It was a lazy start today and we didn’t go down to breakfast till almost 9. There was crisis in the resort with no internet, phone or any digital services. It was particularly distressing for passengers to Sydney whose flight had been cancelled by Qantas with no way for them to get in touch with the airline.

We did two lots of dot painting classes today. The little ones painted Australian animals while Bron and her mum did a larger canvas. There is quite a skill in making the colours match but also spacing the dots correctly so they line up and fit the space perfectly. All the traditional paintings gave a meaning and tell a story.

After lunch we drove out to the Olga’s. There are 36 domes, or rock formations, that make up Kata Tjuṯa / Mount Olga over an area of almost 22 square km. The highest dome, Mount Olga, is 1,066 m above sea level, or approximately 546 m above the discs, making it higher than Uluru. The name, The Olgas, were named in honour of Queen Olga of Württemberg (born Grand Duchess Olga of Russia, daughter of Tsar Nicholas I). The “ranges” are truly spectacular and it’s hard to take photos that showcase the sheer size and grandeur of them.

The highlight of the day was taking a camel tour to watch the sunset over Uluru. The kids were a bit nervous at the start but quickly got used to the rollicking ride. Thomas particularly enjoyed it when we went downhill and he mused that it seemed like the camel was dancing (waltzing). We had a guide who walked alongside and shared stories about the camels, their history in Australia and about the local flora and fauna. Surprisingly they don’t breed camels and just capture them from the wild and train them. The highlight for the kids was when one of the camels sneezed on Mama.

Dinner was interrupted by a region wide power outage which delayed the meals being made. Los of power meant that all half prepared meals had to be thrown away and restarted when power was restored.