A year ago this month, we travelled to Australia. It wasn’t our first time in the Southern Hemisphere but it was our first “Down Under”.
What can I say? It was AMAZING! Incredible.
For almost two weeks, we whipped around this giant of a country by car and by air. Our itinerary included Melbourne, Sydney, and Tasmania but Uluru and Kata Tjuta were the highlights for me.
Uluru and Kata Tjuta are deeply spiritual places for the Anangu. In fact all of creation, from the land to the water to all creatures, holds significance as it is all part of their cosmology. They have relationships with all, not just with people or with material things, as we often do in the West. The land is part of their culture and they are the guardians. Uluru and Kata Tjuta are more than rock formations.
Kata Tjuta, specifically the Valley of the Winds, holds special meaning for me. After I moved to Singapore, I discovered the beautiful Australian Bush Flower Essences and I continue to work with them. This is where Ian White makes much of the mother tincture. That should say something about the purity of the air and the frequency there, way out nowhere. Though I didn’t expect to be invited on a walkabout or to have a spiritual awakening, the whole idea of being in this ancient land, where tales of Dreamtime still live and breathe, was exciting and humbling at the same time.
The world was once a featureless place. None of the places we know existed until creator beings, in the forms of people, plants and animals, traveled widely across the land. Then, in a process of creation and destruction, they formed the landscape as we know it today. Anangu land is still inhabited by the spirits of dozens of these ancestral creator beings which are referred to as Tjukuritja or Waparitja – according to the traditional landowners
Our plan was aggressive. We flew in from Sydney for one night and in between arrival and catching the bus out to Alice Springs, we were to visit Uluru, watch the sun set over this famous rock, and catch a dawn tour of Kata Tjuta (also known as the Olgas). This is what happens when you have a large country to see in limited time. We stayed at the Ayers Rock Resort, some 10 minutes from Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. There are also camping options. As soon as we checked in, we dashed out with the next shuttle bus headed to Uluru. Our plan was to walk all the way round the base (!) and meet up with the last bus to catch the sunset. It all nearly went as planned.
Uluru…
Lots of people climb Uluru, some 1/3 of visitors, despite requests by the traditional guardians of the land and the Australian government not to. Uluru is sacred and the Anangu still perform ceremonies at both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. The climbing route also crosses traditional Dreamtime tracks or Songlines which connect sacred power spots. Uluru itself has separate sacred sites for men and women, with caves being off-limits even to the uninitiated Anangu. Signage posted at various spots ask no photography be taken. We were literally in the middle of nowhere. “No photography” is not enforced, at least not physically. Spirit is there, a guardian over this part of the earth.
Out of respect for the Anangu, we did not climb Uluru. It isn’t the point of this space. Not every rock, hill or mountain needs to be conquered.
Walking Around Uluru
The base walk took hours, as we walked single file, lost in our own thoughts. The trail was wide enough for both of us; with our different strides and my constant stops to photograph flowers, we naturally fell into this pattern. It was quiet, as we made our marks on the red dirt of the path. Occasionally we would see a hiker or two, silently nodding to each other as we passed. Otherwise it was just the big sky, a big rock, me and my thoughts. Even just ten steps ahead, he was far far away.
When the Plans Change…
So this is where the plan hiccuped. The visitor centre was closed by the time we got there, the water and food we had been promising ourselves only a mirage. As we sat in the resting pavilion, it was clear we had missed the bus or the bus had missed us. The light was starting to drop and we knew the viewing area/parking lot was getting crowded with eager tourists and photographers, each with their array of equipment, jockeying for the best view. I too had a tripod.
Yet everything is perfect and somehow we hitched a ride with another bus, arriving just before the crowd really pulled in, seeing our original bus already there. The whole sunset experience at this most sacred, famous, and colourful place, so far removed from everything and everyone, was simply amazing.
Sunsets are beautiful … to watch the light descend over such an expanse of land, the reds, yellows, and oranges dancing over Uluru…ahhh. There was constant chatter and unrest as we waited for the sunset. When it came time, silence filled the air as each withdrew into their own universe, or perhaps they travelled out far into the milky way. I was so happy I wanted to clap…or cry. Overwhelmed by awe, this awe you feel when you remember you are part of something so much bigger than our human selves.
The ride back to the resort was quiet, sombre, reverent. I was watching the last light disappear, thinking over that day, the fact that I was in the outback and had finally seen Uluru. Not only that – I had walked all the way around this wonder of the world. How lucky am I. How lucky I was to be alive at this time, living this life, with the love and support of my husband.
Kata Tjuta
About 30km from Uluru sits Kata Tjuta, both of which are part of the same underground rock formation. 36 rock domes make up Kata Tjuta, which means “many heads”. This space is sacred to the men of Anangu, and off-limits to the women, and unlike Uluru, climbing is strictly prohibited. We got very little information about Kata Tjuta as the telling of the stories to outsiders is forbidden.
We began our tour early morning to watch the sun rise, somewhere between Uluru and Kata Tjuta, so it was a double treat to see both sacred sights in a new light. Kata Tjuta was definitely different, not only because it was the beginning, rather than the end, of a day. The energy was palpable.
We silently and excitedly enjoyed a breakfast at picnic tables before walking into the domes. It only seemed more packed because access was restricted and the path was narrow. Standing in the valley between the cliff faces, we listened to our humorous guide, her explanations about the geological aspects of the area more enjoyable and accessible. It felt almost surreal being there. Like pulling past, present, and future together in one spot, like an accordion. I felt both light, and heavy. Heavy because of the history, perhaps.
Before long, it was time to go – Valley of the Winds will have to wait. It was time to leave these sacred sites, and the middle of nowhere. Melbourne was our next stop. Coming from such an expanse into a buzzing urban centre was decidedly an uncomfortable contraction. It was most definitely an assault on the senses and an intrusion of energies. It would take a few days of adjustment, so boundless did I feel in the land of the Anangu.
