Kata Tjuta and Field of Light

On the morning of September 20th (which was again really cold), we made our way to Kata Tjuta. They used to be called the Olgas, but now, like Uluru, they have their Aboriginal name back. Kata Tjuta means 'many heads' in the local language and is a sacred place that visitors are welcome to experience. Kata Tjuta is located in the same national park as Uluru, but about 50 km away. On the way there, there is a large sand dune with a viewing platform that offers a fantastic view of the mountains. It was truly a breathtaking sight!

Afterwards, we continued to the Valley of the Winds, where various walks start. We chose the full circuit walk, which covers 7.4 kilometers and is rated as difficult. At the beginning, there is only one path into the valley, which leads to a lookout, and then the loop walk begins. After a somewhat rocky and steep path, we arrived at a second lookout, which was much more beautiful than the first and definitely worth the climb. We had our lunch there. Then we continued through a valley that was full of amazing plants, colorful flowers, and various animals. The walk was really beautiful and can be recommended to everyone! The views are amazing, the landscape constantly changes, and it feels like hiking in the mountains. It was truly beautiful. And we were much faster than we thought or what was stated in the information. They said it takes 4 hours, but after a long lunch break, we returned in 3.5 hours. So we had time to visit the Walpa Gorge. There was another hiking trail there, and Andi really wanted to go there. However, we picked the wrong time of day because there were about a million Asians there. We saw at least 10 buses filled with Asians who were all walking there!!! We played a game: whoever sees 3 non-Asians first wins. Pretty mean :D But I won^^ The path into the gorge was actually quite nice, and according to the information board, it is a path that the Aborigines walk in silence out of respect for the animals and to collect water from the waterholes. However, due to the loud Asian guides and the incredible crowd, the atmosphere was not quite... peaceful.

After the Walpa Gorge, we went back to the Dune Viewing Area to watch the sunset from there. It was very quiet and peaceful there. Just before the sun finally set, we had to make our way back because the shuttle bus to the Field of Light was leaving at 7:55 pm, and we wanted to grab something to eat.

When we arrived at the campsite, we quickly heated up two cans in the microwave, put on all the layers of clothing we had (I had 4 on top and 2 on the bottom, Andi had 7 on top and 1 on the bottom), and walked to the bus stop. The bus picked up other people at the hotels and then it took about 15 minutes to get to the location. The exhibition was set up there, where the Dinner in the Desert takes place, so they didn't have to build new roads or anything. On the bus ride there, you could already see the lights because it was pitch dark, and it looked amazing! After getting off the bus, a woman led us to the entrance of the light installation and explained how the path inside was laid out. Unfortunately, there was actually only one large U-shaped path. I thought there would be many small paths. But it was still beautiful. We strolled along the path and were impressed by this unique sight. It was fascinating how different the light spheres looked up close or from a distance. Each field of light had its own color, which constantly changed. There was a central point from which the glowing cables went to the spheres. And in overview, it all looked like a meadow of flowers with magical, glowing blooms. It reminded me a bit of the landscape in Avatar, where the flowers light up at night and there are those bright roots. And above it all was the starry sky of the Australian desert in all its glory. The moon didn't rise until much later, so we could see the stars very clearly. It was really amazing. There was also a sand dune from which you had a good view of the Field of Light. It was nice to look at, but it didn't come across well in photos. Even from below, you couldn't capture the impression well in photos, but they serve as a beautiful memory :)

By the way, the English artist Bruce Munro, known for his light installations, wanted to emphasize the timelessness of the rock with the Field of Light at Uluru and incorporate his own past and the present of all people. Visitors should be encouraged to reflect and feel part of something greater. I think that's a beautiful intention and a well-executed idea. The visit was definitely worth it.

After 1.5 hours, we took the bus back to the resort. We could have stayed there forever, but it was really really cold. All the layers of clothing didn't help, we were just freezing. So we decided to go back and crawl into bed. Unfortunately, it didn't help in the end because I woke up the next day with a bad cold. Everything hurt, my nose was stuffed, and I was too weak for anything. It's great to get sick right in the middle of the Outback. But we underestimated the cold nights. I couldn't change it anymore, so I just took all the cold medication we had brought and didn't do anything for the rest of the day. We were planning to drive to Kings Canyon anyway, so Andi had to drive while I slept in the car. He was fit and could drive the whole way up alone (with breaks, of course). I just hoped that I would get better soon because we were in the middle of our Red Centre discovery tour and there was still so much to see! It's really stupid. But what can you do.

Before we left, we bought some bread and yogurt that we wanted to enjoy for breakfast the next day. We can keep it cool in our cooler during the drive. But everything in the supermarket was so expensive that we only bought the essentials. They wanted 10 dollars for a six-pack of large water bottles!! By the way, the day before, we bought fly nets in the small souvenir shop at the campsite. They cost 5 AUD each. We thought that was already expensive, but on our last day there, we saw that they had increased the price to 10 AUD each, and in the supermarket, they also cost that much! It's crazy, it's just a piece of fly net! But now the fly season is starting, so they can ask tourists for that amount of money. We didn't need the nets until later, but we were really glad to have them. The flies are sooo annoying, you would probably pay 20 AUD for a net...

I will describe what happened next at Kings Canyon in the next blog entry, so it doesn't get too long. See you then :)