beautiful scenery, towering walls, vistas over valleys, trickling waterfalls, waterholes - it had it all. Madi kept it together very well - her second fall was a beauty and we still had 3kms to go but she soldiered on. From that fall on Daddy was assigned protection duty and she didn't fall again and made it all the way back to the car. Saw some tiny lizards on the return trip to the carpark which helped get her over the line and kept all the kids happy.
Tomorrow we plan to do a shorter walk at the Olgas and then start to pack up. Monday we are off to Kings Canyon. I think I prefer the Olgas to Ayers Rock. It stands out all alone in the middle of a quite barren plain but the Olgas are quite spectacular in their own way. Much prettier area, gullies and gorges.
