The most famous landmark in Australia, Uluru. We have seen Uluru all our lives in pictures and on videos but seeing it in person is just amazing. The immensity and enormity of this inselberg is amazing. Kata Tjuta (Olgas – about 60kms away) looked incredible too – brooding lumps like a group of giants squatting – actually Kata Tjuta means ‘many heads’.  The passing clouds danced shapes on the rock. It’s strange that both of these outcrops being close to each other are quite different.

Uluru is one rock but Kata Tjuta is a mass of conglomerate rock. They are quite different.

Staying at Yulara Resort is not for the faint hearted when it comes to money!!! Mike and I both had things that we wanted to do while we were there – cycle around the rock, see the Field of Light display and take a helicopter ride over Uluru – we did these!

On our fist night there we drove out to watch Uluru change colours as the sun set – we joined hundreds of other tourists to watch the marvel of an enormous rock reflect the colours of the sun as it dipped below the horizon. It is one of those bucket lists things you just have to do – but we were spoilt as on this night just after the sunset the full moon rose over Uluru giving us another vista to ooh and ahh at.

Riding around the rock is another must do if you are visiting the rock. The track around the rock is about 14 kms long so being on a bike is a lot easier and faster than walking. You can stop along the way park your bike and have a closer look at anything you wish to.

As all of the places were booked for the night viewing of  Bruce Munro’s Field of Light art installation we had to see the display in the early morning. Another day we couldn’t sleep in!!! At 6:00am we boarded a bus and travelled the 10mins to the Field of Lights.  Bruce Munro has installed similar light displays across the globe but this field of lights is his largest to date. There are 50,000 lights and 350,000 metres of fibre optic cable used in this display.

Words don’t do justice to the magic of the field – imagine a field of iridescent flowers that alter colours as she move through them and then as the sun crests over the horizon the lights take on an ethereal quality – ghost-like and frosty.  Mike had told me we would also get a coffee and a croissant as part of the tour – in reality we got instant coffee in a Styrofoam mug and an Arnott’s biscuit – not happy Jan.

Climbing into a helicopter was a little scary but also exciting.  Being our first time we were trepidatious as we didn’t know what to expect. The experience was awesome! The view was incredible and well worth the expense to see the whole area.