Photo of Uluru (Ayers Rock)

We travelled around Australia for 3 weeks in August 1967 on a school bus trip. Many hours of travelling over rough dirt roads and many nights of camping in our little two man tents are my main memories of that time.
 

This trip was a real eye-opener for our small group of 16 year old girls as we drove through outback NSW and Queensland and then on up to Darwin. Next stop was Alice Springs for two days and then we ventured out to Ayers Rock as it was then known. We camped in a camping area at the base of the Rock (such a luxury to have running water and hot showers!) and the next day we set out to climb Ayers Rock. 

With two other friends I set off to walk to the climbing section on the other side of the Rock. The heat was increasing and I could already feel blisters forming on my feet, but we were determined to do that climb before lunch.

Looking back now I wonder that we survived that climb with no casualties. I do remember seeing several small crosses obviously erected in memory of people who had died while climbing the Rock, but we never really thought of how dangerous it could be.

The climbing path was marked only by a chain railing which you could cling to if the incline was a little too steep. There were no guides belting everyone together, anxiously counting heads before and after; we just walked when we could, held the chain when we needed to and scrambled our way to the top of Ayers Rock. Once we reached the summit we sat for a few minutes, admired the view out to the Olgas and then began our descent, which was much more arduous than the ascent.