As planned the three of us arrived at the Sunrise Viewing Area at 6:50 (20 minutes to spare). The place was crawling with people, at least a couple of thousand, cameras, smart phones, and selfies everywhere. To everyones disappointment there was cloud in the east at sunrise so while the sun on the cloud was spectacular the morning rays did not illuminate and color the face of Uluru.

After the sunrise viewing we said our goodbyes to Ronan, and Nina and I headed off to do the Base Walk which is about 10km and circumnavigates Uluru. As we walked the cloud increased and about 1/3 of the way into the walk it started to drizzle and by the time we got to the end and jumped into the vehicle it was pouring down and there were great streams of water cascading off the sides of Uluru. Rain on Uluru is relatively rare and we felt lucky to have seen it. Though it did not make for any great photos of Uluru.

Back at the campground the day took a definite downturn, our tent would not go up; something wrong with the electrics. When I pushed the UP button, nothing happened. That commenced a search for somewhere to stay for the night.

At the Tourist Info Center we discovered that there was not a bed to be had in Yalara.

But we did find something like a motel room at Curtin Springs 85km east of Yalara. Curtin Springs is a cattle station and tourist stop. The station established in the 1950s started adding tourist services to its mix as tourism to Ayers Rock started. For many years it was the only fuel stop and tourist accomodation in the area.

The family that runs Curtin Springs has put together a "book" about their experiences and their current business and challenges. One of the more interesting tid bits from that narrative is that in the first year on the property only six people passed by on the road that runs past their homestead.