Blooming Desert

A fledgling forest of young Desert Oak

The Desert in Bloom

This is my last post on Uluru and it's desert in the Northern Territory before we move onto more loud and rumbustious things.

The Desert here is also known as the Red Centre for its deep rusty, red sand. Back in 1988 when Hubster was last here he explained that this red carpet stretched endlessly as far as the eye could see, seemingly barren and lifeless. There was not even a hint of green in sight

However, on our trip the desert floor was far from lifeless. It was teeming with beautiful desert oaks, myrtle and flora and fauna of all kinds. The rains have been exceptional this year and the dormant shoots buried into the sand waste no time at all in springing into life.

The rock formations contrasting with the red sands, the variegated greens of the plants and the deep, azure blue of the sky is quite a sight to behold.

The guides said it has been so long since the desert has been like this that many of them are seeing plants and flowers that they have only ever seen in text books before.

It is a bountiful time for all the birds, insects, rodents and reptiles and they are prolific in their numbers. We were thrilled to see so many.

Gallah Parrot

Mr Monitor Lizard catching some rays

A very healthy looking Emu

Thorny Devil (incredible creature)

The only thing we expected to see lots of here and we didn't see one was; kangaroos and wallabies.

The explanation is simple. A type of grass grows everywhere here called Spinex. The roos find it totally abhorrent  It tastes awful, it is impossible to chew and it is spiky and uncomfortable to jump on and sleep on. I can't really blame them.

We felt very lucky to have the chance to see the desert like this.

This trip will certainly go down as one of my highlights of our time here in Australia and a lifelong dream fulfilled.

It undoubtedly left a lasting impression on us both.


 

Valley of the Winds

Kata Tjuta

Ayers Rock (Uluru) is an Australian icon that is recognisable all over the world.

It is not a monolith as so many of the guide books claim but it is the tip of a huge underground mountain range some 5km in depth. Like an earthly iceberg.

Just some 40 kilometres away is another rock formation. Far less known than Uluru but just as impressive in my opinion.

It is The Olgas or given its traditional name, Kata Tjuta which means many heads. The formation consists of 36 huge sandstone domes. It is a highly sacred place for the Anangu men, it is regarded as being a very dangerous place and therefore an appropriate site for male initiation.

Women were only allowed to collect bushtucker and plant medicines (berries, seeds etc) and absolutely forbidden to stay there.

It is eerie and awesome. It is still yet powerful. Yes it feels very masculine too almost like you are walking on a huge sleeping giant, treading carefully so not to wake him. Sounds echo strangely between the domes, it's quite an acoustic that makes one bird call sound like 10 as the waves bounce around from rock surface to rock surface.

You walk in silence, almost in reverence really. You pick up every sound, the rustle of a lizard in the vegetation, the trickling of the waterfalls and rockpools and the call of the birds up high.

The vibrant contrast of the sapphire blue sky against the deep rusty red rock and the lush green desert meadow was an over sensory feast for the eyes.

The breezes are channelled through the cavernous gaps between the domes creating whistling wind tunnels.

Hence the track through Kata Tjuta  is known as the Valley of the Winds walk.

Our visit to this prehistoric place was as transient as a grain of sand being whipped through the valley, Kata Tjuta has been here for millions of years and will be for millions more.

A brief but unforgettable moment in time and one of the most beautiful walks we have ever done.

 

The valley between 2 domes creates an incredible frame to the desert and domes beyond.

Looking out at that view is just breathtaking

 

 

Uluru

 

On 26th October 1985, Ayers Rock was given back to the Aboriginal people. It had been their sacred land for some 22,000 years and more and Uluru, (the Aboriginal name) was repatriated with it's people once more.

But it has taken a very long time for this message to filter through to the tourists that made the trip to see this "must do" wonder of the world.

Hubster first saw the "rock" back in '89. In spite of the repatriation of Uluru some 4 years earlier, change was slow, there was still an airstrip along side, a few motels and back packers camps all around.

The constant stream of people climbing the rock were like an army of ants all in line and Hubster was one of them.

How onerous and painful it must have been for the native aboriginal people, the Anangu, to see such a sacred site turned into party central.

For the Anangu it must have been akin to watching total strangers dance and desecrate the grave of one of their loved ones.

However, the majority had no clue of this back then. To many and Hubster too,  it was an incredible structure in the desert waiting to be climbed with a view to die for and affording the most beautiful sun rises and sunsets to boot.

When I saw his photos, I too was one of the clueless and just felt jealous I wasn't with him on the climb.

24 years after Hubster climbed the "rock" and 28 years since repatriation, it is a very different story.

Virtually no-one calls it Ayers rock anymore.

It is Uluru.

The Anangu are so humble they do not forbid anyone from climbing Uluru, they just ask you not to, no force, no coercion, just "we would like you to respect our culture". A strategy that is clearly working because only 28% of all visitors now actually climbing Uluru.

Many can learn from this slow burn approach surely?

Keep tuned to see just how much this landscape has changed.

For the better.

How refreshing that is to say.



The view from the room!