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Published: August 29th 2006
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Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)
It was difficult to decide what to take a picture of... From Cairns, I ventured into the Northern Territory of Australia, and flew into Alice Springs, determined to take a 3-day tour of the "Red Centre." When I first began planning my trip to Australia, I seriously contemplated not visiting Uluru, previously known as Ayer's Rock. But, Stacey, I thought to myself...going to Australia and not seeing Uluru would be like going to China, and not seeing the Great Wall...It was decided! To the Red Centre, and more specifically, to Uluru, I would venture!
I decided to play it as economical as possible, and booked the lowest priced three day tour that visited all of the highlights of the Red Centre: The Olgas (Kata Tjuta), Uluru, and King's Canyon. Our tour departed at 6:00 a.m. and our first stop was The Olgas, about a 6-hour drive (!) away. Kata Tjuta translates into "many heads" and it is indeed a wonderful sight, of many deeply red coloured domes arising from the earth. We did the "Valley of the Winds Walk," a 7-kilometre journey, which took us around and between the massive stone structures.
After our visit to Kata Tjuta, we drove to Uluru, and arrived in time for sunset. During sunset
...As Each Step...
...changed the beautiful scenery ever so slightly. I was able to see the "many colours of Uluru." Looking back at my pictures it now seems even more evident how the rock changed shades from glowing oranges to reds as the sun set. We ate dinner in the parking lot (I told you it was an economically minded tour...) and headed off to the bush for a campfire, and to settle in our sleeping bags and swags for the night. Swags are a plastic type of bag that goes over your sleeping bag to keep yourself warm and dry. I have only had one previous experience of sleeping under the stars, and although it was quite chilly (I wore my winter jacket, hat and mittens to bed!), it was beautiful. I also got to see the constellation of the Southern Cross, which can only be viewed from the Southern Hemisphere!
The next day began bright and early again, as we were awoken at 5:30 a.m. to eat a quick breakfast, and catch the sunrise at Uluru. I personally thought the colours of sunset were more magical, but I still enjoyed seeing the more subtle colours of sunrise. We visited the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre, where we were
I Really Liked the Shape of the Rock on the Right
It reminded me of a baked good, perhaps an upside-down cupcake? Leave it to me to think of cupcakes in the middle of the desert! Well, really, dessert in the desert is quite a good combination... able to read some stories about the mythology of the rock, and some history on the Aboriginal people that make the land surrounding Uluru their home. A lot of the Aboriginal stories concerning Uluru are a secret, and are only known to the Aboriginal people.
After visiting the Cultural Centre, we did a 9-kilometre walk around the rock, hearing some stories about Uluru from our tour guide. It is also an option to climb Uluru if you so choose, but the Aboriginal people ask you not to, and in keeping with a respect for their wishes, everyone from our group chose not to. Many areas around the rock are not allowed to be photographed, as they hold important significance to the Aboriginal people. Uluru is quite an amazing structure though! If you spend long enough looking at it, it takes on a character all its own, with different shapes and faces emerging from the rock.
After the walk, we had a BBQ lunch, and drove a long way to our campsite, once again in the bush (it's all about budget, people!) We watched a beautiful sunset, ate camel chili con carne around the campfire (which was surprisingly good...tasted
like beef!), and once again fell asleep under the stars, with my head nestled snugly in my sleeping bag.
Our final day of the tour, we once again woke at 5:30 a.m. and headed out to King's Canyon, which despite the "it" factor of Uluru, I think was my favourite spot to visit on the tour. We did the 6-kilometre Rim Walk around the Canyon, and were able to take in some beautiful vistas, as the rising sun highlighted the redness of the rock of the canyon. We also took a detour to visit the Garden of Eden, a palm-filled, water rich area. It was a beautiful walk from start to finish!
We then began the long drive back to Alice Springs, stopped for lunch, and were back in the "big" city of Alice (population 28 000) by about 6 o'clock that evening. Three days in the bush, without a shower (budget!), sometimes without toilets (budget!), and a daily 5:30 wake-up call left me tired and dirty, but somehow invigorated. I had slept under the stars, soaked up the sun admidst red earth, walked and walked, and shared the adventure with some fabulous people from all over the
Uluru at Sunset
Picture #2...See a difference, yet? world...could I really complain? I'm glad I decided to make a stop at Uluru and included the other areas afterall: it's a decision I won't ever regret, Mate!
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fan in kobe
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Hello
I am a big fan of yours. I wrote a comment it here before. I have been reading your lovely blog here. It seems that your bloginig is pause now . You have already back to Canada? I miss you so much. I hope you will keep writting here about domestic travels in Canada.