Lomography

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
written by artpunk on September 4th, 2008 , 9 comments (6 votes)

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The largest monolith in the world sits majestically in the center of the Australian landmass. With the beautiful rocks of Kata Tjuta (meaning ‘many heads’ in the traditional aboriginal Pinjantjatjara language) nearby (well, 50 kms by road distant from Uluru which is nearby if you are used to driving Australian distances!), this is one of the most amazing areas in the world that you can visit.

Uluru rises out of the desert scrub like a huge presence, unlike anything you have ever seen before, you think it’s large as you first get a glimpse of it but as you get closer and closer your breath is taken away by how huge it really is.
Likewise the 36 domes of Kata Tjuta, magnificent in their scale and look.

Both of these areas are very significant in Aboriginal culture and law, so it is important to recognize and respect that when visiting. Please stick to the marked tracks and pay attention to any signed areas. The Aboriginal people ask that you do not climb the rock. Whilst this is not actually banned, just discouraged as it is an area of very important significance to the Aboriginal people as well as an extremely arduous and dangerous climb and people have died whilst climbing the rock! Climbing is closed in times of high wind or days of special significance to the local Aboriginal culture.

There are many great walking tracks (you can walk the whole circumference of Uluru) and guided tours. Remember to take enough water and food for a long walk in potentially very hot weather – very hot in the summer months (December to the end of February in the Southern Hemisphere) the most pleasant times to visit are probably Autumn and Spring.

The national park has an entry fee, but this is for a 3 day pass. Just outside of the national park is Yalara where you can find suitable accommodation for any needs whether you are looking to pitch a tent all the way to hotel-style living. You can ride a camel or have a sight-seeing flight or just sit on top of a sand dune and enjoy the view (the colors constantly changing as the sun moves during the day) – this is one place in Australia you simply don’t want to miss!