Alice Springs - Yulara - Uluru - Kata Tjuta - (Northern Territory - Australia)
07 December - 12 December 2015
There's not many places that can compare to what is offered by Central Australia, leaving Alice Springs out of that all encompassing statement of course because for all that is unique about this environment, the small town of Alice simply just does not live up to an of those expectations. As much as you want to say about outback Australia, the larconic, slow paced nature of them 'country' folk holds no real interest other than deliberately creating a place that inspires inane boredom. The best thing about Alice Springs is the drive out of town - apologies Alice, you're just not that interesting, even if once a year you run along a dry river with fake boats!
Our first mistake, not taking that damn right turn.
When your drive for over an hour, stop in a little country town and have a jackaroo give you the answer 'Hmm, you should have made a right hand turn just before the airport, you'll need to go back 100kms' - to the question - 'Can I get to Uluru from here'....you kind of know that you've made a bit of a blunder.
Jillaroo Inga - 'on the job' - Alice Springs - Northern Territory - Australia
Alice Springs - Northern Territory - Australia
Alice Springs - Northern Territory - Australia
Not the Sturt Highway!
But on our way to somewhere!?
Northern Territory - Australia
Lets back track a little and fill you in on the story.
My understanding was that Uluru was to be a 4-5hr run from Alice Springs on the Sturt Highway....now...that's the STURT HIGHWAY. I knew this. I'd travelled the Sturt Highway previously, I had an expectation of a comfortable run, and yet, about 30kms outside of the airport the highway I expected to be supporting our drive gave way to construction, which gave way to a wide dirt road. This didn't feel right. I mean, you're driving in Central Australia, you expect sand, dirt and flies but can you readily expect a highway to disappear from existence? Somehow I tricked myself into believing that the Sturt Highway was being rebuilt and put it down to the Northern Territory being the Northern Territory - dirt highways can be expected, no!?
That brings me to the small town of Santa Teresa which is nearly as remote as the town of Santa Theresa that I use to visit near Parque Ambue Ari in Bolivia (but that's another story). This town was established as a Catholic Mission in the 1950's, now, this town in the middle of nowhere has a permanent population of 555 inhabitants, which probably makes it a sizable town (for the Northern Territory). When we turned up there however it came on the back of a wrong turn in Alice Springs, a wrong turn just outside the airport in fact. When the jackeroos informed me of my mistake they had a bit of a laugh and said, 'If you keep going out that way you'll get yourself to the Simpson Desert'...Cheers boys, I'll keep that in mind.
An hour later we were back in Alice Springs after taking a 2hr detour. Left turn after the airport, onto the Sturt Highway - which looked bloody obvious now that I was on it.
The actual Sturt Highway - Northern Territory - Australia
Cruising the STURT Highway - Northern Territory - Australia
Mount Conner - Northern Territory - Australia
Three hours later we were on Mars!! This country is Martian red and that's no exaggeration. You just don't find colours like that anywhere else. A rich blood red that completely surrounds you. Impressive as it is desolate, this country is made for photography.
We made it to the Emu Walk apartments in Yulara a couple of hours before our first tour was set to commence, and this one was a gem.
There's different ways to get up close and personal with Uluru. Bus tours, self drive, walking, all great options. But I chose something different for us. On this afternoon we jumped on the back of some fantastic Harley Davidsons (Harley Tour) and had ourselves a motor bike tour around the rock. Man, what a cool experience. These bikes are beasts and when they let them out on the long, straight lined NT rounds, there was nothing like the wind rushing past you as you traversed the landscape with Uluru acting as the gravitational pull.
Harley Tour - Uluru - Northern Territory - Australia
Harley tour - Uluru - Northern Territory - Australia
Uluru - Northern Territory - Australia
Uluru - Northern Territory - Australia
Uluru - Northern Territory - Australia
Uluru is impressive. Standing 863mtrs high and nearly 9.4kms around its base, its imposing, especially in such a flat landscape. Even more so than its statistics however is its colour, both on its own and with the rays of a setting sun beating down on it. As we parked the Harleys at one of the many viewing points and watched the sun fall, the colours changes and shifts were unfathomable. Deep, rich colours set against the typical outback blue sky, punctuated by some dry greenery of the desert landscape, engaging in both its mood and presence.
Enjoying a complimentary bottle of champagne the moment was truly enjoyable.
Cruising back to Yulara
Pulling 130km + in the outback
Yulara - Northern Territory - Australia
Yulara - Northern Territory - Australia
Yulara - Northern Territory - Australia
The next day we headed out to Kata Tjuta, also known as the Olgas. These are a set of large ochre coloured dome formations both intriguing and mesmerising, and in some way, more interesting than Uluru. The issue however, which is replicated at Uluru, are the amount of flies in the area. It actually gets to sickening proportions and ends up detracting from the entire experience. Apparently in the Winter months its not bad at all but he we were on the precipice of Summer and whoa, it was awful. My advice to anyone that wants to know, invest in some fly nets! Repellent won't do anything but fly nets will be the investment that just keeps on giving.
Kata Tjuta - Northern Territory - Australia
Fly spray - WASTED - you can't kill over a BILLION of them
Kata Tjuta - Northern Territory - Australia
That evening we spent an absolutely magical few hours at the Sounds of Silence dinner experience. It's an event where the desert pretty much becomes your dining room and all that protects you is the canopy of the night sky. Starting with a few glasses of champagne prior to dinner, we were lead to a beautiful 'dining room' with Uluru framing the backdrop majestically. Sitting down to a gorgeous three course meal, with indigenous performers and then a fascinating walk through the universe in complete darkness by a local astronomer, the experience was magical. Whilst the price of $225 p/person sounds quite high, as a total experience I would more than recommend it to anyone, and, would be more than willing to do it again.
Drinks prior to the Sounds of Silence dinner - Yulara - Northern Territory - Australia
Sounds of Silence - Northern Territory - Australia
Uluru - Northern Territory - Australia
What its like to get a feel of Mars
Sounds of Silence dinner - Yulara - Northern Territory - Australia
Sounds of Silence - Northern Territory - Australia
On our final day we got up before sunrise and made our way out to Uluri to watch the sun weave its own magic on the rock. Seriously, what else can you add other than to state the obvious, a truly impressive experience to watch the change of moods and almost feel as though this inanimate object is alive.
As the morning extended on we decided to walk our way around the base of Uluru in its entirety. Now, I'm not much into spiritual things and I waiver more to the side of disbelieving, but as you may know, there are areas around Uluru that are held sacred to the Aboriginals and specific sites were it is requested that photos not be taken. About half way around the base we encountered one of those areas and for some reason we wanted to take a photo, I can't recall why, and even still, in this day of technical excellence and expertise, somehow the cameras on our phones failed. The photos that we took were blurred or had severe technical issues. Call it coincidence or call it something else altogether but it felt as though we were being given a direct message.
Uluru - early morning
Uluru starting to wake up
Sturt Highway - don't hit your kangaroos when travelling at 150kms....it's going to be bad news all round
Storm coming in over the desert - Northern Territory - Australia
In total we spent three days in Yulara and the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, for me, an absolute must for anyone that wants to see 'something else' outside of the major cities. In all honesty I'd be hard pressed to split either Uluru or the Great Barrier Reef as a preference. Both are remarkable places and should be enjoyed for all that they offer. No need to doubt, just get yourself there!
