Week 73- Sunday 22nd - Sunday 29th October

Ormiston Gorge, NT

Star Rating:★★★★

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

At Ormiston Gorge we:

• Went straight down to the waterhole as soon as we got there, before spending the rest of the afternoon playing in the rocks and chilling on the sand.

• Decided to do the Ghost Gum walk at sunset, but Jackson started feeling sick so only Dad and I ended up doing it. We saw a cute wallaby drinking in the water and Mum came to meet us at the end so she could still see the sunset.

• Did the 9km Pound Walk but as Jackson was sick Mum stayed back with him again (they still did it though, they went with Dad on the morning we left) so only Dad and I did it. We made it to a lookout for sunrise and a snack before powering it the rest of the way and going for a refreshing morning dip.

• Chilled at the waterhole some more.

• Ate dinner down at the Finke River, we had nachos that I cooked on the back of the car.

• Stayed until five in the afternoon on the day we left, we spent the whole day just chilling at the waterhole.

Playing around in the rocks on the day we got there.👇

The smoke drifting up from a distant fire.

The sunset we saw from the Ghost Gum walk.

The sunrise from atop a lookout on the Pound walk.

Some of the beautiful rocks Dad and I saw on the Pound walk.

Where the gorge starts.

Halfway through the pound walk.

The was some beautiful yellow flowers dotted along the Pound walk.

Sitting and cooling off in the Finke River the night we went and had dinner there.

The beautiful Ormiston Gorge.👇

Swimming in the gorge.

Mt Sonder and Kings Canyon, NT

Star Rating:★★★☆

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

After leaving Ormiston Gorge late in the afternoon we drove to Redbank Gorge. As it was late in the season you couldn’t swim in the gorge (the water had turn all green and manky) but we weren’t there to swim-we were there to hike Mt Sonder, the end of the Larapinta Trail!

In the morning we got up at 4:45am and left for the hike, but we were NOT prepared as we had only dressed on loose, cool clothing. After freezing our butts off for ages the sun started to come up but it wasn’t warming us up as an icy wind was still blowing. We were over halfway to the top but in such cold conditions it felt as though we had only covered 1 km. After lots of toing and froing  we decided to turn back. After making it back to camp we checked our watches and phones- they all said we had covered 7-8 km in the morning, around half of what we had planned to do. As we were still freezing when we got back to camp Jackson and I went back to bed!

After driving for a lot of the day we decided to go and walk Kings Canyon (actually Mum and Dad decided for us). Even though it was very hot it was a picturesque walk. That night we camped at a beautiful free camp 20 minutes out of Kings Canyon.

Views from the Mt Sonder walk.👇

Views from the Kings Canyon walk.👇

Almost getting windswept off one of the bridges on the walk.

Yulara-Uluru, NT

Star Rating:★★★★

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

Over our three days at Uluru we:

• Went and had a look at the Cultural Centre, whilst there we got to taste a curried crocodile pie! It was surprisingly tasty.

• Did the guided Mala walk in the morning, it was very interesting and at the end of it we left the group and completed the Uluru base walk. There was some beautiful views of Uluru from the walk.

• Went to a didgeridoo (actually called a yidaki) workshop. It was very interesting and cool to watch the professionals play.

• Went down to watch the sunset, we bumped into some friends down there. Uluru changed into so many colours!

• Drove to Kata Tjuta and did the Valley of the Winds walk, the rocks were so beautiful and interesting. Mum, Dad and Jackson did another, shorter walk but I stayed back (I had hurt my ankle). I was glad I did because near where I was sitting there was a water bowl where lots and lots of tiny finches were gathering. They were so cute!

• Went to the yidaki (didgeridoo) workshop again.

• Watched the sunset again, this time we had dinner down there.

• Walked to the town centre and painted small wooden animals, they all turned out so well.

• Packed up and left. We went to a beautiful free camp on some sand dunes where we could see both Uluru and Kata Tjuta

Uluru throughout the day.👇

Walking the base.

From afar Uluru looks really smooth but up close it has lots of holes and is bumpy.

One of the beautiful big rocks at Kata Tjuta.

The beautiful sunset over Kata Tjuta.


Some of the gorgeous birds we saw during the week.👇