Kings Canyon - Kata Tjuta - Uluru pt. 3

Uluru

 Our first real taste of Uluru - more commonly known to the western world as Ayers Rock - began with a visit to the Uluru - Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre, owned and run by the Anangu people. These aboriginal peoples are known as the keepers, or owners, of Uluru, and they are very happy and keen to share their knowledge and history with visitors.
 After our self guided tour through the visitors centre, where we learned about the history of the aboriginals who inhabited the area, as well as their Dreamtime stories and significances of Uluru in their culture, it was time to get up close and personal with the famous monolith.  

 As it was already pretty late in the afternoon by the time we reach the base of Uluru. We were guided along one of short tracks called the Mala Walk, which features many old aboriginal sites and rock art. 

 Now, scientists and geologists have many explanations and theories describing and unfolding the mysteries behind Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon. But the aboriginals have their own explanations for all of these things. And I have to admit, I think I like the aboriginals explanations better.

 Rather than talking about erosion and sediment and fluvial channels, the aboriginals have ancient stories from the "Dreamtime" that explain every significance in the area. Every rock form, crevasse, cave and green space has a significance and a story explaining its creation and being.

 After our walk wrapped up, we headed for a lookout to grab a prime spot to watch the world famous Uluru Sunset! It is quite spectacular to watch the rock change colour as the sun sets. Such drastic changes in such a short period of time. It is quite a sight to see.

 We spent the better part of the evening at the lookout, till well after dark. The full moon provided some very interesting photo opportunities. And while all of the other tour groups had arrived right at sunset and left instantly after, our crew arrived early to grab a prime spot, watched the entire sunset, ate dinner and stuck around much, much longer than anyone else. I almost feel sorry for the other people for missing out... Almost.


 Finally we packed up and headed to make camp. It wouldn't be a long night, as we were waking in the wee ours of the morning to once again snag our prime spot for the sunrise view. 

 The nights were pretty cool, but not like many of the nights I had spent in Queensland - the coldest I was aware of had reached -5C. So these nights around Uluru were refreshing for me. But with a big fire rolling we all curled around with our swag and before we knew it, everyone was fast asleep except for myself and new friend Boris. Being our last night on the trip, and with such a large pile of firewood remaining we felt it was only right, our duty, to stay up and finish off the wood pile. 

 Morning has never come so early...

  It was right up and at 'em the last morning of our trip. If I had checked the time I would say it had been around 4:30am. We rolled up our swags and had camped packed up surprisingly quick considering he hour of the morning.


 It was great to spend those few nights out in the swags, not too, too cold, clear star-lit sky's and not a bug in sight. Though we were kept company by what I would have considered a small heard of aussie kangaroo mice. They were quite friendly little buggers.


 So off we set for our lookout to watch the sunrise over Uluru - where we would also be having breakfast, and very much needed coffee. It was quite an experience all-in-all, and I have to give props to The Rock Tour for putting together such a well structured agenda.

 Sunrise was nothing short of spectacular. Cameras went off like mad, here there and everywhere. And for a moment, I think everyone even forgot that they could see their own breath. 


 Once the sun had risen, we set off back to the base of the rock. We had the morning free to explore and wander some of the tails surrounding Uluru independently. This was our first chance to really get up and close for a little one-on-one time with one of Australia's oldest and most significant pieces of the countries culture and history.


 Myself, and several others completed the entire base walk around the rock. The roughly 10Km loop is definitely the best way to take it all in here. There is so much to take in if a person is willing to open their eyes and their imaginations. Despite all the geological significances, it was the stories and the history of the aboriginals that caught me more than anything. 


  As I have said before, everyone experiences these place differently. Ten people visiting these places together can walk away in the end having had ten very different experiences. That is one of the beauties I discovered out here, but not just in the park, but the entire Outback. It holds something different for everyone. But little did I know just what the Outback had in store for me next...

 Though one thing several of us did share was an encounter with two dingoes as we were walking the trail. They were so tame and in such good health that we mistook them for domestic dogs that had gotten loose from their owner. A bit father down the tail we discovered what we believed to be these dingoes den. Someone was certainly living there!

 

Kings Canyon - Kata Tjuta - Uluru pt. 2

Kata Tjuta

 Our second stop on the three part trip took us into Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park to Kata Tjuta.

 The English translation of Kata Tjuta from the Aboriginal language means "Many Heads". The aboriginals were very straight forward in the naming process, and for the most part called things as they saw them. Kata Tjuta is a large rock formation spanning nearly 22 square Km and does in fact look like several heads poking out of the ground. Also referredto as The Olgas, named after Mount Olga, the sites highest point. 

 It was still dark as we started packing up camp that morning. Orion's Belt as clear as day in the north eastern sky. It felt like I had barely even gotten my eyes closed when we were all woken by the crackling fire and the smell of coffee catching everyone's attention.
 Several cups of coffee later we had camp pretty well cleared and were ready to make our way. Daylight was just coming on as we headed off.

 It was an incredible sight to see as we approached The Olgas, jetting out of the ground, these massive rock domes towered over the landscape. Our trek began through the Valley of the Winds, passing between huge rock faces. Several of us commented on what an awesome climb it would be going up any part of the rocks. But, climbing is forbidden at this site, and it is strongly reinforced. Regardless, I was more than satisfied with a look by the end.
 
 After we made our way through the entrance and into the center of the domes, the land opened up into lush (for the desert kind of lush), green rolling hills, with amazing rocky outcrops in the background. Everyone kept a sharp eye for snakes and any other critters we might spot as we wandered along the trail, through tall grass, under shade patches and over rocky terrain.

 Now I don't know if it just me here, or if everyone gets sucked into the moment like I did here... again... But give me a whip, pistol and a cool hat and I would have felt like Indiana Jones diving in to yet another adventure.
 Hmm... That happens a lot. I really need a cool hat.

 You'll hear guides here talking about how places like Kata Tjuta and Uluru feel, and how everyone who visits may feel something different or significant. They are certainly right.

  While I did hear some people comment on how they felt nothing at all around any of these ares, I know I sure did. What exactly it was, I'm not sure. But for those of us that did we all knew it, and though we couldn't really explain it we understood at least that we each knew it was there. Personally, and this comes not just from this outing, but my entire experience out here, it seems as though too many people spend their lives watching, and never spend any time looking at/for, or feeling what is around them. I was asked several times on our trip why I was so good at spotting animals and tracks, and I would just answer that I was looking for it.
 The way the caverns closed in around certain areas definitely made it feel as though you were being watched I found. Dozens of small caves fill the rock walls all over the place. Even the rocks on the ground seemed to be watching you!

 
Seeing these places with a guided tour like ours really is the best way to spend your first experience. There is so much culture and history to the areas which otherwise would go unknown to the lone traveler. The aboriginals have a meaning and significance for everything. The rivers, the rocks, forests. And not just the items themselves, but their shape, markings, colour... It all has a purpose, a meaning. And to discover that so many people still share a connection to this meaning, the Dreamtime and the culture was, for me, quite pleasing and relieving to find out.

 We didn't encounter too many critters on this trek, however, just before returning to the parking lot to make our way out I spotted a small lizard crouched in the rocks along the side of the trail. He was a little skittish at first, but warmed up to me quite quickly!

 Soon after, we hit the dirt again and set off for a quick lunch before getting our first taste of Uluru (Ayers Rock).

Kings Canyon - Kata Tjuta - Uluru pt. 1

Kings Canyon

 I didn't waste any time in hitting the sights upon arriving in Alice Springs.

  I had found out while still in Darwin that half of the Larapinta Trail - which I was intending to begin hiking right away on arriving in Alice Springs - had be burnt right out and was still at high risk of wildfires. By the time I arrived in Alice things hadn't changed.

 So rather than sit around and wait for the tides to turn on the trail I decided it was time to see some sights and jumped in on a guided Camping tour to Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kings Canyon and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas).

 The trip started off with a bang. The morning we were due to leave there was a huge thunder storm which was responsible for starting several fires in and around Alice Springs. Luckily things cleared up as we pulled away from town.

 Because of the higher than average rainfall last year, more vegetation has grown across the and around the Red Center, creating high than average fuel for fires. And being the end of the dry season, things were DRY!
We passed miles and miles of blackened, scared land on the trip. Similar, I imagined, to what the Larapinta may look like at that moment.

 Kings Canyon was first on our agenda of amazing sights. And it was, in short, spectacular! We hiked to the top of the canyon and along the 'Rim Walk' across some amazing landscape, at times treading only inches from the over 300m high cliff's edge.

 Mid way around the canyon we descended into a valley known as The Garden of Eden. A tropical, lush forest leading to a permanent waterhole found deep in the valley. I was completely shocked when I found out I was the only person eager to dive into the waterhole. Such a peaceful, refreshing pool, on a hot active day, I wasn't saying no! So in I dove. I mean really, who wouldn't want to be able to say that they swam in the Garden of Eden? Apparently everyone but me? At least on that day.

 Afterwords our trek continued back to the top of the canyon and across a long, dome-covered, sandstone plateau, where i spotted a giant Perentie sitting right beside our trail. I'm not sure how the rest of the group missed it, but this huge monitor lizard caught my eye instantly!

 While Perenties have been known to reach lengths exceeding 8 feet, our boy was roughly four and a half to five feet long. These guys are very similar to the Goulds Goanna which I encountered many of in Queensland, but are much slimmer and apparently to see one in the wild is quite rare, as they are known to be extremely timid and shy. However, this particular monitor couldn't have been happier to pose, basking in the sunshine as I snapped away all the photo's I could. This could probably be classed as another foolish situation where I got far too close to something. The claws and teeth alone on these guys is enough to do a person in, never mind the fact that scientists believe that Perenties may produce a venomous bite to top it off.

 One highlight of the tour for me was the amount of knowledge our guide, Karmen, had about bush medicines and wild food. Karmen and i hit it off very early into the trip exchanging tips, stories and experiences in the outback. She was just as eager to hear about how the Canadian wilderness compared to Australia's as I was to learn all I could get out of her on Oz.

 The view as we descended back to the bottom of the canyon was breath taking. It, and the whole area we had passed through reminded me of something out of an Indiana Jones movie, or The Mummy. Absolutely amazing country.

 We pulled into camp that night just after dark. Our group seemed to all connect very well, very early on. Everyone pitched in and pulled their weight right from the get go, and in only minutes our camp was shaping up nicely. We had a nice big fire rolling, plenty of firewood for the night and the next morning (Following the 3:1 rule - Gather as much wood as you think you need for a night, then triple it), swags rolling out in all directions and dinner as on.
 A night under the outback stars, sitting by the fire wasn't a new experience for me by this time - it felt like home. But there was something about being there with new friends, sharing new experiences (and tell tales of many of my past experiences as well) and just being in the moment that was very refreshing, and as exciting as your very first camping trip.

 The outback has been very good to me. It has taken me a long way, in what I must admit has been a much safer manor than I had anticipated. For that I am very grateful. And even though I chose the path I did... alone... Aware of the potential danger and anticipation of loneliness, I don't regret the decision, though to be able to share  part of that experience, even though only a small fraction, made it all worth while.

 As we all tucked in that night after a mighty feast of mince chili and rice over the open fire, kangaroo mice bouncing rigorously throughout our campsite, and the milky way high over head, I couldn't wait to find out what the following days had in store.