Ayers Rock and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)
- Danielle Willis
- Aug 15, 2016
- 3 min read
The Olgas, or Kata Tjuta, is rarely given the credit she deserves and is often pushed out of the limelight by her biggest rival Ayers Rock, who mostly comes out on top in terms of ‘who’s been featured on the front page the most in tourism magazines’. In fact, I have to admit that before visiting Australia, I had never once heard of Kata Tjuta and wasn’t even aware that another larger rock formation existed alongside Ayers Rock. Therefore I’ve set myself the task of bringing about justice for Kata, so I’ll talk to you all about her first.
In all honesty, I actually found Kata Tjuta more interesting than Ayers Rock, because rather than just being one giant rock plonked in the desert, it is a group of individual large, domed rock formations made up of 36 individual domes, and so for me, was more interesting to look at and explore. The natural structure covers an area of 8.37 square miles and its highest dome Mount Olga, is sure enough 650ft higher than Ayers Rock. Therefore, Kata Tjuta is actually just as incredible as Ayers Rock (spread the word!)
Anyhow, my exploration of Kata Tjuta took me on a journey along the Valley of the Winds, which being a little on the clumsy side, wasn’t the easiest; the views across the domes and out into the secret Anagu men’s land did however, make it all worthwhile. The hike was approximately 7.5 kilometres, though there were also shorter routes for those who wished to opt out. I was left in awe with this prodigy of nature as I was led into a haven within the domes through trickling creek beds and as the sun rose up, the structure only became more beautiful enlivened to a deep amber glow.
Nevertheless, that’s not to say that Ayers Rock doesn’t deserve the attention it attracts, and with more than 300,000 people visiting it each year, I can understand what all the fuss is about. It is estimated that around 1 In 10 people who visit the landmark climb it. However I chose not to, because the traditional custodians, the Anagu people, wish for tourists to respect their beliefs and not climb Uluru, as it is to them, a sacred place.
My experiences of Uluru consisted of taking classic postcard pictures and watching the sun both rise and set over the magical formation. Upon watching the sunset I witnessed the stunning colour changes over Uluru with a glass of bubbly, cheese and biscuits and rich chocolate cake, with thanks to one of the girls on my tour who conveniently had a birthday.
The following day, with an alarm set for 5am, I woke to catch a first glimpse of the sun as it rose across the desert plains at the sunrise viewing area. I have to mention that after seeing the sunset, I’m not too sure whether the sunrise was worth getting up for and frankly, I’d rather have had the extra few hours in bed. Travelling is tiring y’know.
However we then went on a base walk, known as the Mala Walk, which lead us on a journey through an aboriginal habitation area continuing further to Kantju Gorge, where we were fortunate enough to spot water trickling over the side of Uluru descending down into the Gorge. This event is rare, but due to the amount of rainfall that the area had been subject to a few days before our arrival, we were fortunate enough to capture it. Along the tour our Aussie guides also indicated the natural features of the landscape and identified aboriginal artwork, telling us stories of aboriginal culture and history.
And that in brief, is how I experienced the natural wonders of Ayers Rock and uncovered the existence of its even larger neighbor, Kata Tjuta. If by now, I haven’t tempted you to visit, then you surely must have learnt something. After all, so the old saying goes 'you learn something new every day'. Or at least I like to think so.
