Archive for January 17th, 2009

One of the world’s greatest natural attractions, the rock (Uluru) and Kata Tjuta (the Olgas).  The entire area is of cultural significance to the traditional owners, the Pitjantjatjara and Yankuntjatjara aboriginal peoples (who refer to themselves as Anangu).  The Anangu officially own the national park and lease it to Parks Australia and where it is jointly administered (Lonely Planet).

First we went to visit the Kata Tjuta (means many heads), a striking group of domed rocks clustered together to form valleys and gorges.  The tallest rock, Mt Olga, is 546m high and 1066m above sea level and about 200m taller than Uluru. 

After a bite to eat it was on to Uluru for a champaign reception while watching the sunset.  Nothing could prepare us for the great hulk on the horizon, so solitary and prodigious.  It’s 3.3km long and 348m high and if that’s not impressive enough, two-thirds of the rock lies beneath the sand.  As the sun set it illuminated from ochre-brown to a burnished orange, then a series of deeper and darker reds before it faded to charcoal – simply amazing!

The following morning it was a 4am start in time for breakfast and sunrise.  We respected the wishes of the Anangu and completed the base walk (10k) rather than climb to the top.  The caves, paintings, sandstone folds and abrasions made for an interesting and leisurely 2.5hr walk.  It was 40 degrees for the last hour and the flies were unbearable (hence the self-made fly net at the Olgas), but it was so worth it.

UNESCO World Heritage Site #16

Day 3: Tennant Creek to Alice Springs. On day three the activity level increased and we got to see the sacred site of Devil’s Marbles, the historic Telegraph Station in Barrow Creek and a few shops that sell overpriced indigenous works of art and handicraft.

About 100km south of Tennant Creek on the Stuart Highway we pulled in to see the giant granite boulders.  Karlwe Karlwe is their Warumungu (local indigenous tribe) name, for whom the site is associated with many stories and traditions.  Scientists believe the marbles are the remains of molten lava eroded over aeons.  We spent a leisurely hour walking around, smoking fags, climbing and taking photos.

A little further south we pulled in at Wycliffe Well, a town where UFOs apparently fly over with astonishing regularity.  One roadside cafe has taken the whole thing a little too seriously and created a shrine with alien figures and newspaper clippings (‘That UFO was Chasing Us’!).  Interestingly, there are few photos of actual UFOs.  Funny but not quite what you’d expect in the outback.

Even further south we reached Barrow Creek, a (so called) town with a filling station, a pub and a controversial telegraph station. In 1874 a station master and his linesman were killed by natives in retaliation for being driven off ‘their land’.  A bigwig was sent up from the city to investigate and deal with the culprit.  Obviously nobody owned up so he had his men kill all local native males, around 300.  The government has only just apologised for the mass slaughter. This is one of many stories we’ve heard as we travelled through the northern territory and you can’t but feel for the natives with the injustice that has ensued since captain cook and his fleet landed in Sidney.

12hrs after leaving Tennant Creek we arrived in Alice Springs, checked into a nice hostel and went out with the group for a meal and too many beers.  Most mornings we’ve been up at 4am having had only 4hrs sleep – a lively bunch and mad for the drinking games!  A great social gathering and educational in many ways as there were guys from The Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Vietnam, Greece, Canada and the UK – a great mix.