Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Kjuta (The Olgas)

My time in Alice Springs was not without excitement. I was given a full tour of our operations in and outside the town (small city really). It was an eye opener to glimpse the unique working environment in Alice. You see there’s a small, but very vocal, environmental community that is dead set against anything that has to do with nuclear power. They think that by mining uranium from the land nearby, Alice will become a post-apocalyptic wasteland ruled by an anti-semitic Mel Gibson in full leather. Solar arrays are present outside the city but they provide very little of the total power used. Of course, they have no qualms about getting their energy from coal. This being the environment equivalent of shaking hands with Nelson Mandela while simultaneously clubbing a seal. But I digress….

After my company tour I disembarked on my own private little road trip. Little might not be the proper terminology. Sizeable….large, or even gargantuan might better encapsulate the sort of distance that was covered in one day. My journey started in Alice springs and would take me across 500km of desert before arriving at the Olgas, giant sandstone domes that jut out from the surrounding flatness. Within these domes is a hiking path that allows you to experience their size and grandeur up close. I couldn’t resist. 7.64km and 2 hours later I had found my way through the “Valley of the Winds” and taken over 100 photos. The views were spectacular and the serenity of the location was unmistakable. I think I managed to go during an off day because the whole time I was in the park I didn’t feel like I was being rushed or crammed in. I also rarely heard an Aussie accent as the park is a larger draw for the international crowd.

"The Olgas rise in the distance. This was about 5 km away when the photo was taken."

"A view from between a couple of the domes. They were huge once you were up beside them and offered some very picturesque lookout points."

"By this point I was most of the way through the Valley of the Winds hike and was still just trying to snap as many photos as I could. It seemed like such a unique landscape that my finger wouldn't leave the shutter button for long."

Next stop was the more famous Ayers Rock, or as it is now known, Uluru. This behemoth is much like the domes of the Olgas except it’s joined into one large hunk of sandstone. One can’t truly appreciate its size until attempting to climb it, which I did. I had to, it compelled me to scale its smooth, weathered face. Unfortunately for my conscience there’s a sign at the base of the climb saying that it should be reserved for the local aboriginals as a rite of passage. I had seen the aboriginals in Alice Springs. Whatever tradition they once held to is gone, replaced by poverty and malice. After personally justifying the climb, I began my ascent. About 15 minutes later I was asking for a third lung and hoping my heart didn’t explode. Ok maybe it wasn’t that bad, but I did try to climb it way too quickly and found myself needing a few breaks along the way to suck in enough oxygen to keep my muscles from burning like too much tiger balm combined with icy hot. Not even Shaq could have withstood that kind of burn.

"The generic photo of Uluru taken from one of the main view points."

"The Olgas from the top of Uluru. You can also notice just how flat it is around these huge chunks of rock."

 "Ridge filled roof of Uluru."

Once I finally made it to the top and surveyed my surroundings it was an impressive view. There’s a reason that hunk of rock sticks out so well, it’s the only thing there. Flat desert was all I could see in every direction. The Olgas loomed in the distance as shadows against the horizon. After giving myself a few minutes to take in the sites and catch my breath, it was time to start the descent. I’m happy to report that down was much easier than up. It did involve tiny baby steps and leaning really far back….but was relatively painless.

"Sunset photo of Uluru. While I was watching the sunset I chatted it up with a Dutch family. Why is that important? I ran into them again in Cairns a few days later. It's a small world."

"I took this during the drive back to Alice Springs. I looked out my window at the sky and realized that it was lit up like a Christmas tree. When you are truly in the middle of nowhere with no ambient light it's amazing how bright the stars are. This image gets a lot fuzzier when you look at the blown up version. That belt of stars that cuts diagonally across the image also cut all the way across the sky. I had to just stop and star gaze for awhile because it was just too amazing to pass up."