Greetings all from the "Red Centre"

[davenn]

Hi to all will be a little quieter on the forum for a few days
No I'm not in Red Square, Russia......
Am on holiday in pretty close to the geographical centre of Australia....
Ayers Rock .... It's Aboriginal name is Uluru .... Have a look for it on google earth

The term "the red centre" comes from the fact that everything is red. The sand, rocks, soil is all red
Because of the iron minerals in the ground. As it weathers it rusts and turns red. And so does everything else that that wind blown dust and dirt gets into

Will post some pix when I get home


Dave

 

[hevans1944]

Sounds like a neat place to visit... and maybe a place to practice for a manned Mars expedition? Nah, too pretty, too pristine, too primitive to be importing high-technology and spoiling the place. Those pics you posted are great! I just know you and your wife had a great vacation!

 

[Bluejets]

How technology changes.
I can remember sitting at a railway siding some 45 years ago waiting for a goods train to get us out of Boongargil near Goondiwindi and having to sit my transistor radio alongside the telephone wires to get a station.
Here you are now, internet at Uluru, middle of the country.

 

[davenn]

Pretty amazing how tech changes

 

[davenn]

am home from the trip, have almost 400 pix to sort through and decide which ones I will edit
will post some over the next few days

 

[davenn]

OK as promised

I have named the Aboriginal ( Indigenous ) and European name ( in brackets)

This set of rocks is called Kata Tjuta ( The Olgas)


Yours truly and my wife Cindy with Kata Tjuta as a backdrop

we then got up close and personal and went for a hike up between two of the rocks


This is the famous Uluru ( Ayers Rock) as the sun was setting - this is the SW face

 

[davenn]

next set

Up 4am the next morning to board the tour bus and head out to the other side of Uluru to see the sunrise at 0555am - sun rising behind me


Turning around for a nice tree silhouette


Approaching Uluru and we had an awesome walking guided tour around sections of it, telling us of the Aboriginal history and stories from their culture - many of these sites are sacred and have very special meanings. Aboriginal culture has no written language their history is passed down by story telling, dance and rock drawings.


In the afternoon, it was back on the road again. This time heading east, then north, then west again. Destination, some 400+ km from Uluru to a place called Kings Canyon. On the way stopping at several sightseeing spots and "watering holes". The pic below is at a place called Curtin Springs a large "ranch"( named after one of our Prime Ministers - John Curtin) - showing some of the Aussie outback European culture


The outback is a pretty rough and wild place. Approx. 70 % of Australia is very arid and ranging to full desert conditions with daily temperatures hitting 35 - 45 deg C during the summer months. Its a very dry heat, pretty much 0% humidity and if you don't keep your water intake up, you can dehydrate and suffer heat stroke in a very short time

 

[davenn]

continuing our trek to Kings Canyon ....

Curtin Springs Station is BIG really BIG just over 1 million Acres (416,000 Hectares) - 1600 sqr miles (4100 sqr kms)



Yup, we are really out in the middle of nowhere, 100's of kms from anywhere



Sign says it all


Mt Connor, a large Mesa (Mesa = Spanish for tabletop mountain) rising out of the surrounding flat desert

 

[davenn]

our last nite back at Uluru ....

This was a dinner and entertainment under the stars....
about 70 people from all over the world ... Aussie, French, German, Italian, USA, NZ, Japan to name a few
Some Aboriginal dance, buffet dinner ( eat all you can) and drink all you can and after it got dark, the lights went out we sat back and looked up for a guided tour around the southern stars


Another nice setting sun silhouette


one of my night sky photos


was an awesome trip .... these are just a small sample of the 100's of pix I took

cheers
Dave