The Road to Uluru

I think it is fair to say that for most people Alice Springs and Uluru are synonymous, but this dear reader, is far from the case. We departed Alice Springs at 6.25am on Tuesday 14 November for the journey to Ayers Rock Resort and after a couple of short stops arrived at 1.15pm! The landscape is harsh and unforgiving, but subtly beautiful in a pared back manner. The sun is high, with a temperature in the early 30s. Water is by and large subterranean with little to see on the surface, except for the odd salt lake. The soil is rich red and high in mineral content, particularly iron and vegetation is surprisingly verdant, due to the high rainfall this year. It consists largely of spinifex grass, acacias, various wattles and the desert oak and to my delight a beautiful pink/lilac wild flower called perekeelia, which is everywhere due to the unexpectedly high moisture at the moment. It has a charm all of its own. However, If the weather follows it's normal pattern, this wet year by Northern Territory standards will probably result in seven years of drought!
We cross one huge cattle station after another, some of these up to 6000square miles in area and beyond. Over the years their owners have learned the lesson of diversification in various forms, by necessity of course. We stopped at Curtin Springs, an oasis of a rest stop on the station of the same name. In the 1950s Peter Curtin bought the lease of this land and moved his wife Dawn and 2 year old son Ashley to the Outback, having given them little idea of what they were coming to. He pulled to a stop under a particularly large desert oak and when his wife turned and enquired why he had stopped he grinned and said:" We're home honey!" Apparently, her reply was unrepeatable, which should surprise no one. They lived under that oak for the next two years whilst Peter attempted to get to grips with managing his herd and building them a homestead with whatever came to hand. Passers by and visitors were few, as Uluru had yet to take hold of the nations consciousness. Two family members did appear after a year, convinced that the young family were dead. They tried hard to persuade Dawn to move back east with Ashley, until Peter had either worked this maggot out of his system or died in the process! Dawn refused and they struggled on through seven year of drought. Gradually, traffic increased and the enterprising young wife started a fledgling business of supplying refreshments to the weary travellers and the rest as they say is history. I suspect this is typical of the type of grit, ingenuity and determination necessary to make a life here in this unforgiving land, which is one of isolation. A very special type of person is required!
On the station is Mt Connor a table top Mesa of immense proportions and visible from the highway. No up close and personal visits are possible, as it sits on private land, but it is the first indication of the geological gems that are a feature of the Red Rock centre of Australia. It is thought that the whole of this area was once under the ocean and subject to considerable tectonic plate activity, which created the mountain ranges and lifted and tilted the strata of Uluru and Kata Tjuta to their present position. Uluru, or Ayers Rock, as it used to be
known is the iconic heart of Australia, a Unesco site and famous the world over. Kata Tjuta or The Olga's are probably less well known but equally spectacular.
If you are staying in the vicinity of Uluru, it is The Ayers Rock Resort you will come to. There are five eco, low lying hotels of varying types built around a circle of natural landscape and run by the Voyager Group, for the indigenous Aboriginal people. Since 1985 and 'handback', the land has returned to Aboriginal ownership and is leased back to the nation. It is run by an Aboriginal Council in combination with Federal authorities and local rangers. The administrative organisation of this is exemplary and could be applied to great advantage in many other parts of the world. This of course is not before time, as past treatment of their indigenous population is not something Australia is particularly proud of.Read more