Coober Pedy to Uluru

As we headed out of Cooper Pedy we passed mullock heap after mullock heap and it made us aware of the extent of the mining that is happening here. For about 20 kms out of town the countryside looks like a moonscape.
We faced a long stretch of isolated road with 238 kms without any services but as I have mentioned before the vegetation changes so much that it is not boring. Sometimes you pass a lot of stunted plants with lots of salt bush and all of sudden the bushes become dense and taller. The roads are very straight and you know you are really in the outback.
We stayed at free camp – Agnes Creek rest area – which was on a dry creek bed. We joined up with two other couples around a camp fire. It turned out we has seen these people at two other places and it was great to catch up. A short walk beside the creek bed revealed many bushes in flower. It’s amazing what you discover with a closer look.

Next morning we crossed the Northern Territory border and refuelled at Kulgara where the fuel was $1.85 per litre and we were very low so nearly a $100 to fill up. After another 74kms we turned off onto the Lassiter Highway to our next free camp – a road house and cattle station –Mt Ebenezer. We thought this was free camping but it turned out to be $10 for the night. We didn’t really mind as we were able to have a hot shower. We had some interesting conversations with the people who worked here and most of them were here for a short term only. I could have had a job as a cook for the jackaroos – pity I don’t like cooking!! Our friends where here as well as everyone is heading to Uluru. The clouds came up and the weather looked ominous.
The next day although it wasn’t raining there was a cloud around which wasn’t helpful if we wanted to see a sunset on the rock so we went a short distance to the next free camp and “waited “ there for the clouds to clear and the strong wind to drop. If you walked up onto the red sandhill near our campsite you could see Mt Connor.
This is another monolith with a flat top and it is 3x the size of Uluru but is on private property and is not promoted very much. They just take a few private tours. Climbing up to see the sunset over the rock and sitting overlooking the spinifex there, with no-one around and listening to the sounds of the evening, was an awe inspiring experience.
Voila!! We woke to a beautiful blue sky and a calm day. We rose early so we could get to Uluru and take advantage of the lack of wind. If you have a side or head wind the fuel consumption increases dramatically. As we neared Uluru we caught a glimpse of this huge rock bathed in pinkish tinges of the early morning.
The countryside is dotted with green spinifex flanked by the deep red of the red red soil and also dappled with desert plants which are often grey.
All of a sudden you at Ayers Rock Resort which consists of 6 hotels and a campground, a supermarket, some coffee shops and souvenir shops.