David and Julia's Living Book

The Ooh Tour

The Red Center, Australia

April 27, 2011: The Red Center

Our three-hour flight from Sydney to Uluru went by quickly, even though the iPad movie we planned to watch was corrupted and caused our "infallible Crapple device" to crash, so much for the supposed perfection of Apple software.

We spent our first evening, at the Big Red Rock, on a remote sand dune watching the sunset and the changing colors of the magnificent monolith, spectacular! When the fiery sky darkened, the tour hosts escorted us to our dinner table. It was great to eat outside with the wide and starry Australian night as our canopy, although bugs remorselessly bit Julia. After consuming much wine and great food we were given a guided tour of the sparkling sky by our hosts. With the aid of their very powerful laser pointer and two wonderful telescopes, the southern skies revealed their wonders to us, superb.

April 28, 2011: Kata Tjuta

After experiencing Uluru, you might think you have seen every kind of rock formation, amazing rock colors, and geology, but then you visit Kata Tjuta you continue to be astounded by the rock. Kata Tjuta (or the Olgas as they were once known) is the giant sister rock structure to Uluru. Unlike the monolithic nature of Uluru, Kata Tjuta is more nodal. Valleys, canyons, and fissures crisscross Kata Tjuta. This gives the walker access to the deep interior of this natural wonder. The place is a sacred site for native Australians that have lived there for tens of thousands of years, so walkers are restricted to certain trails.

Julia and I hiked with a tour guide into the labyrinth and spent the afternoon taking in the stupendous geology and cathedral like ambiance. After the walk, we drove a short distance from the rock to watch it change colors in the light from the setting sun. I have never seen such kaleidoscopic variation in any mountains before, amazing!

April 29, 2011: Uluru

Julia and I got up before sunrise and were driven to another remote sand dune, in the unusually green central Australian desert, to watch the magnificent sunrise and experience once again the changing colors of Uluru. The sky slowly filled with deep blood reds and oranges, and seemed to catch fire before our eyes. This had the effect of awakening the sleeping dark cairn and bringing it to life in a cloak of flaming red, pink, and orange hues. It was simply breathtaking.

Later we made the 12 kilometer walk around the base of Uluru and on to the Cultural Center. The walk enabled us to get up close and personal to the red megalith. It gets its color because of the iron oxide in the rock, which is literally rust. In places, eons of erosion have carved it into red frozen-waves of rock. In other parts, erosion has chipped off large chunks and left Salvador Dali like impressions behind.

It took us three and a half hours to make the beautiful walk. It got very hot as the day wore on and thick swarms of flies followed us wherever we went. However, armed with our insect proof head-nets and our insatiable curiosity we completed our walk and fell deeply in love with the Uluru and Kata Tjuta National Park. If you are seeking to experience reverence in nature's unlimited evolutions, come to Uluru you will not be disappointed.