Thierings on Tour

Today was the day all of us have been eagerly anticipating and we got up early to have a big breakfast before our big day of exploring Uluru.

Unfortunately the kids’ bubble burst early when I received a notification to say that our bike hire would not be going ahead because of the track being unsuitable for bikes due to recent rain. Izzy took the news really hard, but we tried to convince her that she would be able to walk it and that it would still be magical!

To soften the blow we stopped off for a coffee fuel up and babycinos for the girls to get them through the day. By the time we arrived, a free guided walk was starting and we tagged along to listen to James, a local Aboriginal guide and young Emerson who is training to be a guide and ranger, tell stories of his experiences and knowledge around Uluru.

The thing you notice first and foremost when you arrive at Uluru is that it is so much more than “just a monolith”. The scale, size, prominence and colours are incredible and you can’t help but think that there is more than just geology at play here. It makes sense why it is such a sacred place to so many local communities.

It was incredible to get James’ perspective of the significance of Uluru, learn the importance of knowledge, culture and language sharing at some of the sites around Uluru and how we can all contribute to sharing what we’ve learned as we travel beyond the boundaries of this land.

There were some amazing caves that we got to see and hear about James’ family’s experience. The girls particularly loved the story about James’ mum and aunty turning up at school dressed in clothes whereas all the other kids there were naked and how they were asked to go home and get naked before returning to school to learn. That set off a few bewildered giggles amongst our girls…

Once the tour was finished we set off on our hike around the base of Uluru and I must say, everyone did extremely well! The girls walked the whole time without too much mention of how tired or hungry they might be. Luckily we had all the snacks anyway, but to maintain motivation at certain parts of the walk we also had to bust out some tunes!

We all couldn’t believe how much Uluru changes depending on which side you are walking on, what the sunlight is doing and just how much variety there is in the landscape around Uluru. It was incredible! Chris and I have visited before, but I’ll say that it was just as magical the second time around…

It was fascinating to learn about some of the Dreamtime stories and to visit some of the sacred and connected siges. The girls also loved identifying different animals in the rock faces and exploring the ever changing geology of Uluru. Jazzy’s favourite part was the “wave” that she enjoyed surfing.

The sacred parts are always well away from the paths and also don’t allow any photos, which we respected and will keep those in our minds instead.

Before we knew it, we had hiked the entire 10kms and it was time to get some ice cream and lunch. We explored the cultural area and centre, learning more and admiring the artwork around the place.

Izzy and Jazzy loved the novelty of a phone booth and calling their uncle Alex for free from it. The simple pleasures in life 😂

Back at camp everyone was exhausted, but we agreed that we had earned a nice dinner since we walked rather than biked it.

To our amazement, the girls were on their best behaviour (this whole trip I reckon), kept busy colouring in and eating their own delicious dinner that Chris and I actually got to enjoy dinner with a couple of drinks and dessert. It was a miracle! Scarly loved the dessert so much, she licked the plate. She’s become such a wild child 🤭

What a beautiful way to end the day…

Kms travelled – 46