W
henit comestovisitingUluru-Kata
Tjuta NationalPark,therearesome
thingsyoucanpreparefor.Theheat,
forexample,is a given.If youare
visitinganytimebetweenthemonthsofOctoberand
April,it willbehot.Everytimeyoustepoutsideduring
daylighthourswill,moreoftenthannot,feellike
steppingintoa fan-forcedoven.It’swhymosttours
andactivitiestakeplacefirstthinginthemorning
orasthesunstartstoset.
Whichbringsustothesecondthingyouneedto
preparefor:beingtired.Thankstotheearlymorning
startsandlatefinishes,youwillbetired.AtLongitude
131 °, theday’sactivitiesbeginat 6.30am,with
breakfastservedbeforehand.Mosttoursreturn
mid-morning,beforeyouritineraryresumesinthelate
afternoon,from5pmonwards.If youenjoya midday
siesta,you’llbefine.If not,youwillneeda post-holiday
lie-downwhenyoureturnhome.
Youshouldalsobepreparedfortheflies.It’sthe
firstthingeveryonewarnsyouaboutwhenyoutell
themyou’reheadingnorth.“Ugh,theflies!”they
exclaim,beforeinsistingyoupackflynetsand
repellent.Andit’strue,therearea lotoffliesandthey
arequiteannoying.Buthonestly,theyaremanageable.
Helpfully,Longitudeprovidesyouwithbothnetsand
repellent,shouldyoubeparticularlyirkedbyinsects.
Buttherearesomethingsyousimplycannot
anticipate,nomatterhowmuchresearchorreading
youdoleadinguptoyourvisit.Nothingwillprepare
youforjusthowvastandmajesticUluru is upclose.
OrthealienlandscapeofKataTjuta, whichfeelslike
walkingonanotherplanet,asyounavigategiant,
sleepingbouldersthesizeofsmallelephants.
AtUluru, you’llbebothdazzledanddazedbythe
everchangingcolouroftherock,whichmorphsfrom
blueandgreytopink,redandorangedependingon
thetimeofdayandwhereyouhappentobestanding.
Likewise,photographsjustcan’tdojusticetothe
extraordinarytextureoftherock,whichis crackedand
flakinglikethebumperofa rustingHoldenKingswood.
It makessenseonceyourealisetherockis,infact,
rusting– andhasbeenformanymillionsofyears.Up
close,youcanseetheoriginalcolouroftherock,which
is a steelyblue-grey.Exposuretotheelementscausesit
torustandturnthatmagnificentshadeoforange.
AtKataTjuta, whichmeans“manyheads”inthe
localAboriginallanguageofPitjantjatjara,therockis
different.Formedfromclustersofsmallpebblesand
boulderscementedtogetherinsandandmud,it has
thetextureofmultigrainbread, compared to Uluru’s
smooth wholemeal.➤KataTjuta ...feelslike
walking onanotherplanet,
asyounavigategiant,
sleepingbouldersthe size
of small elephants.GOURMET TRAVELLER 121