Day 5: Kata Tjuta

After a quite relaxing and refreshing night in the resort, we were full of energy to walk around Kata Tjuta (the Olgas). The number of walks around the rocks has been reduced over the years from 12 to just 2. This is to allow the local aboriginal people to use the area for ceremonies and to protect sacred sites in the area from damage. The walks that remain are the Valley of the Winds, and the Walpa Gorge walk. We managed to get around both in the day we spent around the Olgas.
The Valley of the Winds lived up to its name: the walk starts by going through a narrow gorge into the centre of the rock domes, and the wind gets focused through here quite dramatically. There are 36 distinct rock domes that make up Kata Tjuta, and they make up a rough semi-circle, with a few in the middle. Once inside away from the wind, the scenery changes quite dramatically, from the dry, arid rocky conditions through the gorge, into a beautiful green oasis, with flowing water, hundreds of birds and plentiful wildlife, including the largest tadpoles we have ever seen! The cool shade from the many large trees provided us with a perfect place to have our picnic lunch. The walk takes about 3.5 hours, and it was amazing to see the different conditions as we walked around the circular route, which goes around the base of one of the large rock domes in the centre of the group. The trail took us up the side of one rock face, past a secluded waterhole where we saw a falcon being attacked by a family of crows. We saw the same falcon a bit later, having a drink from a stream running over the rock face, and managed to get some great shots of it.
After climbing up the steep rock face, the walk continued down through another steep-walled valley, with many birds nests clinging to crevices and caves in the rock faces. After this, it was a fairly easy circuit around back through the domes, and back to the start. We were both surprised with how green and fertile the area was - a stark contrast the surrounding area. It was clear why the area was a special place for the aboriginal people.
Walpa Gorge is a short walk up into a very deep gorge, with some amazing caves in the side of the sheer rock walls. Thankfully the sun was coming down, so most of the way we were in shade - a welcome change to the sun and heat of the previous long walk. After that, we settled into our chairs at the sunset lookout with a glass of wine, and watched the amazing changes that happen to the colour of the rock as the sun goes down.
It had been an amazing day amongst the majestic rock domes, and as we retired to the comfort of a swim at the resort pool, we were looking forward to the next day, when we would finally see Uluru up close.