Outback Weekend

Happy Monday

I had a most spectacular weekend, a once in a lifetime kind of experience.

Aerial shot I took from a helicopter tour

I spent the weekend in the middle of Australia, in the Northern Territory, visiting the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.  This park is a sacred site of the Anangu, indigenous people of Australia.  Uluru is the world's largest monolith and Australia's most famous landmark.  The red color of the rock is due to the high iron content in its sandstone composition.  You may know Uluru as Ayers Rock.  In 1872, the European explorer, Ernest Giles, who sighted the rock, named it after the South Australian premier at the time, Sir Henry Ayers.

I did a sunrise base trek around Uluru.

Those on the trek were provided a pouch containing these items for breakfast. 

We started our 12K trek in the dark and were treated to lovely color changes of the rock and sky with the sunrise.

Our guide provided us with lots of folk lore and we got to see these paintings in a cave.  The paintings do not tell a story but were more like a "blackboard" for teaching children.

A post trek view from a distance.

Aerial shot taken from a helicopter

Not far from Uluru is Kata Tjuta.  This area is comprised of 36 domes.  Much of this land is considered sacred and visitors are not allowed to explore.  I did take a sunset trek to the area, however.

Hubby and Me in the Valley of the Winds, Kata-Tjuta

Post trek, the tour group was treated to champagne, wine and snacks while viewing sunset.

Kata-Tjuta at the "golden hour".

I feel so fortunate to have been able to experience this magnificent natural landmark in such a grand manner.