What another fabulous day in The Red Centre with two big ticks off the bucket list.

The whole family piled into the car to drive out to Uluru. Katie and I were dropped off at Mala Carpark so we could do the Base Walk. Pa took the kids back to Yulara where they went to the supermarket to stock up on supplies and lazed around camp for the morning while Katie and I walked.

It was a beautiful morning and there were lots of walkers and cyclists. We even passed a Segway tour. We managed to walk the 10.6km all the way around in 2 1/2 hours with a stop half way around for a short rest. We made it back to the Mala Car Park and enjoyed a half hour rest waiting for the family to come and collect us. We ate our packed lunch while we waited and enjoyed just sitting taking it all in.

Walking around the rock was a bucket list item for both of us and we achieved it in good time. It was a most enjoyable walk.

In the afternoon Richard and Katie had a helicopter tour booked and they were picked up from the Campground by pilot Jay. While they were off having an adventure I took Ben and Maddie to the pool. Even though it is not heated they wanted to go anyway. We got to the pool, they stripped off their clothes and Ben approached the edge. Brrr, it looked cold. There was a dad and his little girl on the other side of the pool however she wasnt getting in. I did think it was because it was too cold.

Ben took a flying leap and jumped in. He immediately got out yelling ‘it’s freezing’. Ben and Maddie spent the next hour getting in and out of the very cold pool. The little girl on the other side of the pool, also called Maddi, plucked up the courage to get in up to her thighs but that was it.

Personally, I thought they were all a little mad. You won’t get me in the water unless its hot!

Richard and Katie came back from their helicopter flight over Uluru and Kata Tjuta with big smiles. Jay Crawford was their pilot and they declared he was an excellent pilot with a wealth of knowledge that he was happy to share while they were flying over these amazing places.

Jay was also very caring when one of them suffered from motion sickness and he took the helicopter higher up to smoother air. The whole flight was a memorable experience made even better by the pilot’s great, caring attitude. We gave him a great review on Trip Adviser and Facebook and we recommend Ayers Rock Helicopters.

One thing they learned whilst up in the air was that Kata Tjuta, Uluru and Mt Connor are all in a line, only some 2 degrees off being in a straight line. Uluru itself is 3.5km long and 2.5km wide and the body of the rock goes underground for some 15km. It is HUGE!

Kata Tjuta covers an area some 25km long and is made up of huge sandstone rocks. These are slowly being eroded over time. We will be checking out Kata Tjuta on a day trip tomorrow.

Katie hadn’t been in a helicopter before so it was a big tick off the bucket list for her. Check out the pics!