Uluru

Uluru. Iconic, sacred and just plain awesome. Massive too.  Much, much bigger than I expected. Organic in shape, it bulges and folds like a gigantic ancient creature that has simply sat down in a vast desert garden. I say garden because that is exactly what the surrounding country looks like. Desert foliage is surprisingly soft in appearance, both in texture and colour and when seen in combination with the red of the earth and rock...well, there really are no words to describe it.
  

Visitors are not encouraged to climb Uluru and I have to say I wasn't tempted to.  It was enough for me to do the 10.6 km walk around the base and see it close up. There were a few extra sacred sections which couldn't be photographed.  Interestingly those parts were the most worn and scarred, the markings giving rise to many mythical stories and sacredness that the traditional owners, the Anangu people, are keen to maintain. In one section there is a series of small caves, each one a type of classroom; some with drawings on the walls to illustrate stories and journeys, and some for practical skills like hunting. A small waterhole nearby is also held sacred.

Later we joined a large throng at the sunset viewing strip. It was a joyous evening of champagne picnics, children's laughter and cameras clicking as the sun drew away and darkness fell on this amazing red rock.

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The road to Uluru

After Kings Canyon, we headed on down the road towards our final destination, and the climax to our Red Centre expedition: the Uluru/Kata Tjuta National Park (Formerly Ayers Rock & The Olgas). It was a beautiful morning's drive, a few hundred kilometres, perfect blue sky weather again, and lots of interesting sights along the way.

There were lots of 'skinny women' trees, there was Mt Connor, which sometimes gets mistaken for Uluru until you get a closer look. And there's lots and lots of bright red sand. There was a lot of rain in the last year or so, and therefore much more vegetation than usual, but still a lot of very red sand.

When we were 50km or so from our destination, there was a little rest area on the left, with a little sandy hill beside it. Up we went, sensing this was where we'd get our first glimpse. And so it was: Uluru and Kata Tjuta, in all their (distant) glory.

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