Desert Storm

This morning the alarm woke us at 4.15.  This is starting to become a habit.  Today we were trekking the Valley of the Winds Walk at Kata Tjuta.

This time we were one of the first cars at the National Park gates, just before they opened at 5am.  From here it's a 40 km drive to the start of the Valley of the Winds Walk.  Much to Rob and Bruce’s dismay, we listened to Patsy Biscoe’s Christmas album the whole way there!

 

Before the sun had peeked over the horizon, Fletch had taken his first tumble.  Possibly because he was still half asleep!  It was all too much for him, however, and into the ‘pakpak’ he got.

Kata Tjuta sunrise

The name Kata Tjuta (the Aboriginal name for the Olgas) translates as many heads.  Kata Tjuta consists of 36 domes, although they are thought to have once been one massive monolith.  The highest dome rises 546 metres above the plain.  (That's 198 metres higher than Uluru.)

Classic Kata Tjuta

After a short rest in the shade and some sustenance, Fletch got his second wind and decided to walk on his legs again. 

We’d made it almost to the Karingana lookout when he managed to dislodge a large rock from its cemented step.  Said rock proceeded to pin his leg underneath it.  There was much screaming as we all tried to work out what the problem was.  I took the weight of this ridiculously heavy bit of sandstone and called for Bruce to come and pull Fletcher from the rubble.  In the meantime, Jarrah, with great concern for his screaming little brother, found some superhuman strength and pushed the rock off Fletcher, to roll down the hill and straight onto my hand, leg and foot. 

Ouch.

 



The culprit!

 

And to make matters worse I cracked my brand new water bottle!!  But I soldiered on.  Now oozing blood AND water.



 Karingana Lookout

At the end of the 7.4 km walk it was hot and we were all beat.  Despite this, Rob suggested that we complete the nearby Walpa Gorge Walk and much to the boys’ dismay, we agreed.  At just 2.6 kms, this final walk would be a breeze for such a seasoned bunch of intrepid explorers.

The Walpa walk was another amazing spectacle of sheer cliffs and dazzling colour.

 But by mid morning it was getting pretty hot. 

 And windy.

 

It was late in the morning by the time we completed our second walk of the day.  We were all proud to have trekked more than 20 kms in the past two days but I think we were all equally pleased that the trekking was done and we could now truly relax.
We headed to the Cultural Centre for some air conditioning and some, well, culture.  The Cultural Centre, situated in the shadow of Uluru, is a free form structure built from locally made mud bricks.  The design was based on two ancestral snakes from Tjukurpa - Kuniya (python woman) and Liru (poisonous snake man). 

We checked out the displays, artwork and videos showcasing this twice World Heritage listed region.  Sadly, Fletch fell asleep on the floor of the movie theatre and missed out on an ice cream from Uncle Rob!

Back at camp it was too hot for a nap, so after lunch Ang, Rob and I fought through the pain of our aching muscles and headed into the township to check out the Mani-Mani theatre.  The theatre was great, combining film and live theatre with unique 3D effects and sound to recreate the dreamtime story of the Walawaru (wedge tailed eagle), the Kakalyalya (crow) and the Kaanka (cockatoo).

It was cool and dark in the theatre, all three of us sheepishly admitting later that we might have had a long blink or two during the performance.

We spent some time enjoying the air conditioning while wandering through the Wintjiri Arts & Museum.   The Indigenous art gallery exhibits local work and the retail area sells local Anangu products such as jewellery, bush medicine and foods.  The museum provided comprehensive detail and statistics on the history and geology of the Rock.  

Bruce and the boys, having recovered somewhat from the morning’s events, rode their bikes in to Yulara to meet us at the Sails in the Desert swimming pool.

As guests of the Ayers Rock Resort Campground, we are entitled to use all the facilities within the resort, including all restaurants, bars and all four swimming pools.  Up until this point we had spent all of our pool time at the campground pool, so the Sails in the Desert Hotel pool was a pleasant change.  After a long leisurely swim we enjoyed a cold drink at the sun-kissed pool side bar while the boys played Marco Polo and irritated the highly strung resort guests.

We picked up a few final groceries from the IGA (mostly to replace the items that were stolen) and headed back to camp late in the day.  We’d almost finished writing diaries with the kids when German popped in to say "goodbye" as he was moving on.  

He stayed for a Christmas drink and together we watched a dust storm brewing in the distance.  The BOM had been forecasting storms for the past few days, but nothing had eventuated.  We anticipated this, too, would fizzle out, and downplayed German’s concerns about the strength and sturdiness of our Christmas gazebos.

Rob went up to the nearby Naninga Lookout to secure a local weather report, but came back unconcerned, suggesting we all charge our glasses and head back up to the viewing platform to watch the two dust storms roll in.

Then the storm hit.

The sudden winds were insane and the dust thick.

 

Our gazebo legs snapped like toothpicks and the frame crumbled.

 

It was all we could do to hang on to Ang & Rob’s gazebo (which was attached to ours) in the hope that they both didn’t fly away.

 

 

Our toilet tent was ripped and laid in pieces on the floor and there was a few moments of panic when we thought Jack had been in there when the storm struck.  (We found him later huddled in the main toilet block, where he’d had his head between his knees, battling his own dust storm from inside the cubicle!)

Amidst the roar of the wind and the stinging sand whipping across our bodies, there we were – Ang, Rob, Bruce, German and I – each holding a part of the gazebo in one hand and a cold drink in the other, laughing fit to burst!  It was the craziest thing ever!!! 



The storm ended as quickly as it had begun, but the laughter lingered on.  I think we all somehow felt bonded by sharing this crazy, scary, destructive, funny experience together.  



 The storm made for a great sunset over Kata Tjuta

After cleaning up the mess and collecting some of our belongings from more than a kilometre away,
we settled down to our Christmas Eve dinner.

In the laundry.

The campground laundry was dry and protected from the wind.   Here we cooked our pizza, hot dogs and vegie patties and watched the electrical storm which was now passing over the campground.

 

We shared some Christmas cheer with a few other bedraggled travellers whose camp had also been battered by the storm, and finished this most memorable Christmas Eve with a Baileys and a few games of Uno.

Bruce and the boys were soon fast asleep.  Tired and weary, I tried my hardest to stay up long enough to let the big guy in to safely deliver this year's haul of presents.  Alas, I fell asleep at the table.    When I awoke in the wee small hours there was still no sign of him and my concern for his safety in this inclement weather heightened.  Hoping for the best, I left the caravan door open and fell into bed.