featuresmorethan50,000solar-poweredlights,
originallyopenedin 2017 asa temporaryexhibit.
Itspopularityhasseenit becomea permanentfixture.
Butthecontrastbetweentheimported,artificial
artworkandthenaturalbeautyandculturalsignificance
ofthesurroundingarea,is hardtoreconcile.More
problematicis thefactVoyagesIndigenousTourism
Australia,whichoperatestheexhibition,chargesvisitors
$44perpersontoenteranddoesnotofferconcessions
tolocalAnangu(a spokespersonsaysrequestsare
managedcase-by-caseandtheyarehappyto accommodate
whenthereis availability).Forme,learningthistook
awayanypleasureinitiallyderivedfromthesuperficial
experience.Elsewhere,thetourismindustryis doing
goodthingstosupportandbuildrelationshipswith
Anangu.Duringourstayat Longitude,twoartistsarrive
fromErnabellaArts,Australia’soldestIndigenousart
centre.Artworksfromthecentrearedisplayedthroughout
theresortandavailableforgueststopurchase.
Theartists– sistersJanetandUmatjiTjitayi– areset
upinDuneHouse,wheretheywillspendthenextfour
dayspainting,as partofa residencyprogrammewiththe
resort.Guestswatchtheartworksemergeas thesisters
quietlyandcarefullydottheircanvases.
“Bringingartistshereletsthemconcentrateontheir
artworkandbecreative.They’regettingsomerespite
fromcommunitylife,whichcanbereallydifficult,”says
ErnabellaArtsmanagerMelGeorge,beforeexplaining
thatallmoneyraisedthroughthesaleofartworks,goes
backintothecommunity.“Atourartcentre,wegenerate
andputabout$700,000a yearbackintoAnanguhands.
It’soneoftheonlyincomesourcesinthecommunity.”
TherelationshipwithLongitudeis bothsignificant
andauthentic,saysGeorge.
“Ananguhavea word– ngapartji-ngapartji– and
it meansreciprocalrelationship.Yougive,I give,and
wetakeawayequally.Theysupportusinmultipleways.
Theydonatetoa salaryfora staffmember,whichwe
wouldn’tbeabletoaffordwithouttheirhelp.Thatone
staffmemberallowsalloftheseAnangutocomein
andcreateworkandearnanincome.Theyallowusto
do 21 exhibitionsa year.It’sreallygenuineandI can’t
stressthatenough.A lotofpeopledothingsbecause
theyhaveto.Butweareconstantlyincommunication
andsupportingoneanother.”
It’sthatkindofrespectandcarethatreallysets
Longitudeapart.Andina placeasspecialandsacredas
Uluru-Kata Tjuta, it is the measure that matters most.●Getting
there
JetstarandQantas
flydirecttoAyersRock
airportfromallmain
centres.Transfers
betweentheairport
andLongitude131°
areincludedinrates.RatesforLongitude131°
startfrom$1700per
personpernight,for
a minimumtwo-night
stay.Packagesinclude
diningandbeverages,
aswellassignature
toursandexperiences.
longitude131.com.au
GOURMET TRAVELLER 125Clockwisefrom
farleft:the
glowingred
rockofUluru;
theMars-like
landscapeofKata
Tjuta;thepool
at Longitude.