Ayers Rock

Indians make their pilgrimage to the Taj Mahal, French to the Eiffel Tower, Nigerians to Aso Rock, Americans to the Statue of Liberty, Brazilians to the Sugar Loaf, etc... Like many Australians and tourists alike I had to make my pilgrimage to Uluru. I could not decently pretend to be a Permanent Resident without having seen it, could I? I walked the 10 kilometres around its base and the fact that the surroundings are rather flat makes it even more impressive. The most vibrant colours surely appear when the sun is low and this is where thousands of people rush to take millions of pictures. Clic, clic, clic. I am happy to have seen it (I have been wanting to for a very long time), the same way I am happy to have seen the other icons I mentioned earlier. I am also glad there are many more sites I am looking forward to.

Handsome Devil

As mentioned a few days back when I posted the picture of the Green Tree frog that came to visit me, Australia has a good array of unique species. One of them is the Thorny Devil. It is a kind of lizard that lives in the Red Centre I am currently visiting. Sandplains are its natural habitat. It feeds on insects and despite its appearance is a rather friendly animal. Actually, I just noticed today that the cover of my Lonely Planet was also displaying its picture. Otherwise, I visited Alice this morning which was a bit dead. The Papunya Gallery I wanted to go to is only reopening on Monday after some long Christmas holidays. I hit the (dirt) road south to see some ancient petroglyphs at Ewaninga after having visited the fascinating Desert Park.

Ochre Pits

Here I am in Alice Springs (also known as 'The Alice'). It is very hot but dry. As a result I am hardly sweating at 39ºC while I am dripping in water in Singapore when it not even 26ºC. The walks amongst the MacDonnell ranges are absolutely soothing . It is pure silence except from the wind and a few insects and birds. The smells are particularly fantastic. Gum trees, barks and dry woods. I also made it to the Ochre Pits which are no longer used but that have been of importance to the Aboriginal communities when they were trading the Ochre whith other communities. They consist in several layers of multi-coloured, layered rock that were traditionally used by Australian Aborigines in ceremonies and in painting. They are considered some of the choicest ochre and are soft to touch, vivid, with a slight sheen to it. The colours are truly amazing when seen for real, especially the golden and yellow ochres.