I didn’t sleep too well last night. I think it was a combination of going to bed on a full stomach, and knowing we had to be up early again in the morning. I turned the heater on about 5.45 to start warming the van up, and 6.00 we got up, dressed, boiled some water for green tea in our thermos, put on warm clothes and were on our way.

This morning we drove to the Olgas for sunrise. It was an extra 30 minute drive, but since we arrived at Ayers Rock so early the previous morning, we didn’t need to leave a lot earlier. We got to the sunrise viewing area and walked up the dune – this time a bit more prepared with heat packs in our pockets and warm tea in our thermos’s. It was light when we got there but the sun still hadn’t risen so we got to see some amazing colours of Ayers Rock in the distance, as well as the Olgas. The sun rose next to Ayers Rock which made for some great photos.

We got back to the car around 7.30 – it was 2 degrees. We then completed the drive to the Valley of the Winds car park, which was our first walk for the day. We were the first car to get there (there was a small bus there already though) so we must have been early! We made breakfast (smoked salmon sandwiches) and got water ready for the walk. The whole time we could hear people arrive and by the time we left there were a few bus loads and at least a dozen cars! We then made our way down the walk.

It was aptly named. The wind was strong and cold at this time of the morning. I ended up taking my hat off and using the one in my jacket which was a godsend as there was an area where the wind just chilled you to the bone. It was a beautiful area though and we were presented with amazing views of the Olgas. Once through the really windy areas, and out in the sun, it started to warm up; by the time we completed the walk we had taken a couple of layers off and had them in the back pack. We completed it in just under 3 hours, which was quite good given the estimate was 4-5 hours. There was some tricky terrain, and we were starting to feel it from all the walking we had done.

Back at the car we drove to the sunset lookout nearby which was the only toilet in the Olgas. After relieving ourselves we were both pretty tired so had a sleep for 30 minutes or so, before making lunch and taking our time to enjoy that in this beautiful area. After lunch we drove to the gorge and did that walk – it was a 60 minute walk, and was going to be our last for the trip. So we took in the last of the Olgas and enjoyed the sun, although as we got further in and out of the sun it actually got quite cold and luckily we had brought an extra layer to put on – we could have done with more.

At the end of the gorge there was amazing greenery for such a harsh area. We took a few last photos to remember the trip, and made our way back to the carpark. Then one more stop off at the sunset viewing area to make use of the facilities, I got changed in to shorts as it was quite warm, and we were on the road out of the park.

There was a rest area about 50km along the road that I pulled in to. We saw that it was a 24 hour free camping area, but we wanted to get further away than that so we didn’t stay. However there was a dune there which you could drive up in a 4×4. As we only had a 2 wheel drive van we walked up, and had memories of the Simpson Desert with the red sand. But at the top there was a fantastic view of Ayers Rock – albeit from quite a distance. This was certainly a spot you could enjoy a free camp and see a sunset behind, and sunrise on, Ayers Rock. But we completed the drive to Curtin Springs, seeing Mount Conner not long before arriving.

We drove through the free campground and found a place to camp for the night, and then went for a walk around the place to see what was there. A quaint little shop, simple accommodation and restaurant, all of which we didn’t need. Back at the van we pulled out cheese and salami and crackers and enjoyed them for a while (with a beer and Baileys), and then started getting the car a bit organised for its return. We had a bit of a sleep in the back, and then woke about 5.30 and decided to cook dinner (an AMAZING steak that we had bought in Alice Springs, and had been keeping for tonight) with some coleslaw bought yesterday at Ayers Rock. We watched the sun set on Mount Conner and enjoyed the last rays of sun, but it started to cool down quickly so once dishes were done we were in the van with the curtains closed, and doing our diaries.

We were both pretty tired, and had some great memories of the trip, so were in bed by 8.30. We could hear people arriving long after we were in the van – people driving through, and even coaches stopping in! It would have been great to have been a bit more prepared and had a campfire to stay warm outside but we didn’t have a shovel with us, and since it was so crowded we didn’t have immediate neighbours like we had at Kings Creek, so didn’t feel comfortable just going over to a camp and joining them.