The Red Centre (Jan 03-08)

This was my last big trip of my year 'Down Under' and an absolute highlight. I flew from Canberra to Alice Springs for a 3 day Rock Tour, a Christmas present to myself. Basically there are a lot of pictures coming, so first another writing exert:

Central Aus from the Air

A shadowed scar on a bright red skin: the snaking yellow of a river bed in the sea of orange, red brown. Dry. No water flows, just the shadowed gorge banks telling you that water does run here, and the dark green, proclaiming these scars to be bearers of more fertile soils, just.

The soils, a myriad of oranges, reds: burnts, from the air, come to life the closer you get. Green makes a valiant effort, twisting itself into the landscape like a watercolour, never quite dominant but present, if yellowed. Dark shadows; shrubs that manage to survive and trees, present but failing to find that vivid green. Always to the horizon, the greens mirage to blue, but red is ever dominant.

And the land begins to jump out at you. The twisting scars begin to take shape. Ragged, torn ranges; still so bleak and lifeless, rise; imposing; majestic from the ground and the landscape comes alive.

The Rock Tour- Amazing. Meeting in Alice Springs for 3 days of walking: Uluru, Kata Tjuta, King's Canyon. Hiking through and around these beautiful rock formations and at night camping in swags under the stars. Sunrise at Uluru. The mini bus group made up mostly of Europeans. An optional camel ride at the end.
And then back at Alice Springs and dinner and drinks at the Rock Tours own bar. Don't ask what an Inception Bomb is. Basically a brilliant time in Central Aus. Highly recommended... and now for the pictures!!!