outback

Going into the Australian outback was pretty high on our priority weekend list here.  We had no idea where to go or what there was to do, but when you think of Australia, or at least when I do, I think “OUTBACK”.  I also think “Crocodile Dundee”, ‘kangaroos”, “Olivia Newton John”, “Nicole Kidman” “koalas” and either start singing that  Men at Work song (always the part about the Vegemite sandwich) or the old commercial jingle for Outback Steakhouse (let’s go Outback toniiiight…). 

I digress.

So, after some research we discovered that THE thing to see in the outback or ‘bush” as anything outside of the cities are referred to, is Ayers Rock, also known by it’s Aboriginal name Urulu. 

It was going to require another day of vacay to make it happen and in all honesty, I was a bit worried about what we were going to do all weekend. I mean, we were going to see a giant rock in the middle of nowhere Australia with literally nothing else around for hundreds and hundreds of miles.

Fortunately, this giant rock was unbelievably breathtaking…

Glowing orange during sunrises and sunsets, this sacred Aboriginal monolith was just incredible.  It seemed to somehow get better every single time you looked at it from a different angle or in a different light.  I can’t explain it, but **hello**, look at this thing…

Just surreal.

It wasn’t exactly by itself out there in the desert, as Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) were just 20 or so miles away and equally impressive in their own right…

Our only complaint the entire weekend was the insane amount of flies that plagued us relentlessly.  I’ve never experienced anything like it and I pray we never do again.  We literally had to constantly wave in front of our face and then countdown to be ready for a photo…

0ne, two…

three…

 

Let’s just say when a fly actually landed on my face in the plane as we were about to touch down in Sydney I was on the brink of a nervous breakdown.  Not cool, flies.  Not cool at all.

We got to learn a little about the Aboriginals from the area, not too much though, because it seems everything about their culture is a secret.  I appreciated the fact that they draw a distinct line at how far they will commercialize their culture, but I  couldn’t help wanting more. 

Drawings from a cave where young Aboriginal males are taught “tjurkurrpa”, the stories of their ancestors that make up their laws of living…

Although they have all been so different from the next, I am always enamored with deserts and this one was no exception.  They had an unusually heavy rainy season and the lush greens were such an incredible contrast to the surroundings.  

I took about a billion photos so be sure to check out the album from this weekend…