A year ago in August, I travelled to Australia. It wasn’t my first time in the Southern Hemisphere but it was my first “Down Under”.

What can I say? It was AMAZING! Incredible.

For almost two weeks, I whipped around this giant of a country by car and by air. The itinerary included Melbourne, Sydney, and Tasmania, with Uluru and Kata Tjuta the highlights.

Uluru and Kata Tjuta are deeply spiritual places for the Anangu. All of creation, from the land to the water to all creatures, holds significance as it is all part of their cosmology. They have relationships with all, not just with people or with material things, as we often do in the West. The land is part of their culture and they are  the guardians. Uluru and Kata Tjuta are more than rock formations.

Kata Tjuta

Kata Tjuta, specifically the Valley of the Winds, holds special meaning for me. After I moved to Singapore, I discovered the beautiful Australian Bush Flower Essences and I continue to work with them. This is where Ian White makes much of the mother tincture. That should say something about the purity of the air and the frequency there, way out nowhere. The idea of being on this ancient land, where tales of Dreamtime still live and breathe, was exciting and humbling at the same time.

I flew in from Sydney for one night and caught the bus out to Alice Springs. The plan was to visit Uluru for sunset and Kata Tjuta for sunrise. I stayed at the Ayers Rock Resort, some ten minutes from Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. There are also camping options. After quickly checking in and dropping off the luggage, I caught the next shuttle bus to Uluru, to walk all the way around the base before catching the last bus to watch the sunset. It all nearly went as planned.

Uluru…

Walking Around Uluru

For hours, I simply walked around the base, lost in thought and immersed in the quiet. Here and there I would pause, to take it in and to photograph flowers. I naturally fell into this rhythm as I marked the red dirt of the path with my footprints. Occasionally I would see a hiker or two, silently nodding to each other as we passed. Otherwise it was just the big sky, a big rock, me and my thoughts.

When Plans Change…

So this is where the plan hiccuped. The visitor centre was closed by the time I got there, the water and food I had been promising myself only a mirage. Sitting in the resting pavilion, it was clear there was no bus coming. The light was starting to drop. The viewing area/parking lot would be filling up with eager tourists and photographers, each with their array of equipment, jockeying for the best view. I too had a tripod with me.

Yet everything is perfect and somehow I hitched a ride with another bus, arriving just before the crowd really pulled in. The bus I had planned to take was already there. Everyone was getting settled and I set up my gear. It was profound to be finally here, to witness the sunset at this most sacred and colourful place.

Sunsets are beautiful … to watch the light descend over such an expanse of land, the reds, yellows, and oranges dancing over Uluru…ahhh. There was constant chatter and unrest as we waited for the sunset. When it came time, silence filled the air as each withdrew into their own universe, or perhaps they travelled out far into the milky way. I was so happy I wanted to clap…or cry. Overwhelmed by awe, this awe you feel when you remember you are part of something so much bigger than our human selves.

The ride back to the resort was quiet, sombre, reverent. I was watching the last light disappear, thinking over that day, the fact that I was in the outback and had finally seen Uluru. Not only that – I had walked all the way around this wonder of the world. Touched the red soil. How lucky am I. How lucky I was to be alive at this time, living this life.

Kata Tjuta

About 30km from Uluru sits Kata Tjuta, both of which are part of the same underground rock formation. 36 rock domes make up Kata Tjuta, which means “many heads”.  This space is sacred to the men of Anangu, and off-limits to the women, and unlike Uluru, climbing is strictly prohibited. We got very little information about Kata Tjuta as the telling of the stories to outsiders is forbidden.

The small tour began early morning to watch the sun rise, somewhere between Uluru and Kata Tjuta, so it was a double treat to see both sacred sights in a new light. Kata Tjuta was definitely different, not only because it was the beginning, rather than the end, of a day. The energy was palpable.

Breakfast was a simple and quiet affair at picnic tables before walking into the domes. It only seemed more packed because access was restricted and the path was narrow. Standing in the valley between the cliff faces, the humorous guide gave explanations about the geological aspects of the area. It felt almost surreal being there. Like pulling past, present, and future together in one spot, like an accordion. I felt both light, and heavy. Heavy because of the history, perhaps.

Before long, it was time to go – Valley of the Winds will have to wait. It was time to leave these sacred sites, and the middle of nowhere.

Melbourne was the next stop. Coming from such an expanse into a buzzing urban centre was decidedly an uncomfortable contraction. It was most definitely an assault on the senses and an intrusion of energies. It would take a few days of adjustment, so boundless did I feel in the land of the Anangu.