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Uluru from the Hill
The hot air sings, the clouds roll, and Uluru stands out on the horizon almost 25 kilometres (15 miles) away from the Imalung Lookout in Yulara, Northern Territory. Even at this distance, it is thrilling! (iPhone6)
It is one of those iconic images: one of the world’s largest monoliths rising out of a sea of gravelly sand, with colours all along the red spectrum, ever changing in the light.
Uluru.
Sacred to the Indigenous Anangu people, this giant sandstone rock formation was said to have been created in the very beginning of time by ancestral heroes (Tjukuritja). According to modern scientific reckoning, Uluru and Kata Tjuta – two significant geological features in the middle of Australia’s Red Centre – started to form about 550-600 million years ago.
My breath caught in my throat every time I looked up and saw it there.
Much as I had always wanted to visit this region, it’s a long way from anywhere: Australia is a BIG place. And, it’s not a cheap trip: it’s been called the most expensive destination in Australia – and Australia is an expensive place to live and travel by world standards. We had always put that trip off: we said we’d go when we were too old to fly overseas…
Then, Covid-19 happened, and the rest of the world was off-limits.
I found a package deal to the Ayers Rock Resort – the easiest way to access Uluru and Kata Tjuta – and managed to fit it in between lock-downs. Owned by the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation, the resort comprises almost the whole outback town of Yulara, and sits a ten minute drive from the entry to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Uluru-Kata Tjuta (formerly the Uluru (Ayers Rock – Mount Olga)) National Park. The resort works in affiliation with the local Anangu people, as well as hosting training initiatives for Indigenous people from around the country.
Although there are a range of accommodation types in the complex, most of these were not operating when I was there because of the Covid-related slowdown in trade. And, the Anangu Cultural Centre was closed to protect the vulnerable local community from potential infection. (All the Indigenous employees on site were from other parts of the country). Fortunately, the restaurants, shops, galleries, and the Yulara Visitor Centre – home to the local tourism operators – were all operating, allowing me to fill my short stay with a range of activities.
Best of all, several of these activities were on-site, and included in my tariff!
My package included the mesmerising Field of Lights installation, making for a magical introduction to Uluru on arrival. I decided to save my separate sunrise excursions: into the Walpa Gorge at Kata Tjuta, and around the base of Uluru (Watch this space!), until I had acclimatised. So, I booked a sunset camel ride for my second evening, and spent my first full day just exploring the resort and immediate surrounds.
This meant checking out the lookout five minutes from my room; taking in a talk on bush tucker; watching a demonstration of Yidaki, the traditional Aboriginal term for the didgeridoo; and joining a guided walk around the plants in the village.
Join me:
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Sails in the Desert
The whole resort complex blends in beautifully with the surrounding landscape. (iPhone6)
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Sturt’s Desert Pea – Swainsona Formosa
Named for the notable explorer of inland Australia, Captain Charles Sturt (1795-1869), Sturt’s Desert Pea is confined to Australia, occurring in arid woodlands and on open plains. I had never seen them in their natural habitat before, and was thrilled to find them in flower.
Footprints in the Red Sand
I went for a morning walk around town, and crossed the road to the Imalung Lookout. Clearly, I was not the first to climb the little hill! (iPhone6)
Nature’s Sculpture
Bent and twisted trunks of desert oaks (Allocasuarina decaisneana) are littered against the waves of sand. (iPhone6)
Desert Oaks in the Red Centre
In the middle of the day, I headed back out to the open area across from the resort, where skinny desert oaks are scattered against the red sands and spinifex.
Desert Oak and a Blue Sky
Slow growing Allocasuarina decaisneana trees put their initial energy into a tap-root that can reach subterranean water at depths of over 10 metres (33 ft).
Bush Tucker
In the amphitheatre area outside the Arkani Theatre, local food-plants are laid out ahead of the daily Indigenous Bush Food Experience.
Ficus Brachypoda – Australian Native Fig
Plant Products
Local plants go into things other than foodstuffs – including the shampoos, soaps, and body lotions used all around the resort.
Kurrajong – Brachychiton
The seeds of the kurrajong are roasted and eaten or ground up to make flour. The rest of the plant is also used – especially to make rope and twine.
Leon
Leon talks us through the local bush foods …
Cooking with Native Flavours
… while his companion mixes up a batch of Lemon Myrtle and Wattleseed Shortbread.
In the Amphitheatre
Leon talks about the local environment; his companion finds a batch of cookies prepared earlier.
Witchetty Grub and Witchetty Bush (Acacia Kempeana)
Probably the best-known bush-tucker is the fat, white, wood-eating larvae of several moths.
Desert Oak and Kata Tjuṯa
When I walk back across the resort, the boulders of Kata Tjuṯa are just visible, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) across the plain.
Didgeridoo – Yidaki
After lunch, I find the Resort Town Square Lawn Stage, where the twice-daily Didgeridoo Workshop is taking place.
Didgeridoo Player
‘Didgeridoo’ is a non-Aboriginal word for a traditional wind instrument originally from East Arnhem Land in the very north of Australia. Made from naturally occurring termite-hollowed trunks of young eucalyptus trees, the instruments are now common across Aboriginal communities.
Man in Black
Using a technique of circular breathing to create a drone, the different sounds are made by continuously vibrating one’s lips.
Garden Walk
In the late afternoon, we meet Leon again, and he walks around the complex on one of the Guided Daily Walks, showing us the various plants …
Collecting Seeds
… and describing their uses.
White-Plumed Honeyeater – Ptilotula penicillata
Leon also identified the birds I found in a desert oak tree.
I loved how the whole resort complex works together with the local environment. This harmony added to my experience of calm while I was in this magical place.
It was time for me to return to my room and get ready to meet my camel for my sunset ride. Even there, the desert colours reminded me where I was.
Until next time,
Happy Travels!
Pictures: 23-24October2020
