Aborigines’ sacred rock Uluru was one of the places I wanted to see.. Uluru, located in the area called Red Center, 450 km from Alice Springs, the town in the heart of Australia, where we are staying, deserves a grueling but beautiful journey.
I got up early in the morning and got ready.. At about 8 o’clock, Benjamin, the Australian with whom we were renting a car, arrived, we met.. I made the car rental process online with an intermediary company.. This intermediary company used to rent the cars of known car rental companies, both cheaper and with unlimited kilometers, but you can pick up the car after 12:00.. There is a daily limit of 100 km for the vehicles rented here and an additional fee of $0.28 is charged for each extra kilometer.. Thanks to this company, we have the option of unlimited km.
I went to the budget car rental company at 12 o’clock, paid 225AU$ for 2 days and bought the Toyota Yaris.. We paid AU$75 per person for our two-day trip.. Laurie from New Zealand and Benjamin of Australia set off for Uluru, Outback Australia, called the Red Center, 450 km away.
After a two-hour drive, we refueled in Erlunda.. Those coming from the direction of Adelaide get off at this junction, some hitchhike, some agree on the price and join those who rent a car like us.. We met a couple here who wanted to join us. However, since the vehicle is small and they have backpacks, we could not accept them.. My bus also made a stop here on the way from Adelaide to Alice Springs.
In these deserts, it is recommended that your fuel tank is almost always full.. There are hardly any bends on the road and we drive straight, following a magnificent view in harmony with the white clouds in the sky, the green trees and the red earth.. Although I drove quite fast at first, I had to slow down after 3:30.. You can often see kangaroos crushed by vehicles on the roadside.. Wild camels living in the desert in this region are also dangerous for vehicles.. We stopped at the Mount Conner viewing point, which is older than Uluru and Kata Tjuta and is often confused with them.. Since it is on a private land, it can only be visited with private tours.
We arrived at Yulara, where Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is the entrance, before sunset at around 5 am.. After paying the three-day visit fee of $25 per person at the entrance to the national park, we were finally inside the park and soon Uluru was in front of us in all its glory and red. he filled the parking lot and was excitedly watching the sacred rock of the aborigines, which offers a fascinating view under the red light.
Uluru can take on different colors depending on the angle and time of daylight; colors turning from gray to brown and finally black. These hours, at sunset, show a magnificent view as it takes on the reddest color possible.
The desert soil covered with shrubs and plants is green, the sky is blue, and the sacred rock Uluru between the two is crimson.. After taking a break and mingling with the crowd for a while, watching this magical scene and taking pictures, we jumped back into our car, drew a circle using the road around the rock, and came to the parking lot right at the bottom of the rock.. This majestic rock in front of you makes you feel as if you are asleep but alive.. That bright red color was gone, replaced by a brownish color.
We left before it got dark.. First, we went back to Yulara and learned the fees of the camping area.. We threw ourselves out of the national park as we had no intention of paying the $17 per person fee.. Since it is forbidden to stay outside of these paid places or hostels and hotels within the borders of the park, we found a campground in the bushes just outside the camp.. We set up our tents. After the sun went down, the air began to cool quickly.. We scattered around and gathered dry tree branches and lit our fire.
I think the last time I camped was in 2004, in Bozdağ, İzmir, in a tent we set up on the snow at -10°C.. Camping in the cold was difficult for me as a heat lover, but this place is different.. The air temperature, which is around 20 degrees during the day, is around 5 degrees when we camp.
We cooked the potatoes and onions we bought from the market on our campfire and ate them with spices and bread.. After adding water to the can and drinking our coffee with us and chatting a lot, I went to my tent around 10 am. It’s cold, really cold. Myself. Laurie will sleep in the car, while Benjamin is already snoring in his tent.
If we can wake up early in the morning, we intend to watch it at sunrise at Uluru.. Tomorrow will be a long and tiring day for me.
Day 322: Australia:67. Uluru, 21 June 2011
