This one has taken me awhile, but I have finally managed to get this post finished from our top bucket list trip to see Ayers Rock. My family and I went on our first trip to Australia a couple of months ago. We first visited Sydney and then flew to Uluru about a week later. I had received a postcard from a friend when I was a teenager from her trip to Ayers Rock and I have always wanted to see it in person since then. The trip did not disappoint and was certainly worth the over 20 year wait! Here are some of our photos from our adventure to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park:
It was so exciting to see our first view of Ayers Rock from the window of the plane as we were flying from Sydney to the Ayers Rock airport.
This is another stunning view of Ayers Rock from the plane. I remember thinking that it looked so surreal seeing this big red rock sticking up out of the earth all by itself!
We had to start our first morning at Uluru way too early for the sunrise and guided base walk tour we booked through AAT Kings! Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a night owl and not an early bird!! I promise you that it was all worth it in the end though!
This is one of my favorite shots from our visit to Uluru. It was so peaceful watching the changing shadows and lights displayed on this massive rock while the sun rose right in front of our eyes! Truly a must see once in your lifetime!
This shot is a view of the left side of Ayers Rock with a view of Kata Tjuta in the background during the sunrise. It is surprising how small Kata Tjuta looks in this image!
After the sunrise, we walked down from the viewing platform to the closer viewing area on the ground and had a nice lady take this photo of us.
We then returned back on the tour bus and headed to the base of Ayers Rock and started the tour with our guide on the Mala Walk. In this shot, you can see that there actually is a heart on the “Heart of Australia”! ❤️
This shot is of some of the Aboriginal rock art we saw during the Mala Walk. It was pretty exciting to see it in person! There were several black spots on the top of the cave which was probably from the fires they had burning on the ground. It was pretty exciting to see this art work in person!
This was the stunning watering hole at Kantju Gorge. The heart was also to the right of this view.
This was a license plate of one of the tour vehicles while we stayed in the Outback.
We decided to rent our own car for the drive over to see Kata Tjuta (the Olgas). There are 36 domes which form Kata Tjuta. Mount Olga is actually some 200 meters taller than Uluru! We were a little nervous at first as my husband would have to drive on the other side of the road for the first time. Last summer, we hit a tree trying to park the RV we rented in Florida and that cost us $1000 in damages! Yikes!! It was a pretty quick drive over, so luckily all ended up being fine this time. It was a very hot day and the flies were a bit much, (tip: definitely buy one of those silly nets that cover your head… we really wished we had) but we still managed to have a nice hike!
This is a shot of Ayers Rock from our rental car during the beginning of our ride over to Kata Kjuta!
This is a shot of me at the viewing platform for Kata Tjuta. It was a beautiful sight and much different from Uluru!
This is how small Ayers Rock looks from the Kata Tjuta Viewing Platform.
This was some type of lizard we spotted while walking up to the Kata Kjuta viewing platform.
This was towards the beginning of the hike up to Kata Kjuta.
Mia and I at a stop along the hike up at Kata Kjuta. We definitely had to stop a couple of times because of the heat for some water!
A close up shot of these massive rock formations. Photos can never do it justice. You really need to see them in person to truly experience the awe of these stunning formations!
Danny having to drive on the other side of the road and on the right side of the vehicle for the fist time! It was pretty strange, but he did great!!
This was the 4×4 we rented for the trip to Kata Tjuta! It was a fun experience for us!
The highlight of our trip was definitely the opening night of Field of Light by Bruce Munro. We purchased tickets well in advance for the Sounds of Silence event which included a dinner under the stars overlooking the stunning Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park with access to the Field of Light art installation after the yummy 3-course bush tucker inspired buffet. The experience even began with canapés, Australian wine and beer along with local dancers and a funky sounding didgeridoo being played! What an experience we will never forget and what a surprise to get to actually meet the artist, Bruce Munro as he was at the dinner along with his family for the opening night!
A local dance performance at the beginning of the Sounds of Silence event.
We were able to experience a really cool local performance at the Sounds of Silence opening night!
It was pretty amazing to enjoy a glass of wine and hear the funky sounds coming from this didgeridoo while looking at Ayers Rock in the background. What a truly unique Australian Outback experience it was for us!
Danny and I with Bruce Munro, the internationally – acclaimed artist behind the Field of Light installation. We enjoyed chatting with him for a bit on the walk to the dinner area and hope to get the chance to see another one of his installations in the future. A big thank you to Mary from for taking this photo for us. She was a very sweet lady from Brussels who sat with us at dinner.
Mia and I at the entrance into the stunning Field of Light installation.
The Field of Light installation has over 50,000 frosted-glass spheres on display until March 31, 2017! It is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see if you can!
My family and I really enjoyed the experience of getting to stroll through the winding pathways of the Field of Light Installation. There was something truly inspiring while walking amongst the thousands of lights and under the milky way in the Outback night sky.
Danny and Mia in front of the Field of Light display. I think we all could have happily spent all evening strolling through the display! I wish we could have just laid down on the ground and spent the whole night there in the middle of the lights under the stars!
The surreal sight we saw of the Field of Light display in front of Ayers Rock at the end of our walk through the display. It will literally give you chills and is an out of this world feeling to see it in person. We truly felt that we were on another planet and I really tried to soak the sight all in for as long as I could! We will never forget this truly amazing experience and will be forever grateful to have had the opportunity to finally make it to the Outback of Australia!
The end of our adventure to the Outback of Australia. This was one of the smallest airports we have ever had to land at. The plane had to use the same runway we landed on to turn around on to get to the gate!
We can now mark another Red Pin Adventure off our travel bucket list: Visit the Outback in Australia (See the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park)
Here is the link to my post from our trip to Sydney: Our Australian Adventure: Sydney
For more information about the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, please visit: Uluru-Kata Tjuta
For more information on the Ayers Rock Resort where we stayed, please visit: Ayers Rock Resort
For more information on the tour group we booked with, please visit: AAT Kings
For more information about the Sounds of Silence (April 1, 2016 – March 31, 2017), please visit: Field of Light
For more information about the internationally – acclaimed artist behind the Field of Light installation, please visit: Bruce Munro
Red Pin Adventures 
What a great adventure. My husband is also very nervous about driving on the left side of the road. When in Ireland we always take public transit or rely on the relatives to get us around. Maybe for a trip like yours we might muster up enough courage to rent a car.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Mama Cormier! Yes, it was a great location to try it for the first time as there were hardly any other cars around. The hardest part was at the turns and wanting to go into the other lane! I hope you both can try it out one day… it was definitely a fun adventure!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I want to visit Uluru once too… gorgeous pics!
LikeLike
Thank you! How is the weather in Finland? I have joined a crochet club here and really wished that I had known how to crochet when we lived in Finland. It would have been a great way to get through the long dark winter there! I will check out your info on New Zealand on your blog soon as we have it on our list!
LikeLiked by 1 person
We had a couple of weeks autumn already so we had a fright but now the weather has turned sunny again. For Finnish standards the summer has been long, great change from the previous summer…
Cool, crocheting is fun and really great on winter evenings (in NZ winter too…)
LikeLike
Super-stunning!
LikeLiked by 1 person