The Red Centre

The Red Centre
The dry, desolate outback at the center of Australia takes its name from the color of the oxidized dust that stretches to the horizon. To many travelers, the Red Centre represents the essence of Australia. Flat lands bake perpetually under a burning sun rarely obscured by rain clouds. The gnarled vegetation is weedy and sparse, and the wildlife is locked in a constant struggle for survival with the unforgiving climate and the unbearable hush flies. Out of this stark landscape, at the geographic center of the continent, rises Uluru (Ayers Rock), a celebrated symbol of die land down under. Alice Springs is the region’s unofficial capital and the gateway to the desert beyond. The region’s natural wonders include the MacDonnell Ranges, Kings Canyon, Ayers Rock, and its companion range, the Olgas, all of which do their best to penetrate the reddish monotony of central Australia. These monuments have magnetic appeal, and tourists flock to the remote Red Centre as if to an eighth wonder, prepared to brave endless distances and risk remote disasters to experience the “real� outback.