DECEMBER 5-6, 2020

ROCK, ART & SOUL

Great gift ideas for the festive season

Fertile imaginations on a garden tour

CREATIVE VISIONS AT ULURU AND KATA TJUTA Page 6

6 TRAVEL + INDULGENCE THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN, DECEMBER 5-6, 2020theaustralian.com.au/travel

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Pitjantjatjara woman Janet Tji-tayi is placing dots of lemon yel-low, white and earthy orange ona black canvas awash with sinu-ous lines and concentric circles.It’s painstaking work that re-

quires precision and patience, commoditiesshe seems to have in abundance. It’s also mes-merising to watch as she brings the Indigen-ous story of Piltati to life.

The tale concerns a pair of brothers whosewives wander off for too long and have to belured back home by their cranky husbands. Itfeatures snakes, shapeshifting and waterholesand the ending is not entirely happy. Tjitayi,however, appears very happy to be makingher art in the tranquil, airconditioned comfortof Longitude 131 while outside the Uluru fur-nace is firing up to 40C.

Along with her sister Umatji, Tjitayi hastravelled to the luxury property in Australia’sred heart from Ernabella, an Aboriginal com-munity of 500 people about three dustyhours’ drive away across the South Australiaborder. The township, a former mission, ishome to the country’s oldest continuouslyrunning arts centre, in existence for 80 years.

Baillie Lodges, owner of Longitude 131, hashosted a regular artists-in-residence programwith Ernabella for the past four years. It’s acollaboration that could be the definition ofPitjantjatjara term ngapartji-ngapartji, usedto describe a mutually beneficial relationship.

The artists get to make their art and raisemoney for themselves, their families and thearts centre; in return, guests are afforded theopportunity to watch works take shape andengage in a cultural exchange that otherwisemight not be possible. Ideally, some will takehome a canvas or one of the ceramic worksfor which Ernabella is renowned. Artists re-ceive 60 per cent of the sale price of a workand the remainder goes to the arts centre toput towards materials, facilities and wages.

This special relationship, fostered by Hay-ley and James Baillie, is writ large everywhereat Longitude 131. On the walls of the airyDune House building and in each of the 16fabric-swathed luxury tents are vibrant paint-ings that bring the all-important tjukurpa lawand lore to life. In the circular Spa Kinara, de-signed like a traditional wiltja or shelter,spears made by Ernabella men are on display.Behind the Dune House bar, a wall is linedwith specially commissioned tiles in a spinifexpattern made by the women. So central areceramics to Ernabella’s output that the Bail-lies have contributed $150,000 over threeyears for a dedicated ceramicist to help thecommunity develop their practice. In thattime, the centre has raised $750,000 fromsales of these items alone. Earlier this year theresort took delivery of its latest canvases andother works, valued at $25,000.

These are significant sums but the benefitsextend well beyond the monetary.

“It’s an excellent income source for thecommunity but also really good for the well-being and self-determination of Indigenouspeople,” says Mel George, who has co-man-aged the centre for three years, answering toan all-Aboriginal board.

And it all takes place against Uluru, one ofthe world’s most spectacular backdrops. Theancient monolith looms on the horizon, shad-ows and sunlight playing across its surfacethrough the day. It has been more than a yearsince the Anangu people succeeded in theirlong-running request to end climbing of thesacred rock. What a year it has been, with theNorthern Territory and vulnerable Aborigi-nal communities shutting themselves awayfrom the rest of the country, and the world,for months because of the COVID-19 pan-demic. For a destination that normally at-tracts more than 250,000 visitors a year, howempty the place must have felt. Ben and Lou-ise Lanyon, managers of Longitude 131, wereable to retain some of their team and spentthe hiatus performing maintenance beforewelcoming their first guests back at the endof August.

With more borders reopening, and Austra-lians eager to explore their own back yard,visitor numbers are picking up and guestsseem undeterred by summer’s unrelentingheat. By all reports, they’re staying longer andexploring farther afield.

At Walpa Gorge, where the sheer cliffs ofKata Tjuta’s domes tower over us, evidenceremains of a massive downpour that occurredabout a month before our visit, creating thun-dering waterfalls down the rock faces. Inwaterholes and puddles along the path we seehundreds of tadpoles. They will maturequickly into burrowing frogs, then hibernatein the hot dry soil for up to a year until thenext rain. We keep an eye out for the tracks ofbirds, lizards and snakes and the burrows ofhopping mice.

On our way to Uluru, the vertical blackbrushstrokes of desert oaks are stripedagainst the bright orange desert sand, andanthills congregate like standing stones. Theresort minibus stops en route while a juvenilesand goanna, commonly known as a tinker,swaggers across the road.

The scar of many thousands of footstepsstill can be seen stretching up from the so-called Chicken Rocks where the climb began.So much rubbish (and human waste) was de-posited on the rock in the preceding decadesthat it will be many years before the water-holes that form at the base after rain are cleanenough to attract wildlife back to the area.

Mutitjulu waterhole is, nonethethless, aplace that leaves you breathless. Reachedthrough a leafy trail lined with long grassesand river red gums, it’s an extraordinary oasisamid the arid surrounds. Stand here, alone,and listen to the silence. Forget the chaos of2020 — it’s a mere blip in this timeless land —and imagine what life was like here tens ofthousands of years ago. A short distance

Painterly pursuits in the Red CentrePENNY HUNTER

George helps me chat with the Tjitayi sis-ters, using a mixture of English and Pitjantjat-jara. For the pair, the week away offers respitefrom community life and family responsibili-ties plus a rare chance to experiment withtheir art. Janet has never painted the Piltatistory before. Umatji has been inspired by ateaching from her grandfather to depict thehoney grevillea, which traditionally is used tomake a sweet cordial.

“It’s really good for the artists to get ex-posure like this and have time to work ontheir art and meet people and be treated real-ly well, just like guests at 131,” says George.“That kind of stuff goes to issues of reconcilia-tion. I also think many people don’t get achance to meet an Indigenous person andthey can here. This is providing a platform.They’re not dragged up here; this is a specialthing [Ernabella] people love to do.”

Table 131 dining setting, above; luxury tent interior, below; lodge from the air, bottom

HEART TO ART

TRAVEL + INDULGENCE 7THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN, DECEMBER 5-6, 2020theaustralian.com.au/travel

away, resort staff are serving delicate cana-pes with chilled bubbles and beers. As thesun sets, the oxidised arkose sandstone ofUluru turns the most vivid shade of tanger-inebimaginable. It feels a privilege to be atsuch proximity to the rock at this hushedhour.

At Longitude’s signature Table 131 diningexperience, where the likes of scallops in pep-per-berry butter and seared salmon with cara-

melised fennel are conjured from animpeccable camp kitchen, we sit on a circulartimber deck under a night sky brimming withstars. Our host, Brogan, points out Pleiades,the Seven Sisters who, in the Indigenousstory, leap into the sky to escape a lustful pur-suer, perhaps the original stalker. The morali-ty tale of the three brothers of Orion, who arepunished for eating their totem kingfish, is areminder to obey the rules.

Out here, we’re told, you can spot a shoot-ing star every 12 minutes. If that’s a rule, it’sbroken back on the deck of our tent, where itseems celestial diamonds zoom across theglittering night-time canvas every couple ofminutes. We’ve returned from dinner to findthe gas fire burning outside and a swag set upon the double daybed, a tray of nightcaps andsweet treats to hand. We snuggle down in thecool evening air and look up, gazing at theheavens until the stars blur.

Back at the Dune House the following day,Janet’s chair is empty; her completed paintinglies on the table. As an observer, it’s im-mensely satisfying to see the finished product.Having witnessed the work in progress andspoken with its maker, it’s as though wesomehow feel a part of the creative process.Ngapartji-ngapartji, indeed.

Penny Hunter was a guest of Longitude 131.

IN THE KNOW

Until March 31, Longitude 131 is offering20 per cent discounts on stays, minimumtwo nights. Luxury tent, $1360 a person anight; Dune Pavilion, $2720 a person a night; including all dining, beverages, airport transfers and signature experiences such as visits to the Field of Light. Packages available.■ longitude131.com.au■ luxurylodgesofaustralia.com.auJetstar operates direct return flights toAyers Rock Airport 12 times a week: sixfrom Sydney and three each from Melbourne and Brisbane.■ jetstar.com■ northernterritory.com

PENNY HUNTER

Uluru at night from Longitude 131 luxury tent, main; Janet Tjitayi at work, above right; sunset drinks at the rock, far right

HEART TO ART