About 20 years ago I caught a bus from Alice Springs, a town in the heart of Australia to see what was then called Ayers Rock, the grand monolith that sits in the centre of Australia like an anchor – tied to the ground holding the continent in place.
For some reason the area was in my head as somewhere I had been before but like many Australians who think they have seen it – I was fooled too by the mystery and pictures in my head that had been pasted into my brain for decades. I hadn’t seen it until I did see it.
Shhhhhhh, Sounds of Silence dinner setting.
I had been in the bus trundling long for about three hours, nodding off along the way when I looked up and across the flat terrain, empty except for a few wan She Oak trees, a light breeze wafting through their scrappy, spiky tendrils . . . and there was the rock.
A sight for hungry eyes, the great red blister on the horizon beckons. Also known as Ayers Rock but now officially gazetted as Uluru. The monster rock is an ‘inselberg’, literally an island mountain. Uluru is sacred to the Pitjantjara Ananagu, the Aboriginal peoples of the area.
The area around Uluru hosts waterholes, caves and ancient paintings.
(Uluru is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Uluru and Kata Tjuta also known as The Olgas are the major natural features of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Ntional Park.)
So if you have not visited the beating heart of Australia, or maybe long to return there’s no better time than the present.
Following are three fab reasons and experiences to head to the Outback now.
INSIDER’S GUIDE TO EXPLORING ULURU
Uluru’s ultimate dining experiences
Silence is golden
It’s hard to believe that 25 years ago some bright spark created the unique experience of fine dining in the Australian desert, under the stars in a world of silence.
Yes, the Sounds of Silence is celebrating a quarter century anniversary and since the beginning privileged guests encountered a vast and glorious canopy of stars that look down on Uluru, the resorts, visitors, local clans, soft silent sands and a few gently chattering diners.
It is at this ultimate dining experience, with toes in the sand, where guests are surprised by fine food and wine and then, if they are lucky, they’ll have their first sighting of the Rings of Saturn via a telescope in a cloudless black-sky night. And here be welcomed to country by the haunting sounds of the didgeridoo. And here let your heart swell as you acknowledge that you are in the centre of Australia and are immersed in an experience of a lifetime.
The Sounds of Silence dinner continues to thrill . . . and yes, the stars still twinkle, the food, wine and service shine and celestial beings murmur the quiet, spiritual surround sounds.
Visit: https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/experiences/detail/sounds-of-silence
Dessert in the Dunes
You will pinch yourself. Just sit quietly and take it all in – all is the unusual, the wonder and the awesomeness (and that word isn’t used lightly here). You are about to tuck into a brilliant, gourmet meal beginning with canapés while the light holds, then on to a particularly amusing bouche, then an entrée of Moreton Bay Bugs (can it get any better?) followed by wagyu beef. And in anticipation of a dessert on its way of rosella & lychee petit gateaux you draw breath and take in your surrounds.
You are in the middle of the ultimate dining experience of Tali Wiru in a natural setting in the Red Centre.
Tali Wiru means ‘beautiful dune’ in the local Anangu language and that’s exactly where you are.
And as each course is delivered, with carefully matched wines to your table, just imagine the unseen chef – who is cooking this splendid feast by the light of a lantern . . . true.
No dining feast matches Tali Wiru and the impeccable service comes with a smile – or are they just smiling at your bewilderment at being here. Lucky you.
Visit: https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/experiences/detail/tali-wiru
Let there be light
At Uluru, the lights are on. At the spiritual heart of Australia, as the sun sets at twilight the remote desert area within sight of ‘the rock’ is illuminated by 50,000 globes that have been ‘planted’ in the sand and they glow by the strength of solar-powered optic fibres.
This extraordinary installation is the brainchild of British artist Bruce Munro (pictured below), who with his team of locals installed thousands of slender stems crowned with frosted glass spheres.
This monumental work of art was created and produced by many. The other-worldly feeling here evokes an emotional response of joy and maybe a little melancholy – perhaps that was Munro’s aim.
Ayers Rock Resort.
Visit the Red Centre to see Uluru now, and win the trifecta – these three ultimate experiences will satisfy the soul.
The Field of Light installation will be happening until December 2020.
Visit: https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/events/detail/field-of-light-uluru
http://www.brucemunro.co.uk/installations/field-of-light/
Writer, Bev Malzard managed to fit this terrific trio of Outback experiences over a three day trip. She also ambitiously rode a pushbike around Uluru. There was a lot of puffing and grunting. She completed the circuit – and doubts she’ll ever do this again. Once was enough,
Uluru’s ultimate dining experiences
Silence is golden
It’s hard to believe that 25 years ago some bright spark created the unique experience of fine dining in the Australian desert, under the stars in a world of silence.
Yes, the Sounds of Silence is celebrating a quarter century anniversary and since the beginning privileged guests encountered a vast and glorious canopy of stars that look down on Uluru, the resorts, visitors, local clans, soft silent sands and a few gently chattering diners.
It is at this ultimate dining experience, with toes in the sand, where guests are surprised by fine food and wine and then, if they are lucky, they’ll have their first sighting of the Rings of Saturn via a telescope in a cloudless black-sky night. And here be welcomed to country by the haunting sounds of the didgeridoo. And here let your heart swell as you acknowledge that you are in the centre of Australia and are immersed in an experience of a lifetime.
The Sounds of Silence dinner continues to thrill . . . and yes, the stars still twinkle, the food, wine and service shine and celestial beings murmur the quiet, spiritual surround sounds.
Visit: https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/experiences/detail/sounds-of-silence
Dessert in the Dunes
You will pinch yourself. Just sit quietly and take it all in – all is the unusual, the wonder and the awesomeness (and that word isn’t used lightly here). You are about to tuck into a brilliant, gourmet meal beginning with canapés while the light holds, then on to a particularly amusing bouche, then an entrée of Moreton Bay Bugs (can it get any better?) followed by wagyu beef. And in anticipation of a dessert on its way of rosella & lychee petit gateaux you draw breath and take in your surrounds.
You are in the middle of the ultimate dining experience of Tali Wiru in a natural setting in the Red Centre.
Tali Wiru means ‘beautiful dune’ in the local Anangu language and that’s exactly where you are.
Under the crisp night sky this is an open-air, exclusive restaurant like no other. Uluru and the distant silhouette of the Kata Tjuta domes are your walls.
And as each course is delivered, with carefully matched wines to your table, just imagine the unseen chef – who is cooking this splendid feast by the light of a lantern . . . true.
No dining feast matches Tali Wiru and the impeccable service comes with a smile – or are they just smiling at your bewilderment at being here. Lucky you.
Visit: https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/experiences/detail/tali-wiru
Let there be light
At Uluru, the lights are on. At the beating spiritual heart of Australia, as the sun sets at twilight the remote desert area within sight of ‘the rock’ is illuminated by 50,000 globes that have been ‘planted’ in the sand and they glow by the strength of solar-powered optic fibres.
This extraordinary, unique installation is the brainchild of British artist Bruce Munro, who with his team of locals installed thousands of slender stems crowned with frosted glass spheres.
Be in the light and for an unparalleled experience, ‘A Night at Field of Light’, combines the Sounds of Silence dinner experience with the once-in-a-lifetime Field of Light art installation. The soft lights spread across the desert floor behind you, and you’ll tuck into a tasty three-course buffet menu before you’re invited to immerse yourself in the Field of Light with its pathways glistening with rhythms of coloured light inviting you to explore.
This monumental work of art was created and produced by many. The other-worldly feeling here evokes an emotional response of joy and maybe a little melancholy – perhaps that was Munro’s aim
If you have never visited the Red Centre to see Uluru, there is no better time than now – and to win the trifecta – these three ultimate experiences will satisfy the soul.
.
The Field of Light installation will be happening until December 2020.
Visit: https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/events/detail/field-of-light-uluru
http://www.brucemunro.co.uk/installations/field-of-light/
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