I was picked up from my hostel just before 6am by Wayoutback tours, who use 12 seater four wheel drive vehicles for the journey into the outback. I definitely chose a good day to go as only four others started the tour in Alice Springs with another two joining in Uluru, so it would be a particularly personalised tour.

Uluru is a 450km drive from Alice Springs. Along the way we stopped briefly at a camel farm. Camels are not native animals but were introduced in the 19th century for expeditions across central Australia. There are now around a million of them which is endangering other native species because of the amount of water they drink. We also stopped off at the Mt Ebenezer Roadhouse where a large collection of aboriginal art was on display.

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When we arrived at Uluru we went to the campsite where we would be staying tonight. Although there is a resort nearby, our area consisted of a small hut for cooking, eating and washing up, and a patch of red sand where we could sleep. After making some sandwiches for lunch we had time for a quick swim in the resort pool – by now the temperature was above 40°c! We then drove for another 30 minutes to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. This is the site of Uluru itself (also known as Ayers Rock) – a large expanse of rock standing around 350 metres tall in the middle of the desert. It is unique because, other than its size, it is more or less flat on top with very steep sides. It is also of particular significance to the Anangu people – the aborigines who live here.

We visited the cultural centre which explains something about the way aborigines used to live. The tensions caused by western invasion of their land are clear, although many compromises have been made and the site is joint managed between the aboriginal elders and the state government. After driving further inside the park we reached the base of the rock. Visitors are given the choice of climbing up to the top or doing a base walk around it – nearly 11km total. While the aborigines seem to welcome visitors wishing to learn about their culture, they strongly discourage people from climbing their spiritual site. However there is no law against it and unfortunately many do. We did a shortened base walk – the temperature was 44°c and far too hot to attempt the whole distance. Our guide (Belinda) explained the significance of some of the areas we walked through. I then went on a small optional tour led by an aboriginal guide speaking through a translator. He showed us drawings inside caves where children would be taught, explained how they would hunt and find water, and told a couple of the ‘dreamtime’ stories. These stories explain how the land (with which they have an inseparable relationship) was formed and include their moral code. They believe that the rock was created by the spirits of their ancestors, and can explain many of its features in this way. The stories are usually passed between grandparents and grandchildren to maximise the information transfer. The translator also demonstrated how they make food and medicine from the surrounding plants. Only small westernised aboriginal settlements still exist and the true culture (which is at least 40,000 years old) has essentially been lost over the last few centuries.

Just before sunset we drove back to the campsite and walked to a nearby lookout. Uluru is said to have many different ‘moods’ as it changes colour with the weather and time of day. At sunset it is supposed to turn red but in reality this only happens a handful of purchase viagra in australia times each year, and we weren’t the lucky ones! The sunset itself was very picturesque though. Meanwhile Belinda prepared dinner back at camp which we ate by candlelight. She then showed us how to make up a swag – the authentic Australian way of sleeping in the bush. It’s a bit like a strong outer sleeping bag and does not cover your head so we literally fell asleep under the thousands of stars which was an amazing experience. Even at night-time it is still very hot though – I drank over 5 litres of water today!

Tomorrow is an even earlier start so we can be at the lookout by sunrise!