Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Uluru and Kata Tjuta

• The address: Lasseter Hwy, Uluru NT 0872, Australia
• Telephone: +61 8 8956 1128
• Site: http://www.parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/
• Square: 1,326 km²
• Foundation date: 1987 year

Sometimes it seems that there is some injustice in the fact that one country owns any wealth, sights or monuments in an amount much larger than neighboring and other states. But if we talk about, then it's great that for a decade now, the country's authorities have been making a lot of efforts to preserve as much as possible intact everything that has been created by nature for millions of years. In this country, there is simply a huge number of nature reserves and parks of different levels, such as the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is located in the northern part of Australia, in the so-called Northern Territory. Geographically to the north of the park there is a city (distance 1431 kilometers), and 440 kilometers to the northeast is a city. The total area of ​​the park is 1326 sq km. Important components of the park are the famous ones, as well as Mount Kata Tjuta, the distance to which from the mentioned rocks is 40 kilometers. When visiting the park, keep in mind that the Great Central Road passes through it.

When visiting the park, it should be borne in mind that in summer the average temperatures are kept at 45 degrees Celsius, and in the winter around -5 degrees. As for precipitation, about 307.7 mm falls annually. It is noteworthy that the aborigines of the Anangu tribe live on the territory of the park on the reservation, most of whom work as guides, guides and tour guides for tourist groups around the park.

Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park is very important for its country: it was included in the world network of biosphere reserves in 1977, and since 1987 it has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The word “park” is badly associated with the real landscape of the protected area - the desert. The characteristic color of the rocks is red, geologists believe that this is due to the presence of iron oxide in the composition of rocks. By the way, the Uluru rocks and the Kata Tjuta mountain are two hills of the same formation. According to geological prospecting data, they were formed at the same time in the form of a large mountain range, but so far it comes out to the surface only by these two hills.

All the beauty of the flora can be observed in winter and after the rainy season: during this period, the time comes for all the green variety to bloom. The Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is home to almost all of the flora found in Central Australia. Together with the animals they meet, they create a real single biological cycle. Interestingly, some species of plants and animals are still used by local aborigines in the form of medicines or food.

Keep in mind that the behavior and appearance of tourists must strictly comply with local regulations: serious monetary fines are imposed for violating them.

How to get to Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park?

Since back in the second half of the twentieth century, the red rocks attracted hundreds of thousands of tourists, since 1975 a real Yulara resort with all the benefits of civilization arose 15 kilometers from Uluru, and an airport near it. You can fly here from almost any major city in Australia. In Yulara, you can rent a good hotel room, visit restaurants and cafes, swim in the pool and rent a car, or buy tickets for a group tour.

Several official routes have been laid in the park. Thanks to this, you can see all the rock formations and local landscapes from the most advantageous side. For example, the route "Main trail" introduces you to the Ulyra rock, but local aborigines consider it a sacrilege to climb the mountain itself, incl. having a desire, you have to do it yourself, there is a path. The Valley of the Winds trail leads only to Mount Kata Tjuta, and there are also two good observation platforms. At the entrance to the park in the cultural center, you can buy hand-made souvenirs by Aboriginal people and get to know their culture, history and traditions.

Photo: Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

In Australia, almost in its very center, is the Kata Tjuta National Park. It is known primarily for its famous mountains in the desert. Ayers Rock (also known as Uluru) and Kata-Tjuta itself (translated as "many heads", she is also called Olga, in honor of the daughter of the Russian Emperor Nicholas I - Princess Olga).

Uluru is a majestic red monolith that rises above the surrounding desert by an average of 350 meters (836 meters above sea level). The length of this unique formation is about 3,100 meters in diameter and about 2,000 meters wide.

Uluru and Kata Tjuta on the map

• Geographical coordinates
• Distance from the capital of Australia, Canberra, about 2050 km
• Distance to the nearest airport in Ayers Rock approximately 20 km

There is an interesting feature in Uluru: the ability to change its color depending on the time of day. In the morning, the rock has a dark purple color, which gradually turns into a fiery red. A little later, the color turns to pink, and by noon it completely becomes golden.

Kata Tjuta is located 25 km west of Uluru and surpasses it in size (about 7 to 5.4 km). From space it looks like a jumble of giant boulders. According to geologists, both rock formations are connected into a single monolith underground.

Locals, as expected, consider these places sacred. According to legends, in ancient times people-snakes lived here in two tribes, who periodically were at enmity with each other. And once they met in a decisive battle, as a result of which everyone died. Also, the natives claim that Uluru is a portal connecting the world of people and the world of spirits.

Climbing the mountain is considered by the locals a sacrilege. They themselves, of course, do not climb there, fearing the wrath of the spirits. Although tourists try not to miss the opportunity to conquer this peak. There are special supports for lifting. It hardly looks like a full-fledged staircase, but they will still help you avoid accidents, which, unfortunately, happened before.

On the second day of the trip along the Stewart Highway, I had to drive the longest stretch of the road - almost 1000 kilometers, see the Martian landscapes of Uluru and Kata Tjuta, be alone within a radius of 100 kilometers and spend the night at the family ranch.

Itinerary of the day:
Day 2. Coober Pedy (K) - Kulgera - Erldunda (L) - Uluru (N) - Kata Tjuta (O) - Curtin Springs (M)

Distance: 962 km (total covered: 1818.5 km)
Driving time: 11h 30min (starts at 9:00 AM CST, ends at 9:30 PM CST)

Refueling (gasoline price):
Marla - 1.50 AUD per liter
Erldunda - 1.57 AUD per liter

Forward to the Northern Territories!

Leaving Coober Pedy early in the morning, I took the Stuart Highway further north. The main purpose of the day was the famous sandy monoliths of Uluru and Kata Tjuta.

A poster at the exit of Coober Pedy says that the nearest telephone will be only 78 km away. Well, not the longest distance in Australia (1)

And the nearest gas station is in Marla, after 90 kilometers (2)

By the way, the dynamics of gasoline prices is quite remarkable - the further from the coast inland, the more expensive. In Adelaide a liter cost AU $ 1.20, in Coober Pedy it was AU $ 1.40, and in Marl it was AU $ 1.50. And this is not a record yet. It is clear that this is mainly due to transport costs - gasoline can be brought here only on Road Trains.

Stewart Highway runs along the edge of the Great Victoria Desert, which stretches from the Nullarbor Plain to the old weathered ridges in the center of the continent, of which Uluru Rock is a part. Desert landscapes are monotonous, but very attractive (3-4)

Sometimes the view outside the window is enlivened by trapezoidal hills - harbingers of old ridges that will appear a little further (5)

As always, the signs warn of kangaroos. For the driver, they are a real danger, especially at dusk (6)

And here is Marla. Motel, shop, bar and gas station are all there is in this town (7)

370 kilometers from Coober Pedy to the border of the Northern Territories flew quickly. The Northern Territories - the most sparsely populated state of Australia - has long been a territory with a special status, and it received the rights of a full-fledged state only at the turn of the 21st century. The vast area of ​​the Territories is home to only 175,000 people, and about half of them live in Darwin, the state capital. Half of the remaining half are in Alice Springs, while the rest are distributed in small towns in the north, and only a few thousand people have found shelter in the center of the continent. But there are many aborigines among them, with whom we will definitely meet.

Northern Territory Frontier (8)

On the back of the stele - of course, the greeting of the State of South Australia (9)

Information boards at the entrance to the Northern Territories warn of the many dangers that await the car traveler. Among them are dust, floods, stray animals, bad roads, camper caravans, ground trains. It is also reported that a permit is required to enter Aboriginal territory. Previously, the aborigines lived on reservations, like those for the American Indians, but now they are assigned to huge tracts of territory in the center of the continent, where without their consent it is impossible not only to conduct any economic activity, but also simply to appear (10)

Another booth describes the charms and roads of the South Australian Outback (11)

There is a toilet in the parking lot, equipped with everything you need, including toilet paper (12)

Small country roads periodically leave the highway, leading somewhere deep into the desert (12a)

The first town in the Northern Territories is Kulgera.

The state flag flies above Cooler's bar-shop-motel (13)

And a poster of a local pub informs about the distances to other Australian cities. From Adelaide 1262 km, to Darwin - 1522 (14)

After another 75 kilometers to the north (just a little over half an hour drive with local traffic) - Erldunda. This town is a staging post for travelers who decide to head to Uluru. Here, the Lasseter Highway branches off the Stewart Highway, a 250-kilometer road that leads to Uluru.

In Erldund there are quite a lot (for the desert center of Australia) cars and people, especially tourists - in the parking lot I counted about a dozen buses and cars. Here you can observe how and in what ways tourists travel through the center of Australia.

The way for German pensioners is the large air-conditioned sightseeing buses. During the day they travel from Alice to Uluru, where tourists stay in a 5-star hotel, spend the day and go back (15)

The same option, but for a smaller group - minivans (16)

And such a minivan with a couple of berths in the upper superstructure can be rented for a family or a group of friends (17)

The way for fathers of families is to travel with his wife, children, and other household members in a camper. There are quite a few campsites of different types. There were as many as 3 of them in Erldund (18-20)

The way for the extreme car lovers - a large SUV is ideal for excursions inland from the highway. Don't forget diesel cans, a winch, a pair of spare wheels, 40 liters of water and a girlfriend (21)

My humble way (you can see it against the background of the Nissan Patrol in the previous photo) - in a rented economy-class car with overnight stays in a motel - is practiced by not so many people.

And, finally, a way for the youngest, the most economical, or the most adventurous - hitchhiking with a backpack on your back. People who travel in this way - with large backpacks - are called backpackers (from backpack - backpack). They usually travel in pairs (it is more difficult to catch a car and "fit in" for the night). Not necessarily by hitchhiking, you can also use some cheap public transport, but here it simply is not. Here are a couple of backpackers picked up by a married couple in a car. It remains only to find a place for backpacks (22)

There is an even more extreme way of traveling, but about it - in the next part.

Until then, turn off the Stewart highway (23)

... westward on Lasseter Highway (24-25)

This road will take us to Uluru after 250 kilometers. The highway is named after the adventurer and gold prospector Harold Lasseter, who is said to have found a very rich gold mine somewhere in these places in 1897, returned for water and food, but on his way back he could not find the cherished place again and died in wilderness in search of what may not have been.

The first of the wonders of the Northern Territories in the car window appears Mount Conner - a large block of sand, towering over the plain for 300 meters (26)

Around - red sand and a long flat and empty road (27-28)

Uluru

This huge red rock is visible for many kilometers (29-30).

Uluru (this is its aboriginal name), or Ayrs Rock, is the summit of a huge underground block of sandstone many hundreds of millions of years old. The above-ground part reaches 350 meters in height and about 10 kilometers in circumference. The bizarre picture of the rock was formed by wind and erosion - they cut the monolith with furrows and gave the rock a characteristic ocher-red color. Aboriginal people consider this mountain sacred. Europeans discovered it only in the 1870s. Ernst Gills first saw it in 1872, and a year later William Gosse climbed it for the first time and named the mountain after Henry Ayrs, the governor of South Australia. More than 100 years later, the mountain was returned to the aborigines, along with its traditional name. Now here is the Uluru National Park - Kata Tjuta. Aboriginal people receive from the state for the lease of the park territory about 100 thousand dollars a year, plus 20% of the fee for entering the park (it costs 25 dollars per person). About half a million people visit the Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park annually.

You can come close to the mountain and see it nearby (31-32)

Until recently it was possible to climb the mountain. Moreover, several people per year died, having fallen apart during the ascent. It is now forbidden - not because of the danger, but because of the protests of the aborigines. The paths upward remained, but only the servants of the park walk along them (33-34)

Nearby, the landscapes are truly Martian (35-38)

Uluru has been an aboriginal shrine for many thousands of years. This is evidenced by the well-preserved rock art (39)

This sacred cave is a symbol of the Aboriginal motherhood (40)

Some more impressive landscapes on the other side of the cliff (41-46)

Kata Tjuta

An even more grandiose rock massif - Kata-Tjuta - is visible from the foot of Uluru. It is necessary to drive about 45 kilometers more to it (47)

Near Kata Tjut it looks absolutely incredible, fantastic! (48-51)

Kata Tjuta, or Mount Olga, is a natural monument even more ancient than Uluru. Once these rocks were a single monolith, 10 times larger than Uluru, but over millions of years wind and water turned it into an amazing group of rocks separated by gorges. The highest of the heads of Kata Tjuta, Mount Olga, rises 550 meters.

The first European who saw this place was the same Gills, who called the mountain Olga. When the territories were returned to the natives, the original name returned to the mountain - Kata-Tjuta ("many heads"). Now it is also part of the national park united with Uluru and a place no less sacred to the aborigines than Uluru.

There are only a couple of permitted routes through Kata Tjutu. One of them passes through the "Valley of the Winds" - a network of inter-rock gorges. The scale of the painting can be understood from the figures of people in the second photo (52-53)

Kata Tjuta at sunset (54-55)

Uluru is located near the tropics and gets dark very quickly here. Having left Kata Tjuta at sunset, I returned to Uluru in the dark and decided to spend the night. Near the entrance to the national park, there is a place called Yulara, where a huge number of tourist buses and a luxurious 5-star hotel with pools, bars and other inappropriate excesses were discovered here.
- I need a room for one night, - I turned to the reception.
“Please, it will cost $ 420,” replied the amiable girl at the counter.
- Isn't there something cheaper? - I asked.
- There is a 3-star hotel nearby, where a room costs $ 250.
“Thank you, this doesn't suit me,” I said, and went back to the car.

Not that I felt sorry for two hundred and a half Australian money, it just somehow did not fit into the general style of a trip with an overnight stay in motels and food in roadside eateries. I'll go to the motel - in the morning I drove through some institution on a ranch a hundred kilometers from Yulara.

I returned to the track. It was already pitch darkness. From the motel in Curtin Springs I was separated by 100 kilometers of completely empty highway. I turned on the high beam, drove out into the middle of the road to have more room to maneuver if a kangaroo suddenly jumped out of the bushes, and rushed forward. The headlights were looking for the next turn in the road, the landscape outside the window instantly disappeared into complete darkness, I did not meet a single car all the way.
An amazing feeling - night, desert, you are alone, there is absolutely no one within a radius of 100 kilometers. The car flies through the tunnel, painted by the headlights and it seems that you are rushing not through space, but through the space of time.
This incomplete hour was one of the most memorable in my life. When, 45 minutes later, the lonely houses of Curtin Springs appeared through the darkness, I reluctantly hit the brake and turned towards an empty motel.
It's a pity, I could go like this forever ...

Previous series.

The territory of the park is inhabited by the Ananga aborigines, many of whom currently work as guides and tour guides for tourist groups.

The first Europeans visited these places in 1870. In 1872, maps of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta region were compiled. In 1920, an Aboriginal reservation was created in part of what is now a national park. Tourists have been visiting the area around Uluru-Kata Tjuta since 1936. In 1976, Australia transferred the rights to the park to its aboriginals, who then “leased” the park to the Australian government for a period of 99 years.

Since 1987, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and in 1995 the park received the Picasso Gold Medal - the highest UNESCO award "for the conservation of nature and culture of the Anangu Aborigines."

The natural landscape of the park is a desert. The animals and plants inhabiting it create a single biological cycle, and the flora of Uluru-Kata Tjuta is represented by almost all species found in Central Australia. Some of these plants are extremely rare and are found only in the territory of the national park. The average temperature in the summer months in the park is 45 ° C, the average winter temperature is 5 ° C. On average, 307.7 mm of precipitation falls here a year.