Australian Icons

The last 4 days of the outback trip were spent visiting icons of what is called the Red Centre of Australia, Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon. All spectacular but accompanied especially in the case of Uluru by legions of other tourists, many in airconditioned buses. We felt quite superior as we pulled our dusty rig into the sunset viewing parking lot and cracked open the wine and beer for hors d’ouevres at sunset. A double rainbow appeared after a very brief shower which sent most visitors scurrying back to their buses. We also walked around part of the base of the rock, climbing is discouraged because of the sacredness of the site. At the Aboriginal Culture Centre which has a rather dramatic design we were treated to a very sanitized version of Uluru. The rock is sacred and as such, its stories cannot be shared with people who might abuse them. The whole site is managed jointly by aboriginals from the area and national parks staff. There were allsorts of platitudes describing how they are learning from each other about each other’s ways, illustrated with examples of respecting traditions such as, aboriginals working at the site go barefoot and non-aboriginals wear boots ! My thoughts often wandered to that scene in Priscilla Queen of the Desert “a cock in a frock on a rock”

After sunset at Uluru, we saw sunrise on the Olgas (Kata Tjuta) then went for a walk amongst these red and bulbous rocky hills, up into the Valley of the Winds and then it was on to a bush camp not far from King’s Canyon. The walk around the rim of Kings Canyon was spectacular and a great achievement for she of the broken ankle. It wasn’t the most challenging thing I’ve walked since that fateful day in late December, but close. I walked with the rearguard, Frances, Paul and the delightful Katerina from Prague who helped us over the rough bits. We were only a few minutes behind the younguns and there were others who didn’t even attempt it. And then it was off for our last night in the outback at a site which I will call “between two signs” The first was an aboriginal community sign warning of no this and that, the second, about 500 metres away, was a National Parks sign which we all know brings many conditions. We camped in this no-persons land with some of those iridescent pink eyed spiders and in the morning walked onto a rise through the prickly Spinifex to watch the sunrise on Gosses Bluff. Then there was a leisurely drive though the western MacDonnells to Alice Springs and a final gathering on Anzac Hill before dinner and farewells.