The Magic of Kata Tjuṯa / Mount Olga

Uluru or Ayers Rock is usually known, one of Australia’s most iconic landmarks. But, adjacent, there is another natural wonder that is called Kata Tjuta which is well worth to see. Kata Tjuta means “many heads” is also known as the Olgas.  The area was given a name to its tallest peak, Mount Olga. This is just a little higher than the other rock formations in the vicinity. Mount Olga was named by Ernest Giles back in 1872 after Queen Olga of Wurttemberg.

Kata Tjuta is a group of large, domed rock formations located 360 kilometers southwest of Alice Springs, Northern Territory, central Australia. Kata Tjuta forms the two major landmarks within the Uluru-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. The park is considered sacred to the Aboriginal people of Australia. The local Aboriginal Aṉangu community has inhabited this land for over 22,000 years.

The eye-catching red rock formations of Kata Tjuta rise from the dusty land to make an incredible sight. The remarkable rocks appear to change color and submerge yourself, millions of years in the making. The best ever place to take in the majesty of the 36 domes are from the top of a sand dune lookout for a panoramic view of Kata Tjuṯa with Uluṟu on the horizon. Kata Tjuṯa has spotlessly positioned viewing areas and is most impressive at sunrise and sunset.

The lengthy history of the landmark means there are plenty of stories mingling it. The 36 domes that make up Kata Tjuṯa cover an area of 21.68 km2. The area is tranquil of conglomerate, a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders of varying rock types including granite and basalt, cemented by a matrix of sandstone. The highest dome Mount Olga is about 1,066 m above sea level. In 1993, Mount Olga was renamed Mount Olga / Kata Tjuṯa. The region surrounding Mount Olga is approximately 850-800 million years ago. The eventual erosion of the formation resulted in a molasse facies or deposition in front of rising mountains.

To view the incredible scenery that surrounds it, including dusty red dunes and tufts of greenery. Kata Tjuṯa can be reached via Ayers Rock Airport, followed by a 55-kilometer drive south, then west. Visitors are required to pay an entry fee. Kata Tjuṯa is about 495 kilometers by road from Alice Springs, via the Stuart and Lasseter highways. It is a 4½ hour drive. Kata Tjuṯa is a magical place that really shows the true natural beauty of Australia. This part of the country is renowned for its rich Aboriginal history and its incredible displays of scenery. Source: CP

The Devil’s Marbles of Karlu Karlu

 

Devil’s Marbles or Karlu Karlu, are a collection of giant granite boulders strewn across a shallow valley. Devil’s Marbles are recognized by the local Warumungu Aboriginals. It is located almost 100 KM south of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory, Australia. The Devil’s Marble is one of the most widely considered symbols of Australia’s outback.

 

The Marbles have great importance for the Aboriginal people. They’re protected under the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act. In the Aboriginal mythology the Devils Marbles are the eggs of the rainbow serpent. Many dreamtime stories and traditions of the Warumungu, Kaytetye and Alyawarre Aboriginal folks are linked with this area.

 

The unique shapes are formed by erosion more than millions of years. These marbles are made of granite with varying sizes from 50cm to 6m across. Different boulders are naturally precariously balanced atop one another or on massive rock formation. However, many others have been split cleanly down the middle. Though they are appear to have been prudently placed or maybe brought here by flood or glaciers from distant places. These boulders in fact formed on the ground they stand by erosion of rock that reached the surface from below.

 

The Devils Marbles started out, several million years ago, when an upsurge of molten rock penetrated the ground from below. It spread out and settled into a solid layer within the Earth's crust. Thus, after some time, tectonic forces caused folding of the Earth's crust in the area. Which have lifted the granite causing it to fracture into big, square blocks?

 

The weathering by water and wind rounded off the edges and turned them into smooth boulders that we see today. Moreover the extreme temperature difference between day and night in the arid desert region. Where the reserve is located creates massive stress on these boulders, that causing them to frequently expand and contract. Some of the rocks eventually crack completely in half.

 

According to one interesting story, “Arrange”, the Devil Man, while walking through the area, made a hair-string belt, a type of traditional adornment, worn only by initiated Aboriginal men. He was twirling the hair to make strings. Then he dropped clusters of hair on the ground which turned into the big red boulders. He finally returned to his place of origin, a hill named “Ayleparrarntenhe”, where the legend myths he’s still lives today.

 

Balls Pyramid, World’s Tallest Volcanic Sea Stack

Ball's Pyramid is an erosional remnant of a shield volcano and caldera that formed about 6.4 million years ago. Ball’s Pyramid is a sea stack, a great jagged spire rising from the Tasman Sea.  It lies 20 kilometers southeast of Lord Howe Island in the Pacific Ocean. The massive Ball’s Pyramid is one of the surviving above-ground discovered in 1788. It is 562 meters high, while measuring only 1,100 meters in length and 300 meters across, making it the tallest volcanic stack in the world. Ball's Pyramid is part of the Lord Howe Island Marine Park in Australia.

Ball's Pyramid is positioned in the center of a submarine shelf. The barren, rocky spire was believed to be devoid of life until 2001 when a group of researchers discovered what may be the world’s rarest insect. The world’s tallest sea stack of Australia’s is most remarkable diving can be found exploring the caves and waters surrounding the basalt spearhead, divers come face-to-face with a mass of spectacular sea creatures.

Ball’s Pyramid looks like a place where nothing could survive, but isn’t devoid of life. It is home to the rarest insect in the world, the Lord Howe stick insect, famous for being big as a human hand. The researchers found a colony of the huge Lord Howe Island stick insects living under a single bush, a hundred feet up the else entirely infertile rock.  

The Lord Howe Island stick insect “Dryococelus australis” known as “land lobsters” or “walking sausages,” the six-inch long insects were once common on the neighboring Lord Howe Island, but were assumed to have been eaten into extinction by the black rats introduced to the island when a supply ship ran aground on its shores in 1918. In some way a few of the wingless insects escaped and managed–by means still unidentified–to traverse over 14 miles of Open Ocean, land on Ball’s Pyramid, and survive there. Just 27 of the insects have been found on the rocky spire. So, currently they’re being bred in captivity.

From huge schools of Violet Sweep, Rainbow Runners and Amberjack, to Marlin, Dolphin, Turtles and Wahoo, the underwater world will astound. Many rare species, like Spanish Dancers and Galapagos Whalers also make these waters their home. Ball’s Pyramid is a widespread spot for fishing charters and is the only known place where the Ballina Angelfish can be sighted scuba diving. You could be forgiven for thinking it is the infamous headquarters of the Thunderbirds. In 1990, the policy was relaxed to allow some climb. The Ball’s Pyramid is protected as part of the Lord Howe Island World Heritage area and people can no longer climb the mountain without permission.

Wave Rock, Australia

Wave Rock is a strange natural rock formation located east of the small town of Hyden in Western Australia. Wave Rock name derives from the fact that it is shaped like a tall breaking ocean wave, composed of granite and the total outcrop covers several hectares. The wave rock is about 15 meters high and about 110 meters long. Wave Rock is a remarkable example of what geomorphologists call a "flared slope". A flared slope is a concave-upward or -inward bedrock surface that is naturally found around the base of inselbergs, bornhardts, and granitic boulders and also on their higher slopes. Wave Rock is 27 million years old and made up of grey and red granite strips, is quite a formation aboriginal rock paintings can also be seen at nearby Bates Cave.

The shape of the rock is not caused by a wave phenomenon, rather its rounded wave-like shape was formed by subsurface chemical weathering followed by removal of the soft weathered granite by fluvial erosion, and therefore the weathering occurred below ground level before it was exposed. The end result is an undercut base, leaving a round overhang. Further, in the spring season, water running down the rock during wetter months dissolves minerals adding to the coloring of the wave. Moreover the other aspect of Wave Rock not often shown on photographs is the retaining wall about halfway up the rock. This follows the contours and lets rainwater to be collected in a storage dam. It was constructed in 1951 by the Public Works Department, and such walls are common on many similar rocks in the Wheat-belt region of Western Australia. You will find interpretive signage around the rock; enlighten you on the history of the rock and surrounding areas. In the spring, one can find many orchids and other flowers growing around the base in the Sheoak trees.

Shell Beach, Australia

There’s a unique beach located 45 km south east of Denham, covered shells for 60km stretch to a depth of 7 to 10m. Shell Beach is a beach in the Shark Bay region of Western Australia, on the northeastern side of the Taillefer Isthmus along the L'Haridon Bight. Shell beach is one of only two beaches in the world made entirely from shells. The beach name derived because of great abundance of the shells of the cockle species Fragum erugatum. The shells have formed a limestone that is acknowledged as coquina. However, before Shark Bay became a World Heritage Site, the coquina was mined and used for the construction of a number of buildings in Denham. Shark Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, unique marine life found in and near its waters including dugongs, Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, various whales and whale sharks, and the largest seagrass bank in the world, contributed to the formation of Shell Beach.

The sea-water in the L'Haridon Bight has a high salinity due to both the geomorphology and local weather of the area. The high salinity has allowed the cockle to thrive unchecked, since its natural predators have not adapted well to this environment. The shells were once used to build the office walls of buildings in the area, some of which can still be seen today. This beautiful snow-white beach is made up of millions of tiny shells transforms into a palette of the most intense greens and blues - and the water is very salty (hyper-saline), making it easy to float for those who aren’t solid swimmers. Therefore, L’Haridon Bight has been a veritable cockle paradise for thousands of years, letting the little bivalves to propagate, flourish, die, and have their shells wash up on shore over and over and over and over again, enough times to create a dazzling snow white beach. Nowadays, special licenses are still granted to mine the shells as a source of calcium for mulch and poultry feed. However, hypersalinity of L’Haridon Bight keeps out predators of humans as well as cockles, making Shell Beach a popular place to go for a swim. Also See: Cleft Island, A Granite Island of Wilsons Promontory in Australia

Dove Lake, Tasmania Australia

Dove Lake is a corrie lake lies in the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park in Tasmania, Australia. Dove Lake is a very popular visitor place owing to its immense scenic beauty, encircled by well-maintained walking paths which also lead up onto Cradle Mountain. The lake was named by prominent local Gustav Weindorfer after an official of the Van Diemen's Land Company. Dove Lake is formed by glaciation like several other lakes in the region. The unique flora and fauna of Tasmania were created in extreme isolation from much of the rest of the world, allowing life forms to evolve without outside influence. The Dove Lake is surrounded by towering mountains as well as fresh green plantation; walking paths lead to the Cradle Mountain for a more adventurous expedition. However, visitors need to take precautions since the area houses tiger snakes. The surrounding region houses a diversity of plants and animal species. Populations of wombats, pademelons and echidnas are found in addition to tiger snakes. The habitat is exclusive and includes the Tasmanian deciduous beech (Nothofagus gunnii), tussock grasses, snow gums and pencil pines. Moreover, numerous wombats, echidnas, pademelons and tiger snakes wandering at the shores of Lake. Dove Lake max length is 2.1 km, width is 0.7km, and shore length is about 6.5km.

The walk at Dove Lake is one of the most glorious walks in Tasmania and indeed in the world. Braved the rain and snow with two little ones in the middle of winter, and worth every step is. However, the flat, gravel and duckboard track is very easy going, leaving you to focus completely on the jagged peak of Cradle Mountain, which looms above the track. Thus, mainly depending on the weather conditions, abruptly switches from snow to sleet to sunshine in seconds. Cradle Mountain can seem brooding or pastoral or inviting, and some days its twin dolerite spires are totally obscured. Furthermore, along the way, there is a greater mix of terrain than one might expect for a walk of this distance, including scrubby button grass, sandy beaches, cascading streams and at the mid-point of the walk, a very special rainforest known as the Ballroom Forest. This enchanted stand of moss-covered myrtle-beech trees is the stuff of folk stories, and it is easy to picture magical creatures playing. Dove Lake is the most accessible place to experience this exclusive and rare landscape. The local guest facilities and lodgings can provide much comfort and modern convenience whereas investigating Earth's most ancient natural habitat.