2026 - Winter Escape to QLD

Fri 31 Jul  26 - Yulara 5, apparent 0 Degrees reaching almost 19 Deg, clear with light easterly winds Our last day at Yulara today, we probably could have stayed one less day, but it was nice to have a quiet day and tick off a few more things without rushing. After a bit of a sleep in, we went over to the town square for morning coffee, then I left Noel and Olli back at the van and drove into national park for a visit to the Uluru Cultural Centre. On the way in, I stopped briefly at  the sand dune sunset viewing park set aside for coaches, to take a few  more photos of the Rock - it was nice being here by myself  (before 4pm in a car is fine) . On to the Cultural Centre I continued, then after a  wander around on my way back to the van, I stopped at the camel farm. Back at the van, Noel then climbed into the drivers seat, and headed out for a visit to the camel farm too, while I looked after Olli and started preparing for our departure tomorrow. Mid afternoon, w...

Thu 30 Jul  26 - Yulara 5 Deg feeling like 2, reaching a modest 17 Deg, clear with fresh easterly winds. I set of this morning at 06:40 for a 35km drive to the Kata Tjuta desert viewing platform to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately, I was about 20 minutes late for the golden hour light, and but I still managed to grab a few good snaps. From there I drove another 18km to the Valley of the Winds walk carpark at Kata Tjuta, where I found myself to be the first visitor in the carpark (which was full by the time I left about 3 hours later). My excitement didn't last long as a bus load of asian tourists arrived shortly after, and any sense of peace and tranquility quickly disappeared. The full circuit of Valleys of the Winds is steep, rocky and rugged with two main lookouts, and 8km took just under 3 hours (but that included lots of photo stops). It's also quite appropriately named, as the wind seemed so much stronger, and colder, through the gorges. It would have been so much more en...