Ayres Rock and the Olgas!
Uluru and Kata Tjuta!
First we visit Coober Pedy!
Coober Pedy is an unique opal mining town in a harsh desert environment. It was established after 1915, when young Willie Hutchison found "floaters", pieces of opal on the surface, in the area south-east of Coober Pedy. Coober Pedy ist a native name meaning "white fellow's hole in the ground". Thousands of dollars worth of precious stones have been taken from the earth.
Many houses in Coober Pedy are built underground (dugouts), to combat the intense heat of summer. There is also an underground Hotel-Motel and an underground Church.
For enlargment click on pictures!
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| The trip starts. |
Coober Pedy, the
Opal Town! |
The Diggings! |
The beautiful
Austr.Opal! |
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More of the
Opal! |
A "Dugout"
House! |
The Dugout Church! |
Now on to the "Rock"!
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| It is a Mighty Rock! |
The people who climb it,
look like ants! |
Ayers Rock(Uluru)was discovered by the explorer W.C.Gosse on 17th July, 1873 and named after Sir Henry Ayers, once Premier of South Australia.
Gosse's journal records-"when I was only two miles distant, and the hill, for the first time coming fairly into view, what way my astonishment to find it was an immense pebble arising abruptly from the plain...". He went on to describe it as the most wonderful natural feature he had ever seen and although this impression has been shared by numerous other writers, non has fully conveyed, nor is it possible to convey, the immensity and awe-inspiring grandeur of the Rock which juts 348 metres from the sand.
To add to this feeling of immensity, some of the precipices around the 9.4 km circumference rise vertically for 348 metres from a sandy plain of 25 000 square kilometres, so level that there are no water courses in the entire area.
At only one point is it possible to climb the Rock, a feat now assisted by a hand chain, making the effort much less tiring and dangerous than it was.
The area is rich in mythological stories by which the aboriginals seek to explain the creation of the world and the huge monolith. These legends, make fascinating reading and are available in book form at most tourist centres in Alice Springs.
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The famous Skull! In picture 2, you see the Olgas
on the horizon. |
We do look
small! |
The Olgas! (Kata Tjuta)
The Olgas (Kata Tjuta-Many Heads), of which Mount Olga 1069 metres above the plains is the largest, consist of a group of 30 or more domes covering 36 km due west of Ayers Rock.
These magnificent domes were first seen by Ernest Giles on 14th October 1872, and explored by him the following year on 12th September. His journal recorded that the Olgas displayed "rounded minarets, giant cupolas and monstrous domes", and his astonishment at the sight is echoed by everyone who sees them for the first time.
Unlike Ayers Rock, which is virtually one piece of sandstone, the Olgas are formed of conglomerate stone fused together in fantastic and fascinating patterns. The road which encircles the group, gives access to many picturesque areas and after a good season, creeks and rock pools abound.
Many of the monoliths are within the climbing ability of any active person and the effort is well rewarded with views encompassing Ayers Rock, Lake Amadeus and the Petermann, Masgrave and Mann Ranges. The Olgas are also steeped in aboriginal myth, but the record is fragmentary only and unless some effort is made to preserve the legends, they will be lost for ever.
The many moods of the Olgas!
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| Sunrise! |
Morning! |
Thunder-clouds! |
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| Dingo, the native dog of Australia! |
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