Woonona Mob "Zig Zag Oz": The Red Centre

The Red Centre, red socks, red clothes, a sprinkle of red dust with every meal! Our day to Kata Tjuta involved a 4 hour walk through the Valley of the Winds, a beautiful walk through the “heads”. This is a traditional Anangu men’s site. Kata Tjuta is different from Uluru, made from conglomerate not sandstone. Afternoon swims in the pool back at the camp ground help us to cool down from walking in 30+ degrees. Moving on to Kings Canyon, a 3 hour drive west, we meet the West MacDonnell Ranges. Todays walk involved a 3.5 hour walk around the rim of Kings Canyon, climbing up the sheer side of a cliff and then through the beautiful domes of the Watarrka National Park. The walls of the domes are crisscrossed with 2 different sandstones, creating beautiful patterns of colours ranging from black, red, yellow, orange to white. You can see where the Luritja people collected ochre for their ceremonies. We pass ancient and rare cycads, gnarled cypress pines growing amongst the rocks in the harsh environment. As we walk we descend into the “Garden of Eden”, a pocket of lush vegetation growing along a creek, and ending in a small pool. This permanent water source hidden in the gorge is a welcome respite from the hot day’s walking. Each night we have had dingoes wander through the camp and can hear their howling calls off in the distance, a weirdly welcoming sound. There are also huge feral cats wandering around, who are very evasive despite the girls attempts to call them over “here puss puss” doesn’t seem to work with these giant felines!!