A HOMAGE TO AUSTRALIA / VIAJES / UN HOMENAJE A Australia

Hi my friends, today we are going to know a bit more about Australia,   and specially THE RED CENTRE a place far from  almost everywhere but very interesting to go and see.  I haven't visited it yet but I would like to, so it's a question of planning a beautiful travel to such a  special part of the Planet!

Hola amigos, hoy vamos a conocer un poquito más sobre Australia, y especialmente EL CENTRO ROJO, un lugar lejos de casi todas partes pero muy interesante para ir y ver.  Yo no lo he visitado todavía pero me gustaría, así que es solo cuestión de planificar un bonito viaje  a una parte tan especial del planeta.

In memory of the victims of the terrible fires (people and animals) and all the grattitude to the brave firemen and volunteers!



IN THE RED CENTRE

**What it is known as The Red Centre is The Uluru (Ayers Rock), a massive (macizo)  348-metre-high sandstone monolith.  First it appears black-red, then purple-red, then orange-red but always red.

**The Red Centre is in the heartland of Australia and it is a desert region which lies (se extiende)  at the southern end of the Northern Territory, in the middle of the country.  The Red Centre is the spiritual heart of Australia.

**The Uluru was named after a South Australian politician in 1873 but it has been a sacred site (lugar) for indigenous people for far longer.  It is estimated that the first tribes arrived here more than 20,000 years ago.

**In 1958 the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was founded and indigenous tribes were forced out of the zone and relocated 450 kilometres away.  In 1985 and after a long land claim (reclamación), the park was restored to Aboriginal ownership.

**Uluru remains sacred to local tribespeople so arguments (discusiones)  continue over whether to allow visitors to climb the rock, which is a popular goal (objetivo)  for many of the 400,000 tourists who go there each year.  In November  2009, a raised  (elevada) viewing platform   was opened to offer stunning (sensacionales)  views of the rock from a distance.

WILDLIFE

*The Red Centre appears to be dusty (polvoriento) , lifeless (sin vida)  and very dry but however, although temperatures can rise above 40 degrees Celsius, this landscape is inhabited (habitado)  by over 500 species of plants,  180 different kinds of birds, 70 types of reptiles and 25 different mammal species.

*Residents include marsupials such as the red kangaroo, large flightless birds like the emu and small lizards (lagartijas)  like the incredible thorny (espinoso)  devil (diablillo) , which resembles a miniature dinosaur!!

*Lying 50 kilometres west of Uluru, Kata Tjuta  is a gigantic natural arrangement (disposición)  of 36 different rock domes.  This is also a sacred Aboriginal site.

*Alice Springs  is a modern town of around 30,000 people and the largest settlement in the Red Centre.



WATARRKA NATIONAL PARK, KING'S CANYON

*Watarrka is 320-kilometre drive southwest from Alice Springs.

*You can find there a   270-metre-deep canyon.

*From the palm-filled chasm (sima repleta de palmeras) of the "Garden of Eden" to the red sandstone domes (montículos de arena)  of the "Lost City", Watarrka is another world.  Sheer (escarpado) cliffs (acantilados) rise high (se elevan)  above lush (exuberante)  vegetation, waterholes (charcas)  and trails (senderos).  Ancient Aboriginal paintings can be found etched (grabadas) into rock faces.  And, like the rest of this mysterioous region, everywhere is coloured in RED.

**IF YOU GO...

- the best time is between May and September, when temperatures are less extreme.

- You can go by plane  to AYERS ROCK AIRPORT or with the legendary THE GHAN rail service to Alice Springs: http://www.alicespringsdesertpark.com.au/

- Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Watarrka National Park are linked by the Red Centre Way, a 300-kilometre driving route that takes visitors from Alice Springs through the MacDonnell Mountain and onto Autstralia's most famous desert landscapes.

- A three-day pass to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park costs  AU$ 25.
www.environment.gov.au/parks/ulutu
http://www.australiasouthback.com/

DID YOU KNOW?

*Uluru is the world's largest rock, measuring 3.6km long, 2km wide and with a circumference of 9.4km.

*Uluru is 348m high but llike a giant iceberg extends for around 6 kilometres beneath the surface!

*Kata Tjuta is estimated to be around 500 million years old.

*The Red Centre is home to the world's oldest river -The Finke River has followed its present course for 100 million years, but parts of it date back 340 million years, before dinosaurs evolved!


HAVE A NICE DAY!!

SEE YOU!