Australia from the air

When you live as far away from everywhere as Perth is, air travel is necessary to get to many places. I generally prefer aisle seats so that I can get up and stretch my legs easily, especially for longer flights. But on my recent short trip (just a little over three hours), I chose to sit by the window, partly hoping to see Uluru from the air. I was not disappointed, as there were few clouds (but lots of haze) that day.

The Red Centre

Uluru and surrounds

Ridges

Art or landscape?

Marginal farming

Uluru is a large rock in central Australia. Of course it’s been there a long time, and has great significance for local Indigenous people. It was officially returned to them around 30 years ago, having previously been known as Ayer’s Rock. It’s a popular tourist destination for visitors to Australia, as well as locals like me.

The reddish landscape made it clear to me why the phrase ‘Red Centre’ is appropriate, but I was also struck by the lovely natural patterns of various kinds you can see from up high. It made me wonder how Indigenous artists have long represented such patterns in paintings, for thousands of years before anyone took to the air.

As I got closer to Perth, the land is more developed, with farmers growing wheat crops, and lots of lines in the patterns suggesting that the land has been tamed for humans. Many years ago, I worked in what is described in Western Australia (WA) as the eastern wheatbelt, helping collect wheat harvests as a vacation job, so the site of fledgling crops reminded me of how tough it is for many farmers perched on the edge. This shot was taken near Narambeen, where my maternal grandparents were farmers almost a century ago. So far this year, rainfall has been too low for many to even bother to sew a crop. Let’s hope it improves.