This week I present to you a truly ‘out-back’ Australia experience. The place I’m referring to is of course Uluru, or Ayres Rock, Australia’s most sacred land mark to the Aboriginal communities.
Traveling deep into the red centre, we hopped off the plane and left the very small airport and drove into what seemed to be the middle of no-where to find the ‘big rock’. Miles and miles of red sand with some greenery wilting under the scorching forty degree Celsius sun, this is a place different to any other. A place you can be in for hours without coming across one single other person.
We finally got to the resort which was where the very small town was situated and dropped ours bags get a glimpse of the big, red, sandstone rock before the sun sunk into the desert. This is one of the most perfect times of day to see the rock change colours. As the sun hits the rocks on its decent, the rock is transformed into bright red until it eventually reverts back to its rusty orange, darkening as the sun disappears. Sunrise gives the same effect, as the early rays brighten the rock, until the sun moves above the rock to reveal its natural orange colour.
This isn’t the place to go if you want to party. The local pub is closed after 9.30pm and the residents of the quiet town retreat to their homes, leaving the place deserted for the night. However, whilst you’re in the red centre you should embrace the peace and quiet and enjoy the experience of having no commerce or buildings, just nature. You’re guaranteed to look up in the night sky and see at least one shooting star fly over you whilst the millions of other stars become the town’s street lights. In the day, the town comes to life as Aboriginals play their digeridoo and tell their sacred stories, dressed in their traditional garments and their bodies painted in different colours and patterns as they embrace their culture.
Climbing the rock is not really appreciated by the local Aboriginal communities due to their beliefs of the rock’s significance. The rock plays a huge role in their myths and fables of how Australia was created, and although people do still climb it, out of respect we chose to walk around the base instead. That distance is a good 9.4km as we walked the entire circumference of the rock, so you can definitely make a day out of it, but be sure to bring plenty of water and fly repellent (they come in their thousands!). On the walk, you’ll come across Aboriginal paintings that tell the story of Australia’s creation with many of the caves holding meanings behind this art. No photography is allowed out of respect, but they’re fascinating to look at due to the array of colours used.
Finally, if you’re like me and don’t fancy the climb, jump in a helicopter and get a birds-eye view of this giant landmark and watch above as the colours change throughout the day.
So if you ever venture to Australia, travel deep into the red centre and experience something spectacular.