Following the dark skies experience and late finish we are up early to wind our way to Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) for a wander up to what many consider the second best known of Australia’s big rocks but it’s not what it seems. En route we could see so many Desert Oaks and these amazing trees, which look like saplings to us, are 100s of years old. The First People use them for water, food and shade but every tree is treated with the respect it deserves given how they grow in this inhospitable landscape.

The area surrounding Kata Tjuta is flat and red as you may expect but on the way down the valley there are signs of surface water and the occasional blue or green speck in the conglomerate which forms this feature. Yes it’s true. This is, in fact, a huge lump of desert concrete and not one giant rock as you might imagine.

The fly net is not pretty but the joke in the Red Centre is one canyon, one rock, one railway and one billion flies. Truly at the time of year we were there it was an absolute necessity! The scarf may seem odd but its a cooling scarf. Effectively designed to be damp and allow the evaporation to cool your neck. Best buy of the trip for comfort. By now the ‘team’ from the bus had bonded and I felt quite comfortable wandering up the valley with some new friends whilst my travelling companion rested in the shade.

Lunch was served at the cultural centre. There is a wonderful instructional ‘dream time’ tunnel display at the centre which we visited before lunch but we were respectfully asked not to photograph the artifacts inside. The First People also own the gallery and shop and provide paintings and other items for purchase. Again this goes towards school and health provision. Throughout our bus tour Smiler kept disappearing with the leftover food and we found out that her was donating it to local First Nation people as many now struggle to eat. Now before anyone rushes to judgement Australians of European descent took children away from families their families for years with a view to ‘educating’ them in mission schools. Many never saw their birth families again. (Please look up stories like that of singer Archie Roach for more detail). In doing this we stripped many people of their language and culture and broke the link to the land and the old ways which allow First people to survive in the brutal heat. We have much to learn and ‘bush tucker’ is now being shipped to markets worldwide for its excellent nutrition. As Australia moves gradually northward year by year and given the changing climate I can see how facilitating the next generation’s return to their lands is massively important.

We were bussed to the base of Uluru with stories of the formation of the scars on the rock and and insight into the custom of interaction between different tribes. Surprisingly the first visit we mad was to a spring and water hole hidden within the curves of the rock. Smiler appraised up of the punishments used by those who break community laws. Some of these are still permitted/tolerated under the Australian system as they are effective in maintaining balance between European and First People’s cultures.

The rock art above one of the springs demonstrates more about the children being taken. Traditionally when a child was old enough to do so they would add their hand print to the family wall. This remained until they were elderly and they would then superimpose their adult hand over the top. As you can see many of these hands are child sized only.

After an emotional day on the rock we headed back to freshen up for the ‘Field of Light‘ that evening. More champagne overlooking these two spectacular features, a quick team photo and as darkness fell the ‘field’ was revealed. Originally the installation was only supposed to run for a couple of years but now it is set to remain until 2030. It is exactly as described, a field of thousands of lamps winding a pattern into the darkness. It has to be experienced rather than described. My shaky cam photos do not do it justice so please click the link if you want to see more. Tired and emotional we headed back to the resort for a late supper and off to bed.