This month a trip to :

Australia - The desert

Dear Friends,
here some images of the Australian desert.
The locations shown are very popular and part of the "tipical tour" any tourist could do ( and in fact many do ).
They are located around the central area of Australia , near Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.

Here for your reference :
1) Alice Springs as reference point
2) Uluru ( Ayers Rock ) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)
3) Kings Canyon

The desert is very strange : is one of that places where you have to go to fully understand the feelings and the power of the place itself.
The desert is very pleasent ; terrible ; cruel ; beautiful...all together.
It is one of that places where everything is very simple and special ; everything so essential.

I have learnt that the desert is also a life style and this is very evident when you meet the people living there.

Some very obvious things now that , maybe because so obvious , are very often forgotten.
There are areas where , in one year , could fall only few millimeters of rain and this more than the heat of the sun ( which in any case is strong and MUST be taken care of ) must be a reason of concern when travelling in the desert.
Drinking is a MUST also when you do not feel thirsty in order to avoid to dehydrate.

The locations shown here , as said , are part of a comune route utilizing the main roads where there is always a reasonable traffic going on in case you may have any trouble.
Nevertheless it is always advisable to approach the trip with care and supplies of water.
In case you decide to take different routes than the main one it is always a good idea to inform someone about your plans because the desert ( here another obvious thing ) is very big and a place where you could easily get lost.
To utilize one of the expert travel guides or tour operator could also be a good choice getting , in this way , the possibility to see different places with people who know the area and what they are doing.

A road in the desert

I have always thought that images like thise one ( a road streaching along the desert ) have been used too much and that I have had enough of them. But when you are there you have very special feelings : standing on a side of the road in the middle of the desert.
The silence , the atmosphere are unic and this photograph becomes not a picture of a place but a picture of moment in my memory. A very special moment symbol of my travel through the desert.

The road is the Stuart Highway : a line of asphalt from Adelaide to Darwin.

Click on the image to get full color picture

Uluru ( Ayers Rock )

This image is of Uluru ( Ayers Rock ) which is located at around 450 Kms south-west of Alice Springs.
The rock is , in fact , a monolith long about 3,6 Kms long and reach 350 m. of eight.
This makes of Uluru the biggest monolith in the world. It is said that it is like an iceberg since 2/3 of it is beneath the sand.
The place is very special and strange also because this big rock is just in the middle of a completely plane land......like a solitary giant stone.

Uluru has been for many years a reason of a dispute between the Australian Government who wanted very much to exploit the place for tourism , and the Aboriginal people who opposed very strongly to this ideasince the area is of great spiritual importance to them.
The tourism is business ; the business is money so that was very unlikely that the Australian Government was giving in on this issue so that , in the end , a compromise was found a an agreement was reached : the creation of the Uluru National Park with acces to the rock from one side only and a fix route to climb it.

A final note regards the variation of colors of Uluru during sunsets and sunrises. It is somthing to be seen how the rock change color tonality , from pink to dark red. Very impressive.

Click on the image to gef full color picture

Kata Tjuta ( The Olgas)

Always located in the Uluru National Park ; 32 Kms south-west of Uluru you can see Kata Tjuta ( The Olgas ), a group of rocks smaller than Uluru and probably less known although I consider them equally beautiful.

Kata Tjuta ( that means "many heads " in aboriginal language ) is also of primary importance to the aboroginal culture and traditions.

The Mt. Olga is the highest rock of the group reaching 546 m..

If you like to have a view of the Kata Tjuta there is a place called " Picnic and sunset viewing " from where , in fact , you can have a spectacular view especially during sunsets and sunrisec when , like Uluru , the rocks change color tonality within minutes.

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Another view of Kata Tjuta ( The Olgas )

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Kings Canyon

On the north of the Uluru National Park but always south-west of Alice Springs ( around 330 Kms from Alice Springs ) you can visit te " Watarrka National Park " in which is located teh Kings Canyon.

The canyon is spectacular ; walls of rock reaching 200 m. of eight and , at the bottom , there is one of the few places in the desert where you can find almost tropical vegetation ( the Garden of the Eden ).
The rain water accumulate all on the bottom of the canyon creating a corner of anexpected bloom of green.

The walk around ; on top and on the bottom of the canyon is not difficult so , if you are there , is really worth do do. All along you'll have splendid views.

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Another image of Kings Canyon

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Another image of the desert

Another beautiful rock formation

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Life.....stronger than the desert

It is incredible the way some type of vegetation resist to the extreme climatic conditions in the desert.
When you thing how few water have the plants at their disposal you really wonder about their capabilities of adaptation.

Just look at this tree : solitary on a desrt of rocks and yet prosperous and beautiful.Always ready to get the maximum out of avery drop of water.

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Power of adaptation ( The oack of the desert)

When the time is really hard and it is extremelly dry , this type of tree can reduce to the very minimum all the activities and just wait for the rain to come.
The trunk and the branches are like dead but underneath are the only active part of the tree and they are going as deep as possible searching for any small residual water.

I was told that this type tree can wait more than 2 - 3 years without rain.
It has the ability to stand-by in an apparent death.

Click on the image to get full color picture

A colorful surprise

When the season bring some days of rain do not be surprised if you will see an explosion of colors around you.
Very intense colors like the red of this flower makes you appreciate even more the power and the beauty of the nature.

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Kangaroos

I am going to spend few words also for the kangaroos.
It is very comune to see a Kangaroo or a Wallaby ( a smaller type of marsupial very often confused with the kangaroo because very similar ) in the desrt.
What really is special about this mammals is that you find them all over Australia ; from rain forest area to desertic areas.
Kangaroo : the very symbol of Australia.

The kangaroo , of course , is not the only animal living in the desert.
There are many different species of reptiles , birds , mammals you can meet.
After all all of them make of the desert a place a bit less ....desert.

Click on the image to get full color picture

We shall finish here for this time.
I hope the trip was enjoyable for all of you.

E-mail me for any critic or suggestion and , with your help , I shall try to keep on improving this page.

See you , then , next trip ,

Mauro Fieni

© 1997 mao@hkstar.com

All pictures are FM@Copyright

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