Here is a great article from an American about what it is like to take a holiday in Australia Outback Style! For anyone thinking of coming to our wonderful country, this will give you a brief insight into what you can expect!
Make it more than 48 hours in the Outback
From Aboriginal art to a singing dingo, Australia offers the trip of a lifetime
March 23, 2008
By Drew MacKenzie Special to The Sun
By Drew MacKenzie Special to The Sun
The Outback is a whole lot more than just a big rock in the middle of the desert, which is like saying the Grand Canyon is just a whole in the ground.
Each year thousands of tourists fly into Ayers Rock in Northern Territory, Australia, to spend less than 48 hours visiting the world's most famous monolith, now officially known by its Aboriginal name Uluru. But, though that's a must-see of course, they're missing out on an exciting cultural experience combined with a touch of luxury and adventure that can easily be considered the trip of a lifetime.
Instead of Ayers Rock, my wife, Emily, and I flew into Alice Springs, rented a car and headed for the beautiful Vatu Sanctuary, a mini-Shangri-La where we stayed in one of the three splendid villas. On the outside, there are magnificent fountains and ponds, as well as a solar-heated pool, not to mention the abundant bird life, while on the inside there's an impressive display of indigenous art from the owner's gallery in town, Gondwana.
Ayers Rock is increasingly being referred to as Uluru. The rock symbolizes a growing recognition of the important place Aborigines hold in a land they occupied before white settlers arrived. Courtesy of the Australian Tourist Commission
After learning about the origins of Aboriginal art at the Mbantua Gallery and how their dot paintings often explain their history, we headed over to the sizable Desert Park on the town's outskirts. With its extensive collection of local plant life, visitors learn how Aboriginal tribes survived off the land for 20,000 years while also spotting kangaroos and other creatures in the wild. Although the live Birds of Prey exhibition was captivating, more fascinating was the sprawling hall with its darkened rooms allowing visitors to see desert animals, like deadly brown snakes and adders, in their natural habitats.
After some gallery and museum hopping in town at Todd Mall, we dined at the fashionable QC restaurant and indulged in the tasting plate for two, consisting of a mixture of succulent specialties. The next morning we headed out early for the 465-kilometre drive to Uluru/Ayers Rock, making certain we were topped up with water and gasoline, just in case. On the way we stopped at Stuart's Well roadhouse for refills and were entertained by the famous Dinky the Singing Dingo, who howls while accompanying himself on the piano. Really!
With its red sand and changing flora, along with sightseeing stops for massive Mount Conner, the five-hour drive is gruelling but not boring. Finally, the famous sandstone rock Uluru, one of the world's great wonders, rises up in the distance, and the awesome sight made every mile worthwhile. With an hour, we were ensconced in a room at the luxurious five-star Voyages Sails in the Desert Hotel at the Ayers Rock Resort, where we were quickly loathe to leave our luscious surroundings.
However, wanting to learn more about Aboriginal art, we rode to the Dot Painting Workshop at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park where an indigenous artist, with a translator, showed how the locals paint, mostly with dots of varying colors, to describe their lives and culture. Afterwards, we visited the gargantuan 300-meter high rock, taking two Uluru walking tours that amazed with its sheer size and scope, and even catching sight of a wild dingo. Some people take the 8-kilometre, three-hour base walk as well.
The highlight of the Red Centre was the incredible candlelit Sounds of Silence dining experience, which at $150 a person seems steep at first but cheap in the end. After a coach drives diners onto a gravel road and drops them off on a mound in the desert, they have panoramic views of both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. While sipping champagne, the sun starts to slowly set, resulting in incredible color changes on Uluru and even a rainbow effect in the sky. A didgeridoo player then thrills diners with his music and Aboriginal history, which is followed by a gourmet barbecue with Australian delicacies and classic national wines. The candles are then extinguished and we're treated to a lecture on the spectacular shining stars above, a real-life planetarium that includes the Milky Way and Southern Cross.
The next day we took it easier with an hour's drive to the dramatic Kata Tjuta, aka the Olgas, and went on the vigorous but enthralling Walpa Gorge Walk. That still left plenty of time to wallow in the hotel's huge pool and our room's round Jacuzzi tub before having dinner at the plush restaurant Kuniya, where the damper bread with spices was just remarkable and the Barramundi special unforgettable.
The following morning there was a 306-kilometre drive to Watarrka National Park, home to famed Kings Canyon, the Outback's miniversion of the Grand Canyon. And although we stayed at the Kings Canyon Wilderness Lodge, we weren't exactly sleeping rough. With a comfortable cabin and king-sized bed, plus en suite facilities, we dined by campfire under the stars, feasting on tasty kangaroo and camel meat, and mouth-watering bugs. Ten minutes away, potential adventures include helicopter flights, camel rides and quad bike rides, with guides to prevent anyone getting lost in the wilderness.
Up before dawn the next day to walk the Canyon's rim for three hours before the sun made it unbearable, our outgoing guide led the way to the top, a strenuous rocky climb even for the moderately fit. The weathered domes of the Lost City were breathtaking while the Garden of Eden with its dark pool and lush plant life at the bottom is well worth the long trip down. Make sure to get a picture of yourself in the spot where "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" was filmed.
Although the arduous drive back to Alice Springs takes another four hours, it ended with a relaxing night at the recently-renovated Aurora, the only hotel on the bustling Todd Mall. After visiting the Reptile Centre with its venomous snakes and crocodile exhibits, we found the perfect way to end our stay, the Red Centre Dreaming dinner show. As wild kangaroos and wallabies come down from nearby hills to feast on scraps around the stage, the entertainment starts with a lecture on indigenous culture. It's followed by a three-course meal as Aboriginals, wearing body paint, put on an amusing display of traditional dancing and ancient tools like the boomerang.
Join in the fun, like I did, and make a fool of yourself trying to play the didgeridoo, because it's back to reality tomorrow.
Random facts
• There are 600,000 wild camels in Australia, and camel meat is becoming increasingly popular. Decades ago, camels were first imported from the Middle East and now they are being exported back there because they're purebred.
• The distance between Alice Springs and Kings Canyon will virtually be cut in half when a 100-kilometer gravel road cutoff, now used only by SUVs at a safe speed, is paved in the next few years.
• The didgeridoo is the oldest wind instrument in the world, and the Aborigines began playing it 1,500 years ago. The hollowed out tree branch measures up to 10 feet long and is played in keys from D to F.
Ayers Rock is increasingly being referred to as Uluru. The rock symbolizes a growing recognition of the important place Aborigines hold in a land they occupied before white settlers arrived.
Courtesy of the Australian Tourist Commission
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