Ayers Rock (Uluru) is located near the center of Australia. The massive erosional remnant of sandstone and conglomerate rises dramatically from the surrounding landscape. There are no lodgings within the national park, so we stayed at a campground a few kms away.
We.took a short guided walk along the Mala trail with an aboriginal guide who told us many stories. We saw a rock art site, a small pool of water with tadpoles, and surprisingly lots of trees near the base.
There were a lot of free activities, including aboriginal films (which we availed ourselves of in the heat of several afternoons), a presentation on bush foods, and stories of hunting and gathering showcasing the tools used ,
The other red rocks in the area are the Olgas, or Kata Juta. We took a walk through the valley of the winds. The trail led us through narrow gorges in between the rounded domes. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures along much of the track due to sensitive nature of sacred aboriginal sites still in use today.
We were able to photograph many of the beautiful and interesting plants along the way.
A shorter walk up Wapa Gorge afforded more photography opportunities.
On our way back we were lucky to see a perentie, the largest lizard in the region. This one was about 5 feet long.
We also took in the sunset, a popular activity.
From here we head north to the western Macdonald range…
Ginger and Ed's Excellent Adventures 
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