Road Trip!
What are the Olgas? It sounds like a gang of Ukrainian housewives.
They are however a geological marvel in the center of Australia just down the road from magnificent Uluru. 50km down the road to be exact and about a 45 minute drive.
Now just to confuse you, as with Uluru (Ayers Rock) The Olgas also has two names: The Olgas and Kata Tjuta.
They are interchangeable and you will see and hear both in usage. Kata Tjuta is the aboriginal name and sounds kinda cool. (The T is silent in Tjuta)
The Olgas are fantastic and most people often say they think they are more magical than Uluru itself.
There is a great walk here called the Valley of the Winds. It is a circuit which is my favourite type of walk. It is a 7.4km walk and at a slow pace will take you three hours. There is only one steep section the rest of the walk is reasonably simple although the rocks can be a little slick in parts!
I would suggest going anticlockwise as that way you get the sweeping valley view from between the two steep rock faces after the initial steep ascent. Be sure to let out a few Cooes at this point as the echo is incredible.
Echo point!
You then descend into a stunning valley surrounded by these wonderful rust coloured mounds of desert sculpted rock.Combined with the colours of native Australian bush you will find yourself in a one of a kind setting of natural wonder. Towards the latter part of the circuit we were lucky enough to catch sight of a kangaroo (quite rare during the middle of the day) picking his way along the ridge. He turned to look at us and then bounded off into the distance.
Skippy
All in all a magical walk that is well worth the effort.
The second walk you can do at the Olgas is the Walpa gorge walk. This is quite bland and if you are pressed for time you can probably skip this. If you do have time to kill it is pleasant enough. It is a one way fairly flat walk into the Walpa gorge which has a very steep rugged feel about it.
As with Uluru, Sunset is a spectacular time of day to view the Olgas and there is a viewing point with a carpark specifically for this purpose. Just follow the signs.
The Olgas has an amazing energy and is a must see on any journey into the red center of Australia. While we were there we managed to catch a rain storm and the glistening effect of the water droplets on Kata Tjuta was quite mesmerising.
Misty mountain Hop
Enjoy!
Don't Trip 