Remote, awesome, and splendid in colours that vary as the day unfolds from soft blue hues to glorious orange-reds, Uluru is one of the most magnificent sights in Australia. Located in the Red Centre, 450 kilometres from Alice Springs, visitors must travel to one of the most isolated pockets in the country. But proof of its power is that people continue to come and be fascinated by this sandstone mountain that rises 348 metres above the surrounding plain.
The
first European to name landmarks in the area was Ernest Giles in
1872. Describing the Olgas as 'monstrous pink haystacks' he named
them after Queen Olga of Wurttemberg. Uluru, formerly known as Ayers
Rock, was named by William Gosse after Sir Henry Ayers in 1873, then
premier of South Australia (which administered the Northern Territory
until 1911 when the Commonwealth took control). In 1987 the
126,000-hectare park was put on the World Heritage listing.
In
1985 management of Uluru and the surrounding Uluru National Park was
handed back to traditional owners the Anangu people, who work in
conjunction with the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Part of the experience of travelling here is becoming acquainted with
Aboriginal customs and beliefs, and the sense of Aboriginal
spirituality that envelopes the rock. Aboriginal guides lead tours
around the base of the rock and explain the significance of features
to their culture. For those exploring on their own, interpretative
signs assist in gaining an understanding.
A walk around the approximately 9-kilometre base reveals caves, overhangs, and interestingly sculpted formations in the deeply eroded yet smooth rock face.
About 30 kilometres from Uluru are the almost as strange Kata Tjuta (formerly known as the Olgas), 36 separate domes of red-brown earth perched on the desert landscape. The name 'Kata Tjuta' means 'many heads', and another interesting walk around several of these domes takes you through the so-called Valley of the Winds. Mount Olga, the tallest of the Kata Tjuta domes is 200 metres taller than Uluru.