the red centre

Come to Australia and not bother with Uluru? Well that's just a bit silly....... actually, on the other hand it could be seen as being really quite ignorant! I almost didn't make it here but now I'm so glad i did. One of the three icons of Australia (well for me) along with the opera house and the harbour bridge, Uluru has always been that huge rock in the middle of that huge country!

Uluru: circumference 9km, height 348metres ........ bigger than you ever imagine it to be, the mound of red rock rises out of the desolate landscape, and is hundreds of kilometres from civilisation. It is approx 1960km to Darwin and 1500 to Adelaide, can you imagine being so far from anywhere!!

It is not difficult to understand why the rock and the surrounding area is of great significance and holds many sites that are sacred to the aboriginal people. I do not know much about the geology of the area but to me the rocks are like islands in the bush and i can see why the people in the past would be drawn to them from all around, they are so big that even to me they seemed somehow spiritual yet strange (i am not really a terribly spiritual person). And its true what they say, depending on the light, the rock changes from a deep red, to a fiery orange to a dull brown and is amazing to witness. The aboriginal 'dreaming' stories are so fascinating as is learning more about their culture.

These shots below are of Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) which is, to me, an equally as impressive rock situated close to Uluru. Kata Tjuta means 'many heads' and it rise 564metres. Not much is known about this rock and the various aboriginal 'dreaming' related to the rock are not known.


Below: Some nice wee buildings dotted around the site


So after visiting this unique place i now understand that it is more than a huge rock in the middle of a huge country, it infact a sacred rock steeped in history in the middle of a fascinating and spectacular country.