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| Uluru (Roderick Eime) |
Australia is a vast continent of 7,682,300 square kilometres (more than one and a half times the size of Europe).
From west to east, it stretches 4,000 kilometres from Steep Point in Western Australia to Cape Byron in New South Wales, and from north to south, it is 3,180 kilometres from Cape York in Queensland to Wilsons Promontory in Victoria.
Australia is one of the most urbanised countries in the world, with about 70 percent of its population living in coastal capitals.
Australia is also a dry land; more than half of it receives less than 300mm of rain a year, and nearly a third less than 200mm a year.
The semi-desert arid regions, which make up approximately two-thirds of the continent's surface, lie within the continent's centre.
The first European settlers, who arrived in Australia from 1788 onwards, clung to the fertile coastal regions of the continent for several years, but as their colonies expanded, they became fascinated with the mysteries of the inland.
Several expeditions were mounted in the early 1800s, which crossed the Great Dividing Range running down the eastern coast of Australia, in an attempt to find fresh pastures for their flocks and herds, and to search for an inland sea which many believed was fed by westerly flowing rivers. In 1844 Ludwig Leichardt left Brisbane in
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| Burke and Wills |
Queensland on a 2,000 mile journey to Port Essington on the Coburg Peninsula in the Northern Territory. Also in 1844 Charles Sturt left Adelaide in South Australia in another attempt to lift the veil of the centre. Burke and Wills left Melbourne in Victoria in 1860 to cross the continent from south to north, but the first explorer to reach the geographical centre of Australia was John McDouall Stuart in 1860. Stuart succeeded in crossing the continent in a subsequent attempt in 1862.
None of these explorers found an inland sea; instead, they were confronted with vast areas of desert, ankle-twisting stony plains and barren mountain ranges. Some areas, however, like the Alice Springs region, were suitable for cattle raising, and gradually pastoralists followed in the tracks of the explorers.
Then, when the Overland Telegraph Line was constructed and opened in 1872 from Adelaide to Darwin, and a railway was laid north from Adelaide to Alice Springs in 1929, small settlements began to appear in Central Australia.
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| Wildflowers at The Olgas (Roderick Eime) |
The country was harsh and lonely, and the pioneers were often forced off their land. But they persevered, and today the area, which includes Alice Springs, Ayers Rock and the Olgas, is one of the world's major tourist attractions.
Known as the Red Centre because of the reddish colour of the soil which contains ferric oxide, or the Dead Heart because of the barren landscape, it provides a contrasting array of scenic attractions in its rocky mountains, gorges, chasms, rock pools, and desert flora and fauna.
Sometimes described as the Timeless Land, these desolate, lonely and yet beautiful places are a mecca for all those who wish to escape the hustle and bustle of city life.
Apart from Palm Valley, which can be reached in a four-wheel drive tourist vehicle from Alice Springs, all other scenic attractions mentioned in this book can be visited in ordinary vehicles either on bitumen or earth roads.
Day and half-day tours are available from Alice Springs, and car hire firms cater for those who wish to drive themselves. But before venturing into the inland, visitors should familiarise themselves with the seasons.
It must be remembered that the region is one of climatic extremes. During the winter months, temperatures range from cold nights of minus two degrees Celsius to mild days of 22 degrees. Cold biting winds are also a feature of the winter months.
During the summer, the temperatures vary from 20 degrees at night to above 40 degrees during the day, often accompanied by searing winds. Warm clothes are therefore recommended in the winter, and during the summer it is advisable to wear a wide brimmed hat, comfortable walking shoes, and to carry some liquid refreshment. If these simple precautions are taken, visitors can enjoy the remoteness of an area where the forces of nature have combined to make a haven of peace and sanity.
- Max Colwell 1984
