The Red Centre .... Uluru and Kata Tjuta

The Ghan Railway overnight sleeper train from Darwin was rather an interesting way to get into the back country! It certainly was perhaps the tiniest sleeping quarters I have yet to lay my head on and this was AFTER I upgraded to their "larger" berth! ..... but the dining car and lounge more than made up! A great place to intermingle with other guests, enjoy a great meal, good wine, while swapping travel stories ...... we chugged (not much chugging going on actually, as the ride was surprisingly smooth) along to the dusty little town of Katherine, a first stop in the vast desert known as the Red Centre. The scenery for hundreds of kms. is made up primarily of very rich burnt ochre earth, dotted with spinifex grass, dry scrubby low growing bush, and thousands of termite mounds, some several meters tall ..... The rich red sands of the outback are a reality, much like the travel brochures suggest, contrasted by a sapphire ocean of endless sky ...... a place of limitless space ....... quite mesmerizing. The Ghan Railway was named for the early Afghanistan pioneers responsible for opening up Australia's interior using camels, brought in from both Afghanistan and Pakistan ...... Camels seemed to adapt easily to the climate and have multiplied since they first arrived here a hundred or so years ago ..... currently there are around a million wild camels in the outback!! They are becoming a concern environmentally, not being indigenous to the country, with no real predators, so growing in numbers yearly, causing some concerns for the desert eco system. One way of dealing with the excess, has been to slowly introduce camel meat to the Australian palate, hoping it will appeal ..... As they seem to enjoy kangaroo, crocodiles, why not camel? Yummy ..... my vegetarian tendencies are definitely back in full force! I have been in Australia for almost three weeks and have yet to see dingo, koala, kangaroo or snake in the wild, but herds of wild camels particularly in the Uluru/Kata Tjuta region were a rather common sight!! Yes, who would have thought!!? Now, back to Katherine which totally reminded me of the many sleepy prairie towns that dot our own landscape in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Half the population is from the Anangu Tribe of Aboriginals . Katherine was basically my first encounter with the indigenous people, something I had initially been looking forward to very much ..... more on that in a bit. Estimates maintain that the Australian Aboriginals (and there are as many different tribes within the country, as we have Native Indian tribes in Canada) have lived here for anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 thousand years!!! .... could well be one of the oldest known indigenous cultures. They are certainly a different kind of people from any I have ever met during my many years of travel ....... their features are very distinct. However, they did not appear to be nearly as easy to get close to as I would have hoped and thought . Smiles were not very prevalent, in fact, they are rather aloof. Intermarriage with the white Australians is rare, and by and large, the further into the remote outback one gets, the less likely that is to happen. I will try and post a few faces of the locals in Katherine and Alice Springs (those that would allow me a photograph .... most will not, and refused me rather bluntly, no matter how polite I was!!) ......... Now, back to my first encounter ...... I was standing in line at a grocery store in Katherine, surrounded by rather smelly people for some reason, and behind me, a very scruffy looking, quite drunk Anangu man (sadly, alchohol dependency is a problem for some of the indigeneous population here, much as it is for our Natives in Canada) ...... Now, as anyone who knows me well, my sense of smell is bar none, my most acute sense! I have never ever in my life come across an odour so instantaneously vomit-inducing! NEVER EVER!! ..... it was way beyond organic in nature, beyond mere bad body odour, beyond the smell of clothing that had, I am sure, never been washed ....... In fact, I had no reference point whatsoever for this odour ...... but what I did have, unfortunately, was a totally involuntary reaction .... I gagged, making all manner of gurgling noises, looking desperately for a bag or something to throw up in. I briefly contemplated using my hat ...... At this point, I was beyond embarrased and mortified with myself, snagged a plastic bag from the startled clerk ..... I was a sight alright, but at that point, I didn't care! I have no idea what the people in line, the clerk, or the poor aging Aboriginal man thought ...... I just wanted out!!! ..... I ran out the door, gagging and gurgling, with a bag handy until I hit the fresh air outside ...... So, there I was, having wished with all my heart to meet and chat up an honest to goodness outback Aboriginal, almost throwing up into a plastic bag at my first opportunity!! ..... Not a very auspicious start to what I was expecting to be a connection to the wise old ones of Australia!


At Alice Springs, I left The Ghan Train behind ...... goodbyes were exchanged with the group of mostly Australian travellers who were all continuing on in various directions, unkrinked the body, checked into a hotel on the outskirts of town and took off for a good solid walk after that long long train ride ...... As I got closer to town, noticed there was a street market in progress, always interesting wherever I have been! A great place to stretch my legs .... Alice Springs (population 27,000) is about five hundred kms. from Ayers Rock (now known as Uluru ....... in recent history, Australians have attempted to make amends with the indigenous population and as such, many historic places have reverted back to their original, Aboriginal names). Alice Springs is fairly close to the center, within the Red Center, of the Northern Territory! ..... quite charming, full of little bars and cafes to grab a respite from the heat of the day, a grocery store to replenish supplies, but even more importantly, a place where I could get a good walk in, something that had been missing for the past few days! Interesting art shops, museums. All good! I boarded a bus the next morning, heading for Uluru. Six hours later, Yulara appeared in the distance, a town/settlement of 1,000, made up mostly of a handful of small hotels and staff apartments ! It is a few kms. away from the base of Uluru and Kata Tjuta, now a National Park and the main reason anyone travels this far into the outback. Despite the small numbers of tourists, the availability to just explore on your own is not exactly encouraged ..... actually, in many ways, it is quite regulated. Still, in the space of two days, I was able to enjoy a beautiful sunrise at Uluru, sipping coffee as we waited for the sun to rise in the stillness of the desert. Uluru changes colour frequently during the day dpending on weather conditions, and available light, changing from a deep purple, to a golden red and when the sun is completely up, a deep ochre red. Beautiful sight, with a lot of good mystical energy around it. This peaceful start to the days was followed up with a fun little hike into Kata Tjuta and Olga Gorge nearby which has it's own beauty but is still somewhat overshadowed by the fame of Uluru! The evening concluded with a delicious "Sounds of Silence" sunset dinner overlooking Uluru, tables and a "back country kitchen" set up in the desert ..... canapes and champagne served as the sun set! It was a veritable UN at the dinner ..... about sixty of us and just at my table alone, a couple from Italy, Spain, England, Canada (me) and one Austrailian!! During champagne toasts, I met a couple from Iran with their two daughters, one of whom is studying at a university in Sydney. Entertainment was provided by a local, playing the didgeridoo. This wind instrument sounds very much an integral part of the desert echoing beautifully in the otherwise silence .... sent shivers down my spine. After dinner, an Anangu elder shared stories of our "star ancestors", pointing out various constellations as he spoke ...... a very magical evening with candles, stars and a full moon as our only source of light. Just awesome in every way ......... hundreds of kms. from the nearest city, no commercial lights anywhere, middle of a red desert, clear sky with a zillion stars twinkling all around us, an ancient monolithic mountain as a backdrop...... aaaahh!! ...... I am so glad I made the effort to get to this special spot, even though, with only three weeks in Australia, I was pushing it a bit, trying to get here! Some things are just worth the extra effort :)



Again, I opted for expediency, cancelled bus and train connections into Adelaide, and flew, cutting about 24 hours of commuting time ...... figured I had already seen enough back country at that point! Adelaide is a very attractive and friendly city with beautifully restored colonial houses, and churches ....... felt rather British. Again, a great city for walking and exploring, parks, botanical gardens, churches ....... as seems to be my way when I travel, I took in an church service Sunday morning ....... oldest church in Adelaide and just happened to be next door to my hotel ..... Though must say, the sermon was rather boring, conservative beyond belief, so I opted to tune out, meditated, and almost fell asleep!! ..... to perk things up and to complete my Australian experience ...... a venture into the Barossa vineyards nearby, for some great wine tastings! I was teamed with a group of fun-loving Australians ......... A perfect ending for my intro to life down under :) It was a brief look at life in a country I had never particularly wanted or expected to visit, deviating far afield from early plans. Australians are an easy people to enjoy being around ..... they are fun loving, have a self-deprecating sense of humour, are helpful, kind, curious, adventurous, yes racists and bigots amongst them like anywhere, but the general population is quite likeable, and comfortable to be around. It is a country in transition .... multiculturalism is the new Australia, with Asia, Africa, India playing a large role in the changing faces of it's people. It may well be that in the not too distant future, the indigenous tribes of Australia will retain their status as the only true full-blooded Australians!! Interesting times as Australia, and indeed our world, becomes ever more a global village .....