October 12: Australia's Northern Territory - Uluru, Camels and Crocodiles

Today has been fun researching. The Northern Territory has such a lot to offer - apart from heat (average 32 degrees Celsius), cold nights, bugs, snakes, hurricanes, sand (lots of it) trees (not so many) and not all that many people. It boasts amazing ancient history, which I found fascinating.

With evidence of settlements dating back 50,000 years, the Northern Territory is home to the oldest living culture in the world. The Yolngu culture originated in the Arnhem Land, and the Yolngu people still live a very traditional lifestyle. A wide range of indigenous cultures continues to exist in the Northern territory, and over 80 aboriginal languages are still in use. Nearly half of the Northern Territory is considered aboriginal land. The prominent aboriginal groups, other than the Yolngu of the Arnhem Land, are the Arrernet, Warlpiri and Pitjantatjara in the Red Centre.

The indigenous people of the Northern Territory were artists and hunters who had established thriving trade routes with the people of Indonesia. These Indonesian cultures included the Makassan trepangers, who were known as expert harvesters of sea cucumbers, also known as trepang. The aboriginal goods supplied to the Makassan eventually reached the markets of Southern China. These trade routes became very influential in the development of the native Australians, and interbreeding became very common. When the British first settled Australia in 1788, the Australian Aborigines numbered about 300,000, and they spoke nearly 250 languages.

Uluru

Northern Territory-Ayers Rock is a good site to look at if a tour of Northern Territory’s great red rock Uluru and the surrounding areas is on your list of “things to do”. Not too far from Alice Springs, Uluru, or “Ayers Rock” is a magic dreamtime place of great significance to Aborigine.
Uluru is the worlds greatest monolith, 9 km in circumference and rising an imposing 348 metres from the wide, sandy floodplain covered in spinifex and desert oak.
A walking track encircles the base of Uluru, giving visitors the opportunity to see some Aboriginal rock art and also the Mutitjulu Waterhole. There is also a treacherous 1.6 kilometre, 1 mile climb to the top of Uluru. However the route follows a sacred religious track, and Anangu prefer visitors respect their site by choosing the trails around and near Uluru and by not climbing it.
The walking trails around Uluru reveal Anangu stories and law. It is important that visitors show due respect to the site, as this will definitely impact the quality of your experience.The area around the Mala waterhole, for example, requests silence in respect for the significance of the place.

Rainfall is minimal at Uluru - as little as 7mm, or maybe up to 15mm a year. Compare that with the Daintree Rainforest in Northern Queensland average annual rainfall of 2013mm. I found a great image of Uluru just after rain.

 But it's not barren - after a rainfall the flowers are spectacular. This image isn't quite flowers - it's
Bruce Munro's solar landscape at Uluru created in 2013.

 For 10 top insiders things to do at Uluru and some interesting 2-4 day tours,try Viator.

Camels

The first camel was imported into Australia from the Canary Islands in 1840. The next major group of Camels came out in 1860 for the ill-fated Bourke and Wills expedition, and they have been in Oz ever since. Imports of camels from India and Pakistan were estimated to be between 10,000-12,000 between 1860's and 1907. These were brought in to meet the need for large numbers of cheap camels used for draft and riding animals. I'd quite like a camel ride outback at sunset  and there are some great tours available.

Crocodiles
The Northern Territory’s Saltwater crocodile (“Salties”)is the world’s largest reptile and one of the oldest - and it’s ancestors were strutting about the rivers and coasts as long as 250 million years ago. Salties can grow up to seven metres and weigh over 1,000 kg, with an average sized male measuring around five metres. They can be found across all of northern Australia, from Broome in Western Australia, right across the Northern Territory’s Top End and clear down Queensland all the way to Rockhampton. Aussies reckon there may be as many as 200,000 Salties, with the highest concentration around Darwin and the Mary River. Crocs became a protected species everywhere in Australia by 1974.

 I'm definitely not a fan...but again, if crocs are what you want, Northern Territory Travel Guide is a good site for information, and Australia Safaris provides a great range of tours and hunting opportunities, including wild boar, water buffalo and fishing. They also offer Crocodile harvesting which is something very few other safari operations offer, and have a license to catch and shoot crocodiles for their skins and skulls as trophies. Not our sort of trip at all, but I’m sure loads of readers would like to try their hand!