Sun Rises and Wind Tunnels

Saturday (2008-09-13)

Up at 6am and over to the Uluru sunset viewing spot to witness this morning's sunrise.

Thank goodness for digital cameras...and the ability to instantly delete photos...I had a lot! Every minute towards the approaching sunrise seemed to change the landscapes in a suttle way worthy of yet another photo. It was certainly a morning for silloutte photos.

There was absolutely no one at the site with us (they would have proceeded onward to the official sunrise location).

The sun rose just to the left of Uluru, creating awesome contrasts between the blue, pink, and orange bands of the developing sky and the silloutte of Uluru itself - just striking!

The great thing about how we travel (16 passenger bus with a trailer in tow) is that we pretty much carry everything we need with us. As such, after sunrise, we simply just openned the trailer up and had an impromptu litle breakfast right in the parking lot of the view site.

After breakfast, it was off to the Ayres Rock Cultural Centre. There we learned a bit more of the Aboriginees, the Anangu's. Thier traditional way of life, the separation of roles between men and women, adults and children. How they lived off the land. We also learned of the hardships created when their land was discovered by the white man (it's a familiar story); but also how in recent years real efforts have been made to make amends to this, including the return of sacred lands, and how shared management is working to protect these lands, but still allow them to be accessible to visitors. There is also efforts underway to both protect and grow Anangu's traditions through a junior park rangers program.

After the cultural centre, we had lunch and headed off for our second hike. This one to Kata Tjuta, meaning many heads.

This 7.4km hike took us around another outcropping of rock which really just doesn't fit with its surrounding landscape.

That it where the similarities with Uluru stop though. Kata Tjuta is actually sizeably larger than Uluru; however, unlike Uluru it is not a monolith. It is not composed out of one homogenous rock. Instead, it is composed of many kinds of boulders "cemented" together. From a distance, it looks quite smooth and consistent; however, once you get closer to it, you can clearly see the individual rocks and boulders that make up Kata Tjuta.

Another striking attribute of Kata Tjuta is that it's formation creates a natural funnel; which, as wind speeds rise create an awesome wind tunnel effect. And in fact, the hike we were doing was called "Valley of the Winds". We didn't experience any of this effect on the begining of this hike; however, as we completed the loop around the mountain and were making our exit we were practically being pushed back by the force of the wind. To be honest, the force of the wind and the (I wouldn't call it deafing...but certainly very, very loud) screeching of the wind as it rushed past my ears was absolutely exhilerating!