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Ayers Rock, or "Uluru"
has an iconic association with the Australian outback. So much so
that the image of the red rock blazing in the sunset or sunrise
(pictured right) is is probably the most well recognized Australian
landscape from an international perspective. Residing pretty much in
the centre of the country it's surrounded on all sides by hundreds
of kilometers of flat desert. It rises out of this barren plain, a
massive single hunk of rock that dominates the senses and leaves the
hundreds of tourists that visit it daily awestruck.
Yulara is small
tourist town and exists 20kms from the rock. It has an airport,
shops (including a small supermaket) and caters to the needs of the
many world travelers with accommodation ranging from camping to
luxury resort hotels. Australians also visit in their flocks, many
preferring to use camper vans to tour the country. Melbourne to
Ayres takes 2 days driving, 12 hrs per day.
The Olgas (Kata Tjuta),
pictured below right, is only 50kms from Yulara and definitely worth
a visit. It has two good walks, including a 3 hr trek that takes you
through "The Valley of the Winds", winding between the massive
mounds of the Olgas themselves. |
