Australia5

Approximately 18 miles to the west of Uluru lies Kata Tjuta (pronounced Carta Choota). The formation is a unique collection of over 30 distinct, steeply sloped dome-shaped red rocks. The highest, Mount Olga, measures 1,500 feet. The monoliths rise inexplicably from the flat desert floor with the energy of a creeping creature. Kata Tjuta had a strong impact upon us. It felt like a physical manifestation of the rainbow serpent, a mythical Aboriginal being whose energy we connected to frequently in Australia. Like Uluru, Kata Tjuta feels a mystical manifestation of Spirit made physical in a powerful way. They both powerfully fit the ideas expressed in the local lore of "Dreamtime". Both areas are equally sacred to the Aboriginals.

We walked a trail that led to a chasm between several of the huge red stones, and reveled in the raw beauty of the area. We seemed to be the only people around for miles, with Uluru capturing most of the visitors’ attention. A small streamlet magically flowed at ground level from somewhere within the rocks, and the thin trail of water flowed upon solid stone slabs that were covered with a myriad of designs and shapes and colors, including an incredible natural red circle in the stone surrounding white speckled rocks. We appreciated nature’s exquisite decorations, heralding the potent energy of the area. We performed a Water Ritual at the site, as our hearts sang with joy.

As we walked further along the trail, I was guided to tone and sing, and it felt lovely to allow my voice to rise up into the stones of Kata Tjuta. The stones fed me a lyrical melody; they literally sang through me in notes that undulated and wound around each other like the mythical serpent so symbolically represented in the rocks. My sounds echoed and vibrated the rocks, and then seemed to be absorbed by them at a deep level. My freedom to sing at my voice’s range was certainly a function of being alone at the mystical site. At trail’s end we sat on a small deck and prayed, then noticed a young couple approaching from the distance.

The young woman had a strange, far-off look on her face. When she reached us, she softly asked me if I had been singing. When I said yes, a bit sheepishly, she informed me that she had been quite sure that the sounds she had just heard echoing through the red rocks were from the angels, and not a human voice. I smiled and cried and thanked the Angels and Spirits of the land for coming through me in such a clear way. We walked back to our car in silence, savoring the sensations and energy of the site, and the magic of the moment.

AUSTRALIA: STREAM AT KATA TJUTA

The next day we took a road trip to King’s Canyon. When we first heard mention of the place, we were strongly guided to go. The terrain of the canyon and surrounding areas had remarkable similarities to Sedona, and we felt an energetic resonance that was unmistakable. On the way, we passed another red rock monolith in the desert, known as Mount Connor. The formation is a huge, mesa-like version of Uluru. Indeed, the geology of the rock is the same as Uluru, though we were connecting with it from quite a distance. The walls of Uluru are an amazing array of honeycombs, almost as though the rock is not solid. It was difficult to tell if Mount Conner shared this trait with its more famous cousin. The holes in Uluru seemed to resonate and amplify sound and energy.

The heat at King’s Canyon was intense, and we were only able to hike the trail at the bottom of the gorge. The rim trail was more difficult, and much longer. Huge sycamore-like trees lined the bottom of the canyon, beside the pristine creek that flowed in and out of shallow pools. The rock walls spoke of ancient mystery. We were drawn to perform a Water Ritual at this special site, and did so in an honoring, reverent way.

On the long drive back to our hotel near Uluru, I witnessed a fleeting shadow of something out of the car window that made me gasp. A creature of some sort was beside the road, and it was big! Its size was way beyond even that of the huge kangaroos that had occasionally jumped out of the bush while we drove at night. Some of the locals had advised us not to drive at night at all, there were so many bad accidents involving “roos” in the country. This animal, however, was no marsupial. It remained a mystery until we boarded a bus for Alice Springs the next day and were treated to a movie highlighting the harsh life of the wild camels in the area! There are now over half a million of them, and their numbers are climbing at an alarming rate. I was so without any explanation for what I had seen that had begun to doubt my eyes. The video restored my faith in my senses.

We spent our last night in Central Australia in Alice Springs, flying out to Brisbane the next morning. The city had a huge population of seemingly shut down, angry, and alcoholic Aboriginals. A walk in the town park proved extrememly difficult, as the energy of the people affected me strongly. It actually felt dangerous, if not physically, then energetically. We held compassion for the suffering of the Native People as we made our way back to the sanctuary of our hotel. The oldest culture in the world is currently in a state of disarray, as its lands and customs are constantly challenged by "outsiders", with their addictive, liquid poison. We did see signs that many of the tourists were in a place of honoring the locals, recognizing the wealth of wisdom and knowledge held by the ancient ones.

AUSTRALIA: KING'S CANYON WATER RITUAL