DAY 1

After being picked up at what seemed an obscenely early hour from Alice Lodge, it was a long drive through a neverending desert before we reached our first destination, Watarrka (Kings Canyon), for a two hour hike.

BELOW LEFT Me at Watarrka

BELOW Everyone pays attention to Dan Falzon, the tour leader/driver

LEFT Formations at Watarrka

Having completed our walk around Watarrka, we move on to a camping ground near Uluru (Ayers Rock), passing another major tabletop rock, seen (RIGHT) in the distance, beyond a desert flourishing

unusually abundantly with vegetation

RIGHT Uluru late afternoon, seen from the viewing point at a camping site near Uluru National Park

BELOW LEFT Sunset over Kata Tjuta (Olgas) and BELOW RIGHT silhouettes of trees