Alice Springs - there and back again

We've just completed the trip from Alice Springs to Uluru and back again, six days in total.

The first sighting of Uluru came around 40kms out, after a false sighting by Dylan and Lukas of Mount Conner along the way. It sounds funny, but it's pretty easy to do: it's on the same highway as Uluru and is a huge rock jutting out from an otherwise flat landscape.

After his slight embarrassment the first time around, Lukas pretended to be unimpressed when the real Uluru appeared, but the rest of us were impressed by its size and excited to be close to such an Australian icon.

The first time Max saw it and I asked what it was he excitedly replied 'a big pile of dirt'. As we watched the sunset over Uluru from the campground evening and I asked again he replied 'Wave Rock' - it must get confusing being such a well-travelled two year old!

The next couple of days were spent driving out to Uluru for a closer sunset experience and doing walks at both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. This gave us a strong appreciation of the different faces, colours, shapes and textures of both landmarks and helped the kids see beyond the classic souvenir shots.

A walk with an Aboriginal ranger was interesting in understanding the spirituality of Uluru but initiated Dylan's first ethical dilemma. He had come with the firm intention of climbing the rock but after listening to the ranger was deeply unsure about whether he was doing the right thing. In the end he decided to touch the rock, walk a few steps up it and sit down for a moment of quiet solitude.

And then there was everything that the resort-style town of Yulara had to offer. Despite being somewhat touristy, the setup was actually really good and with plenty of free activities on offer, all within walking distance of our campground, we jumped at the opportunity to do as much as we could.

The big boys threw spears and boomerangs, tried playing the didgeridoo and jumped on stage with the Aboriginal dancers.

Evie loved watching the Aboriginal women paint and was really excited to do a dot-painting workshop where each of the kids painted their own 'story' using elements of Aboriginal symbolism.

A night-time astronomy tour was the perfect way to see the outback stars and some of the planets through telescopes.

The trip back to Alice Springs included a side trip to Kings Canyon, definitely worth the extra few hundred kilometres. Opting against the famous rim walk, which takes three hours, we embarked on the less arduous two kilometre walk at the bottom of the canyon. It involved a meander up a dry stone river bed dotted with stunning river red gums, towered over by vibrantly red cliffs. For me, this was one of the best walks of our whole journey.

So a lovely trip down into the red centre. And it's red, definitely red. In fact, I think I am now officially over the red sand. It's beautiful and it's iconic but it also stains clothes and shoes and prams and bodies and motorhomes. Luckily the beauty along the way was worth it!