Think of Australian iconic landmarks and Uluru, (or Ayers Rock for the oldies), will likely be amongst those on your shortlist.
Northern Australia is an area we have not seen anything much of yet but it is certainly on our (long) list ! In fact my only other visit to the Northern Territory was a work trip to Darwin nearly 30 years ago. That trip included a visit to one of Australia’s very early uranium mines – Nabarlek – one of “the” mines under the Hawke Labour government’s “three mine policy” in the 1980’s !
Providing a more conventional type of “glow” in the Territory, in April 2016 an art installation called “Field of Light” was set up, set glittering at the base of Uluru and adding another dimension to the iconic location in the heart of the Northern Territory. I read about it at the time and thought it would be a fabulous sight to see.
The exhibition, named Tili Wiru Tjuta Nyakutjaku in the local Pitjantjatjara language, or aptly ‘looking at lots of beautiful lights’, sees more than 50,000 solar-powered stems light up at sunset and glow throughout the night. In keeping with the desert’s vast scale, the brightly coloured light stems cover an area the size of four football fields.
The epic piece, created by Bruce Munro, is internationally acclaimed and was initially expected to be in place for only 12 months. With other plans we already had in place, it didn’t look like it would be possible to organise for us to see it during that timeframe. Thankfully however, its popularity exceeded all expectations and the show was extended until 31 March 2018, giving us another opportunity to plan a trip to the Red Centre.
It was still a bit of a juggle to find a suitable time. We didn’t want to miss out and Adrienne has always said she prefers hot weather so booking this tour for the end of February was certainly going to test out that preference ! As it turned out, it wasn’t too bad – certainly hot but no humidity. And would you believe it, after making our booking arrangements it has now been further extended (to December 2020) ! Oh well, the whims of travel planning !
We combined our viewing of the Field of Light with the “Sounds of Silence” dining experience – drinks and canapes watching the changing colours of the Outback as the sun set to the sound of a didgeridoo, followed by dinner as darkness falls and the night sky bursts with millions of shining stars – slightly obscured by the nearly full moon though. A very nice way to spend the evening although it could have probably done with a bit of extra time dedicated to exploring the lights themselves.
And despite the heat of the day, we set about planning our activities around the “cooler” parts of the day – we managed taking in a sunrise and sunset or two, a trip to the nearby Olgas (Kata Tjuta) and Walpa Gorge as well as a fantastic Segway tour around the 12km base of Uluru itself. And, of course, what else for the hotter parts of the day than a relax in the pool with the appropriate cooling beverage or two ! 🥂🍻👍
This was an outstanding quick tour – if you haven’t seen the “Red Centre”, we’d highly recommend it !!
Here’s a few shots to hopefully whet your appetite ………………..
The changing colours of the rock ……
