Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia is set to unveil a one-of-a-kind light and sound show at Ayers Rock Resort in May, combining ancient Anangu storytelling with cutting-edge drone and laser light technology. Dubbed Wintjiri Wiru, meaning “beautiful view out to the horizon” in the local Anangu language, the show will bring to life a chapter of the Mala ancestral story and will be the first time a display of this magnitude has been performed on a regular basis anywhere in the world.

The show has been designed by world-renowned Media Architecture studio RAMUS and will bring the Central Desert to life with projections, lasers and lights shining on the spinifex and mulga, offering an immersive light and sound experience in the presence of Uluru. Over 1,000 drones will take flight each night to lift ancient images to the sky, accompanied by a soundtrack with traditional inma recorded with members of the local Anangu community and a narration in Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara languages.

Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia has consulted closely with Anangu custodians of the Mala story to bring the Wintjiri Wiru experience to life with respect and in line with Anangu cultural protocols. The Anangu consultation group has advised on the visuals, narrated the story, and delivered the music. The show will take place on a sustainably-built platform with panoramic views of Uluru and Kata Tjuta and will feature artwork from local Anangu artist, Christine Brumby.

The Wintjiri Wiru show will be comprised of two shows every night from March until December, with one show per night in January and February. The signature experience will be the three-hour Wintjiri Wiru Sunset Dinner which includes welcome cocktails, gourmet dinner hamper, and the sound and light show, priced at AUD$385pp. A second show each evening, After Dark, will be a one-hour-long experience including light refreshments and the show, priced at AUD$190pp.

The Mala story is the first Indigenous story of its kind to be shared on this scale and is considered important Tjukurpa, a philosophy linking Anangu to the environment and ancestors. Tjukurpa stories contain important lessons about the land, rules for appropriate behavior, and are used like maps to explain the origins and structure of the universe.

Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia recognizes the ongoing connection of Anangu to the land, water, sky, culture, and community and pays homage to the ancient cultural heritage of the Anangu people. The Wintjiri Wiru show will be a testament to this rich cultural heritage and offer visitors a deeper spiritual connection to this special part of Australia.

For more information go to: www.ayersrockresort.com.au or call 1300 134 044.

About Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia: Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC) established to undertake tourism business on its behalf. Voyages offers unique experiences and cultural immersion in spectacular locations around Australia including Ayers Rock Resort in the Northern Territory and the Mossman Gorge Cultural Centre in Tropical North Queensland. Voyages works closely with local communities, respecting and supporting Indigenous culture and offering employment, training and business development opportunities to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

Photo Credit:
As custodians of the land, Anangu hold the Mala story from Kaltukatjara to Uluru. To share their story from Kaltukatjara to Uluru, RAMUS designed and produced an artistic platform using drones, light and sound to create an immersive storytelling experience. 

The sun had set. It was a moonless night, but the intensity of the stars lit up the sky. It looked like a thousand candles squeezed onto a dark chocolate cake. There was no Big Dipper but the Southern Cross filled in admirably. I was in New Zealand’s Fiordland national park, the southern brother of Norway’s fjords, anchored for the night on Milford Sound.

The park is located in the southwest corner of New Zealand’s South Island. Bordered on the west by the Tasman Sea and on the south by the Pacific Ocean, the park encompasses mountains, lakes, and fjords. It is also known for one of the most famous hiking treks in the Southern Hemisphere – Milford Track.

Milford Sound is the most popular destination in Fiordland National Park. It is a two days drive from Christchurch (South Island’s largest city). I stopped in Queenstown (New Zealand’s unofficial adventure capital) the stepping off point for the park.

From Queenstown I had a choice of driving myself, taking a tour bus, or flying by plane or helicopter. Accommodations are limited in both Milford Sound and at the half-way-point town of Te Anau. Because of this, many travelers tour the fjords in one day and then return to Queenstown.

Since I had rented a car in Christchurch, I decided to continue with the same mode of transportation. After Te Anau, the road turned curvy. The vegetation was thick and encroached both sides of the road. This limited pull off points to view the sights.

I was a little wary about stopping too much anyway, having been warned about the mischievous Kea bird. The Kea is part of the parrot family, and is said to be one of the smartest birds known.

It has developed a bad reputation (but deserved) of being able to rip the rubber off a cars windshield wipers. And losing ones windshield wipers in rainy Fiordland is like losing the A/C on a July afternoon in Florida.

The Kea also likes to hang around tourist hot spots waiting for hand-outs and passing the time by tearing open unattended backpacks. Fortunately (actually, unfortunately) I never saw a Kea the entire trip.

I was glad it was my third day driving on the left side of the road. By then, I had overcome using my windshield wiper switch for my left turn blinker. I was actually starting to enjoy attacking the switchbacks from the “wrong” side of the road.

As I closed in on Milford Sound I came to Homer tunnel. It looked like an abandoned mine shaft jutting out the side of the mountain. I watched full sized buses seemingly defy physics as they slithered under the crumbling concrete overhang. There are virtually no lights in the tunnel, and a major pupil transition was inevitable. It took me about a third of the tunnel to adjust to the blackout.

Arriving at Milford Sound, the first thing I saw was Mitre Peak towering 5,500 feet (1676m) above the sound. It is the world’s highest peak rising directly out of the water.

To really experience the fjord, a boat ride on Milford Sound is essential and an overnight stay is even better. I chose the Milford Wanderer for my two day excursion. Nothing fancy-shared cabins with bunk beds and shared bathroom facilities. Other tour boats are available with private rooms, such as the Wanderer’s sister ship, the Milford Mariner.

The Wanderer carried 61 passengers and was the perfect size for this type of cruise. The passengers ranged from tour groups, to couples, to solo travelers.

My lower bunk mate, Dan, was from Colorado. He had just come off “the ice” (Antarctica) where he had spent four months working as an electrician. He was currently in the middle of a six week solo motorcycle trip.

Two women from Germany, Ena and Bionca, had been traveling alone until they met each other at a youth hostel in Queenstown. Ena came to New Zealand to study English and was on a three month break. Bionca was a physical therapist on an eight week combination vacation/leave of absence.

Catching the scenic views and watching the acrobatics of numerous bottlenose dolphins kept me entertained throughout the day. We motored out to the edge of Milford Sound where it mixes with the Tasman Sea.

We anchored there for a bit as the boat crew offered up a bevy of activities we could pursue. They had kayaking and small motor boat rides and a few brave souls even took to diving off the upper deck into the 58 degree water. I opted for the small motor boat ride and was glad I did as we watched a blue shark slither through the water a little too close to the unaware kayakers.

The next morning I was up early sipping hot coffee on a chilly deck. A few fog clouds were attempting to hang around by hugging the granite cliffs, but they were doomed to disintegrate as the sun peaked over the sheer walls.

It was rare to be blessed with a second day of sunshine considering the park’s 216 inches of annual rainfall. If it does rain, though, don’t be discouraged. The waterfalls multiply exponentially as the rain increases and the aquatic show is said to be spectacular.

The Wanderer dropped us back on shore at 9:00a.m. I took one last look at Mitre Peak as it kept watch over Milford Sound.

I wished I had more time to spend enjoying the scenic vistas, but I vowed to return someday.

About the author:

This week Traveling Tales welcomes freelance travel writer Thomas Kamrath who makes his home in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

About the photos:
1: A view of the entrance to the Homer Tunnel
2: The fjordlike shoreline of Milford Sound
3: Impressive is the word for Mitre Peak

Pohutu Geyser erupts on average twenty times a day… it should not be long now. My husband Rick and I patiently wait before the gigantic rock mound from which intermittent spurts of steam escape through a large central crevice. Mother Nature kindly sends a warning signal in that the smaller-scale Prince of Wales Feathers Geyser spews its scalding water first…and it does just that with a startling whoosh! Within ten minutes the ground rumbles and my breath catches as the mighty Pohutu sends voluminous columns of water higher and higher with thunderous firehose force to heights of 30m (100ft). Mega-gallons of spray glint in the sun, then fall in torrid cascades over the edge of the rocky mound. The jaw-dropping drama goes on for over a quarter hour, before the Pohutu giant is spent….for now.

This famed geyser is in Te Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve at the southern edge of Rotorua, the hub-town to one of the most active geothermal areas in the world.

We leave the geyser area for the Reserve’s Maori Weaving and Wood Carving Schools for an introduction to the artistic skills of the indigenous peoples of New Zealand. At the evening cultural show of song and dance the Maori women swing poi (balls on strings) with great finesse, and the men’s “haka” warrior dance is a roaring success with its resounding chants, vigorous movements and facial distortions of bulging eyes and protruding tongues.

Early the next morning we aim our rental car towards Rotorua District’s Wai-O-Tapu for the10:15 a.m. eruption of the Lady Knox Geyser. How does this occur at the exact same time daily? Well, at this site nature has a helping hand in Fred, the park ranger, who pours a little bag of organic soap into its funnel-like opening. He explains, “ The soap breaks the surface tension of cold water in the geyser’s upper chamber so that it mixes with the hot water below, releasing it to shoot to the surface.” Almost immediately the Lady Knox begins to bubble, froth, erupting to a height of approximately 12m – rather less melodramatic than Pohutu.

But Wai-O-Tapu is not called the “Thermal Wonderland” for naught. It covers 18sq km of collapsed craters from volcanic activity eons ago. Champagne Pool and Artist’s Palette are perfect monikers for the bubbling 100°C pools, steaming fumaroles, and patches of dynamic reds, lime green, zinging yellow and chalk white produced by different mineral elements. Spectacular!

Leaving Wai-O-Tapu, a small wooden sign reads “mud pool”, which is more like a lake than a pool. Under a baking sun the surface is like a simmering caldron of bubbling milk chocolate worthy of a scene from Willy Wonka’s factory.

The next day’s two-hour scenic drive is through the Waitomo District of verdant valleys, fields of corn, grazing sheep and cattle. It boggles my mind knowing that underneath these hills are 300 known limestone caves. The abundance of limestone, which is composed of compressed marine life, is due to the area once being under the sea. We arrive at the Waitomo Visitor’s Centre to see some of the caves open to the public.

Before entering the Glowworm Cave, Hardie, our guide, gives us a 101 lesson on the lifecycle of the glowworm (arachnocampaluminosa). The female lays about 120 eggs, which hatch into larvae. The larvae build nests and put down sticky lines to trap insects for food, emitting a visible light from their tail to attract their prey (this bioluminescence is a reaction between chemicals given off by the worm and oxygen in the air); the hungriest glow the brightest. After 9 months in this pupae stage of glowing and growing, they morph into adults whose only function is mating and egg laying for survival of the species.

Climbing into a boat with Hardie and twenty other enthusiasts, we silently drift into the dark hollows of the cave, our eyes glued to the mesmerizing milky way of a million miniscule lights on the cavernous roof. These magical creatures were long known to the Maori people, but the caves were not extensively explored until 1887 when Chief Tane Tinorau and English surveyor Fred Mace mapped them out, after which Tinorau and his wife began guided tours through the caves. In 1904 the caves were taken over by the government, until in 1990 the land and caves were returned to the descendents of the original owners.

Ruakuri Cave is next; its cavernous entrance is likened to an enormous space station. We follow Angus, our guide, down a spiral ramp dotted with amber lights akin to alien orbs taking us15-metres below ground. A vast subterranean world spreads before us with delicate limestone formations in hues of pale pinks and soft gold; stalactites hang en mass from ceilings, stalagmites rise like sentinels from the cave floor, some meeting in the middle to form columns.

With only the railing to guide us we shuffle into a pitch-black section and stand transfixed by an intimate encounter with glowworms; their soft illuminating light is a metre above our heads, and their threads of “fishing line” along a side wall are mere inches away! On the subterranean river below our walkway people swirl by on tubes, as part of the Legendary Black Water Rafting Tour.

Further along we enter a chamber that amplifies the river’s turbulence. Lord of the Rings aficionados, hold onto your hats! “Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and actor Andy Serkis (a.k.a. Gollum) were here,” says Angus, who further relates technicians from “The Hobbit” recorded soundscapes for the movie’s underground scenes: such as Gollum’s chamber and under the mountain with Smaug the dragon. Listening to the eerie, echoing dash of water against rocks, I feel there could be no better background sound than this resounding overture in Mother Nature’s symphony.

Near the end of the 1.6 km walk (out of 7.5 km in this cave system) a naturally formed stone corridor takes us back to the spiral walkway to climb out of the depths and into the halogen sun, hyped by our combined Sci-fi and Indiana Jones experience.

Warmed by the hospitality of the people and “wowed” by its array of natural marvels, we leave New Zealand’s north island, wishing our stay could be longer.

Photo credits: Rick Butler

1. Pohutu Geyser
2. Haka
3. Glowworm Cave
4. Crater Lake at Wai-O-Tapu
5. Entrance Ruakuri Cave
6. Limestone formations
7. Limestone veils
8. Glowworm Cave photo – courtesy of Waitomo Visitors Centre

For More Information:

Rotorua Town & District – http://www.rotoruanz.com/

Waitomo Caves & Legendary Black Water Rafting Co. – www.waitomocaves.co.nz

Kangaroo Island, or ‘KI’’, as it’s known locally, is more noted for what it hasn’t got than for what it has. Unlike mainland Australia, rabbits and foxes were never introduced, so the indigenous wildlife has less competition for survival.

Another thing the island doesn’t have is something a Scottish friend once called ‘The Way of the Island’. There’s no sense of being on an island; in many places, you can climb to a high point and see nothing but ‘bush’ in any direction.

That catches many visitors out, when they arrive with the idea of walking or cycling around the island. It’s really too big for that. There’s little in the way of public transport, and the only practicable ways to get around are either to sign up for an organized tour, or bring or hire a car.

If, as we did, you bring a car, it means a very early start from Adelaide, for a three-hour drive to Cape Jervis, on the southern tip of South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula, to catch the 8 o’clock car ferry for the 45 minute trip to Penneshaw, the island’s ferry port.

But, for those in a hurry, with transport on the island arranged, it’s only a short flight from Adelaide.

Kingscote, the island’s main town, lies on the western shore of Nepean Bay, opposite Penneshaw. Most of the older buildings in both towns have red tin roofs and shady verandas, often decorated with elaborate wrought-ironwork, giving a folksy, Norman Rockwell-ish atmosphere.

On a jetty near Kingscote, I photographed almost tame cormorants and pelicans. Penneshaw and Kingscote both have penguin burrows nearby, where Little Penguins sleep, breed and bring up their young. But, there’s little to see by daylight.

Notices around the burrows inform visitors that the penguins spend the daylight hours out at sea feeding, and only come ashore at night, when access to the burrows is only permitted in the company of a National Park Ranger.

Although we couldn’t stay until dark, I did check the burrows out anyway, as there’s sometimes a chance of finding an occasional penguin who doesn’t read notices.

The island’s main road, the Playford Highway, heads westward from Nepean Bay until it meets the West End Highway in the middle of nowhere. The West End Highway heads south; the Playford Highway continues westward as a dirt road to Cape Borda, where there’s a lighthouse, a few former light keepers’ cottages, a National Park Visitor Centre and not much else.

Much of the island is farm land; lamb and beef from Kangaroo Island are especially prized. Fruit is also a major export … but the grapes in the vineyards are turned into very acceptable wine first.

19 National Parks and Conservation Areas cover over 30% of the island’s area, and the biggest of them lies to the south-west of the island, where the Flinders Chase National Park covers 32,600 hectares of bush-land. Entry is by permit, which we bought at the Park entrance at Rocky River.

There, we wondered if the Park authorities had the wildlife trained for we saw a family of kangaroos right in the car park by the Park office … but they only appeared after we’d paid the entrance fee!

Probably the best-known feature in the Park is the Remarkable Rocks.

These are huge granite boulders on an exposed headland, which the elements have sculpted into fantastic shapes. Not far away lies Cape du Couédic, with its spectacular lighthouse standing amid weathered limestone rocks covered in wild flowers.

Nearby are the two outlying Casaurina Islets – which will become three in a few millennia, when the wave-worn Admiral’s Arch, below the lighthouse, collapses. Meantime, it offers safe refuge for New Zealand Fur Seals to bask, and be observed from a respectful distance.

On the way to the Kangaroo Island Wilderness lodge, just outside Flinders Chase, where we were staying, we called at Seal Bay to get really close up to the seals, under the supervision of a Ranger.

There were, however, no seals there, only a large colony of Australian Sea Lions. But then, few people come to Kangaroo Island just to see kangaroos … ‘You can see roos anywhere, sport!’ … so it seems fair to go to Seal Bay and not see seals.

An unexpected feature is Kelly Hill Cave, a limestone grotto with a mind-blowing display of stalactites and stalagmites, including an extremely rare ‘fish-hook’ stalactite. This formation exists only in a handful of places, all in the Southern Hemisphere … and geologists are still trying to work out how it came about.

There’s lots of wildlife on ‘KI’. Not counting roadkill, we spotted kangaroos, echidnas, goannas and koalas. We missed out on the elusive platypus, though. We hiked around the pools they frequent, but were told that there was so much water in the creek from recent rains, they would be almost impossible to find.

But, that’s the way of Kangaroo Island. The wildlife isn’t going to come out and look for you; you must seek it out. And that’s the way it should be … half the fun is in the looking, and it makes the finding far more exciting.

If you’d have it any other way, you may as well just go to the zoo.

About the author:

Keith Kellett is a freelance writer and photographer who makes his home in England.

The photos:
1: Kingscote, Kangaroo Island’s main town still retains its old-world
charm.
2: With nothing between them and the Antarctic, high winds have shaped
the Remarkable Rocks..
3: Settled in the 1800s by American sealers, now a resort, the American
River claims to be the oldest settlement in South Australia.