Uluru has been high on my list of places to explore and 5 years after starting my adventure across Australia, I’ve finally made it to the centre.

We spent a night at the Yulara Campground where the facilities were fantastic. There were people of all ages and backgrounds there and the atmosphere was great.

Waking up up at 5:30 we headed off to meet the sunrise at Uluru. Arriving before the tour busses, we had the chance to enjoy the stillness of central Australia.

The sunrise started as a dud with clouds blocking the light. By 6:45, all the tour busses had left. We were glad we had driven, not having an itinerary meant we could hang around till the light changed and boy was it worth it!

Photo Tip: If you’re looking to take a photo, the best spot isn’t from the viewing platform, it’s actually on the bottom pathway. I’ll post a map soon!

After the sunrise, we checked out the cultural centre. Seeing the rock is one thing, learning about the land and the people on it was even more fascinating. It’s incredible to think that people survived in such an arid climate.

With a little more knowledge packed in, we drove to the base of Uluru, determined to walk around it. An 11km walk with a gazetted walking time of 3.5 hours. The four of us (at various levels of fitness) did it in 3 hours.

The climb to the top was closed due to the high wind that day. It didn’t bother us, we’d already committed to not climbing the rock, based on the wishes of the traditional land owners.

Almost walked out, we headed to the Tata Tjuta’s to check out the valley of the winds. 6km of hiking though rocky country. The view at the end? Incredible! Definitely worth the trek!

After a few photos from the two lookouts (sunset platform/dune lookout), we started on the long drive to our next camp. We pulled up at a rest stop 2 hours from Alice Springs at 10pm.

A serving of tinned soup and we were out like lights.