Iridescent Uluru

It’s said that Uluru is Australia’s most recognised national landmark; second only in overall recognition to the Sydney Opera House.  Images of its glowing red bulk at sunset are simply Instagram heaven. The monolith sandstone formation rises from the surrounding desert without rhyme or reason.  At its highest point, Uluru is 863 metres high and has a total circumference of 9.4km.

Both Uluru and nearby Kata Tjuta have great cultural significance for the Aṉangu people, the traditional owners of the land. They consider The Rock, as its colloquially known, to be a sacred place.  They abhor climbing on the rock itself and have campaigned for decades to stop tourists climbing its northern flank. A ban on climbing was recently announced and is scheduled to finally go into force on 25 October this year,

Tourism at Uluru is a relatively recent phenomenon.  Tourists began arriving in the 1950s but their numbers remained low until the dusty desert road from Alice Springs was finally paved in the 1980s.  Today visitors are housed in a purpose-built village called Yulara, located about 20km north of the rock.  This modern, smartly-appointed village includes a series of hotels, shops, essential services and a popular campground.

I first visited the Red Centre in 2000.  Garry’s first visit was even further back.  Several decades later both of us were keen to see Uluru again and relive some old memories.  I booked us into the campground for three nights which effectively gave us almost three full days to soak in the local sights.

Our first day was spent driving around the base of Uluru with regular stops at popular sights.  This included some of the rock’s permanent water holes, caves and rock paintings. Uluru is truly captivating up close.  We then capped off the day with a spectacular helicopter flight over Kata Tjuta and Uluru at sunset, and I really mean spectacular!

The flight lasted more than 30 minutes.  Our itinerary included an unexpected flight over the permanently dry, rippling salt pans of nearby Lake Amadeus, then on to circle Kata Tjuta before spending almost 15 minutes circling the western and southern flanks of Uluru. We couldn’t believe how long the pilot lingered as the sunset slowly set.

Uluru undergoes an awe-inspiring transformation at sunset.  Its colour progressively changes into an unbelievably iridescent orange-red.  The formation literally glows.  Words simply cannot describe how stunning it looked from the air.  This perspective also allows you to witness its evening shadow slowly spread across the desert until it strikes the horizon.  These flights weren’t cheap but boy were they worth every penny!

I’ll let our photographs speak for themselves.