| Natural Wonders of Australia
Uluru (Ayers Rock)
 Uluru, in the centre of Australia, is the world's biggest monolith at 3.6 kilometres long, two kilometres
wide, 348 metres high and 9.4 kilometres round. Uluru, which belongs to the Anangu Aboriginal people, changes colour in different lights, particularly at sunrise and
sunset.
Visitors barely need to be told that Uluru is a monolith of great spiritual significance. Its relationship with the local Anangu Aboriginal people goes
back some 60,000 years. The land is dotted with ancestral sites, rich in meaning.
Take a guided walk at its immense feet with some of the local people, or visit their centre at the base of the rock and listen to some of the Dreamtime ancestral
stories that will give you an insight into the significance of this land.
To the Anangu, Uluru is alive with the presence of dozens of ancestral beings who still inhabit special sites. Their activities are recorded at certain sites around Uluru
and most of the stories are sacred and shrouded in
secrecy. But the Anangu, through their stories, artwork and dance can give you glimpses. The Liru (poisonous snake) and Kuniya (woma python) are significant ancestral
figures for the Anangu, but there are many others as well. Some of them are illustrated in cave paintings around Uluru. Perhaps you will see the marks of Tatji, the small
red lizard's efforts to scoop out his lost throwing stick, embedded in the rock. Or you may glimpse his body, which remains in the form of boulders on the cave floor. In the
grey lichen on a rock face you may see the smoke from the fire once lit by the blue-tongued Lizard men who tried to cheat the Bell-Bird brothers out of their share of an emu
kill.
Kata Tjuta
 The 36 burnished red domes of Kata Tjuta, also known as The Olgas, inspire the imagination. These
beautiful, mysterious rocks which are part of the Uluru-Kata-Tjuta National park are even called 'many heads', (Kata Tjuta) by the local Aboriginal people. It is no surprise
to learn of the rich heritage of stories and spirituality that surround them.
Lying around 30 kilometres from Uluru and some reaching more than 500 metres, these monoliths have been of special significance to the local Anangu aboriginal
people for around 60,000 years.
On a guided tour of Kata Tjuta these stone memories come alive with a cast of compelling characters. The tallest monolith, Mount Olga, is the home of
the snake Wanambi. During the rains he stays curled up in a waterhole on the summit, and in the dry season he moves down to the gorge below. The dark hairs of his
beard are the dark lines on the eastern side of the rock, and his breath is the wind which whistles through the gorge.
A rock to the east embodies Malu, a kangaroo man attacked by dingoes and dying of his wounds. His sister, the lizard woman cradles him in her arms.
The dome-shaped rocks on the eastern side of the valley personify the mice women. Their food is two large rocks towards the end of Mt Olga. Rocks in the south-western
part of the valley mark the camp of the poisonous snake men, the Liru. They camp here before launching an attack on the pythons at Uluru. You can also see the stone
bodies of giant cannibals Pungalunga.
Blue Mountains Beauty
 The Blue Mountains – so called because of the blue haze created by the eucalyptus oil in the
air above the mountain gum forests – are a natural wonderland. Ridges that overlap into the hazy blue distance; chiselled sandstone outcrops; endless forests clinging
somehow to bare rock; plunging waterfalls – the landscape of Blue Mountains National Park isn’t easily forgotten.
From lookouts on the edges of the Blue Mountains National Park, cliffs fall away towards blue ridges broken by waterfalls that plunge into bowls of gum trees or narrow ravines.
Visitors come often just to stand and stare across this uplifting landscape. Others walk or cycle along the cliff tops and in the valleys.
The park, which is part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage area, protects an unusually diverse range of vegetation communities. There are rare and ancient plants,
and isolated animal populations, tucked away in its deep gorges. This is a vast and special place.
Nature's Creation
 The Bungle Bungle range is a stunning collection of beehive style geological formations arrayed in
alternating bands of orange, black and green, in Purnululu National Park, 250 kilometres south of Kununurra, in the Kimberley, Western Australia. The area has been inscribed
on the World Heritage List in 2003 for its outstanding natural heritage values.
While the reef is ancient, dating back hundreds of millions of years, locals kept it a secret and so the Bungle Bungle or Purnululu (meaning sandstone in the local Aboriginal Kija
tongue) was not discovered by the wider world until the 1980s.
The hypnotically beautiful formations were formed by 20 million years of erosion and river movements. They are a combination of sandstone, and conglomerates (pebbles and
boulders fixed together by finer material). Back when active faults were shaping the landscapes these sedimentary formations were dumped onto the Ord Basin, some 375 million
years ago. The dome shapes are caused by natural erosion and uplift over 20 million years. The darker bands are more porous rock, which lets water move through and creates
a dark algal growth. The domes are more fragile than they look. While the sandstone is held in place by overlying rock it is easily eroded, as revealed by the rounded tops.
The land is also rich in Aboriginal culture, being the site of indigenous art and sacred burial grounds. Wallabies, euros, and more than 130 bird species dwell in the park,
including rainbow bee-eaters and flocks of beautiful wild budgerigars.
Pinnacles
 The Pinnacles make a scenic trip and have the virtue of being close to civilisation and creature
comforts! Just three hours from the centre of Perth, they make a highly enjoyable day trip. They lie in the heart of Nambung National Park on the coast of Western Australia
north of Perth and just south of Jurien Bay. Alternatively, the seaside town of Cervantes - just 245 kilometres from Perth up the Brand Highway -makes a good base and offers
a range of accommodation. You can drive by standard car or take a four-wheel drive.
The turnoff to the park is on Cervantes Road, which runs off the Brand Highway. Easy. Once there the possibilities are many. While many are attracted
to the park by the Pinnacles, it offers much more - fields of stunning wildflowers, great swimming spots with white sandy beaches, and some rewarding walks offering
wonderful views.
Drivers without a caravan or a trailer may like a one-way loop track weaving throughout the Pinnacles. There is also a short walking trail of 500
metres which gives onto several lookouts with views sweeping from the Pinnacles to the coast.
There are two popular fishing spots in the park, one at Kangaroo Point and one at Hangover Bay. Bushwalking is popular here, and is often said to
be the best way to experience the Pinnacles as long as you take plenty of your own water and wear sturdy footwear. No camping sites are designated. Few mind however,
because a good choice of accommodation is provided at nearby Cervantes. |
