Farewell To Uluru and the Northern Territory

Yesterday morning (Thursday) and we were up bright and early to catch the sunrise.  It is always a good thing when the day starts with the sun rising (how cold and dark would it be if it didn't happen) but as we were in close proximity to Uluru we had to go and watch the Rock change colour.  Not only was it still dark when we arrived at the sunrise viewing area it was also very cold - The Deckie even managed to find one of The Captain's beanies to try and stave off the cold!!

We found a good position - not too many other people around - and waited.  Then, about 30 minutes before sunrise, there must have been twenty coaches pull up and disgorge full loads of people.  We couldn't move too far away from our positions otherwise we would not have been able to get back to them.

The Buses and Some of the Crowd

The sunrise was okay (nothing spectacular) and, unfortunately, the colour changes on the Rock was about the same - nice, but..........

The Sun Finally Rising!

Early Shadows On Uluru

The Olgas Rising From The Mists

After thawing out with a nice cup of coffee, we headed back to the Caravan Park to pack up and head out towards the Stuart Highway.  About half way  between Yulara (Ayers Rock Township) and Erldunda we stopped to view another large rock - Mount Conner.  Apparently, a lot of people think they have spotted Uluru when they come across this rock particularly if they haven't been there before.

The Turtle and Mount Conner

We spent another night at a free camp not far from Mount Conner where The Captain cooked up another delicious meal in the camp oven - Lamb Shanks and Baked Potatoes.  The Deckie is very, very spoilt!!!

This morning (Friday) we headed into Erldunda - another long day driving - it took us one and a half hours!!!  There was a lot of washing to be done as well as some general maintenance on The Turtle and Tuf Cat's trailer before we head into South Australia tomorrow (Saturday) morning.

Team Turtle's next major stop will be Cooper Pedy, but we are not real sure whether it will take us two or three days to get there - just depends!!!