By: Capt. Ram Singh Virik (Flight Operations)

Uluru which means 'Island Mountain' is the aboriginal name for ‘Ayers Rock’. On the other hand, Kata Tjuta which means 'Many Heads' due to its 36 rock domes, is the aboriginal name for 'The Olgas' or 'Mount Olga'.

Uluru at the top with its airstrip at the bottom right

Both landmarks form the backbone of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is located about 350 kms south-west of Alice Springs, Northern Territory right in the heart of  Australia.

Uluru is also Australia's most recognisable natural icon. It changes its terrain's colour (red, yellow, violet, blue etc.) depending on the time of the day, season, cloud cover and atmospheric conditions.

I had visited these magnificent natural monuments in 1990. This was during our cross-country navigational flight training where fourteen of us, Malaysia Airlines cadet pilots (MAS Course 3), flew four Trinidad TB-20 single-engined aircraft from our Australian Aviation College in Parafield (near Adelaide) to Uluru and Alice Springs.

These photos were taken from 38,000 feet recently, thus making Uluru and Kata Tjuta look rather small. In reality, Uluru has a circumference of  9.4 km and towers to 348 metres. In comparison, Kata Tjuta towers even higher at 546 meters.

“It is still as beautiful now as it was then...”

Approaching Uluru

Passing Uluru

Kata Tjuta's rock domes