Random Play by Graham Reid

My new-found mate laughed about that: "This place gets by on the myth that it is close to Uluru," he laughed, pointing out that the Big Red Rock was actually as far away from Alice as the top of Scotland from London

I had to check for myself on Google Maps and it's really true! Alice is far from Uluru, but I guess when you're dealing with that scale, it just seems close.

For comparison, the distance between Alice and Uluru is comparable to the distance between Auckland and Waiouru, Wellington and Napier, Christchurch and Motueka or Invercargill and Oamaru. (Disclaimer: I worked this out using a piece of cardboard, a pen and Google Maps) And that's as the crow flies - it's about 60km further by road.

By the way, check out how magnificent Uluru looks on Google Maps. No need to visit!

yup. the central desert is an amazing place.

my uluru experience was to get to the rock early to watch the sunrise from a convenient spot (one well away from the bus-loads of tourists). we then visited the tourist centre nearby and collected stories about the place.

then, and only then, we walked around the rock, not up onto it.

the aboriginal people there used to live under it's eves, and burn the surrounding spinafex to draw the roos out to the new growth. if you look closely you can see all the stories of their history writ-large on the walls of the rock. an i mean *large*, some of the myth stories you can see on the walls are up to 50-60m high.

an amazing place.

most tourists just pour off the bus, climb the rock, take some snaps, then get back on the bus to head to yulara (the local resort, which is like a space station of english lawns out in that incredible desert).

great post Graham, always enojy your writing. I must admit i've not been there yet, but i do love me a desert! this has got me thinking i better get there.

i also enjoy spelling words like enjoy incorrectly. one of lifes little pleasures.

Yesterday and today however I have given over to smalltown Alice which strikes me as about the size of Kaikohe.

Instant cred. A travel writer who's been to Kaikohe. (I suffer from the mild insecurity of coming from Kaikohe and having to explain to people where it is and what it's like. Now I can say it's about the size of smalltown Alice Springs.)

A lovely piece of writing, Graham. Thank you.

I had to check for myself on Google Maps

Have you tried Google Earth?