ULURU (AYRES ROCK)
In the ‘Uluru-Kata Tjunta’national park stands the magnificant Uluru/Ayres Rock, a large sandstone rock formation,it is a sacred site for the Aboriginal people and is listed as a World Heritage site. It is one of Australia’s most recognised natural icon’s. It is noted for it’s changes of colour, glowing red briefly at sunset is a remarkable sight, this is due to the oxidation of iron at it’s surface, as the sun sets it changes from red to purple and then to black, and in reverse at sun rise. Water soaks through the sandstone and soaks down through the rock to emerge at the bottom as springs giving wildlife and plants an invaluable water supply in an otherwise arid area. The rock stands 348m (1,142ft) high and measures 9.4km (5.8miles) in circumferance. The Anangu. traditional landowners, give guided tours around the rock and talk about the flora and fauna of the surrounding land and the Aboriginal ‘Dreamtime stories’ of the area. The Anangu people would prefer if people did not climb the rock, they do not forbid it but just prefer that for reasons of tradition and for the safety of visitors it was not climbed. It is not an easy climb and there have ben deaths of climbers over the years, most being due to heart attacks.
CRADLE MOUNTAIN-LAKE ST CLAIR NATIONAL PARK
Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park is situated in the Central Highlands of Tasmania’s wilderness area World Heritage site. It has stunning scenery of craggy ridges and crests, lakes and valleys scooped out by glaciers, wildflower meadows and ancient pines mirrored in the glacial lakes. The park contains many walking trails, which take one past glacial lakes,icy streams and waterfalls cascading out of rugged mountains. Birds and animals that can be seen in the park include bennett’s wallabies, pademelons, quolls, tasmanian devils, echidnas, wombats, possums, ravens and currawongs.
THE TWELVE APOSTLES
The twelve apostles are one of the three most popular tourist attractions in Australia. They are a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of the Port Campbell National Park on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. They have been formed by erosion with the crashing waves of the Southern Ocean. The stacks are susceptible to further erosion from the waves. On 3 July 2005, a 50 metre high stack fell crashing into the sea leaving only eight remaining. They are a spectacular sight to behold from the clifftops, especially at sunrise and sunset as they change colour from black to brilliant yellow under a full sun.
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