I blog today from the cosiness of my place in my tiny Oxfordshire village (well it's cosy inside), after having been dazzled by the metropolises of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and falling in love with the natural splendour of Northern Australia, which is most definitely the heart of the country in more ways than one. Alongside catching up with one of my bestest friends, which was just wonderful, Uluru was the holiday's other big highlight.
I thought I'd offer you a quick roundup of the trip before resuming normal service. What first hit me (other than the sun and the heat) was how big everything seemed; coming back to Oxford and the Cotswolds buildings seemed so dainty and doll-like! Melbourne was the first port of call and had a definite European flavour; I was really won over by it and particularly enjoyed Melbourne Zoo, shopping on Brunswick Street and wandering round St Kilda's streets and beach. Whilst there I even swallowed my misconceptions and in the spirit of holidaying, went to see Wicked at the Regent Theatre. Filmknitter will no doubt observe somewhat smugly that I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite my disparaging remarks about it a few years ago (hangs head - honestly, how could I?!).
From Melbourne to Sydney. Sydney's harbour and Opera House definitely had the wow factor. I love docklands areas generally,there's always such a mingled sense of melancholy and possibility about them. I also adored wandering around the superb Botanic Gardens (loved the fruitbats), but having not been blessed with great weather for some of the trip (my brolly literally snapped in two from the wind on the final day there), it was hard to venture as far afield as planned. One especially windy day we made it to one of Sydney's fantastic cinemas (dimly lit, ambient bars just off the entrance, arthouse fare on offer) just off from the Harbourside and caught Australia, as you'll have noted from my earlier blog. The symmetry of seeing it in the country it's about wasn't lost on me, as you will see from the picture below (couldn't resist) ...
The Art Gallery of New South Wales also hosted a thought-provoking exhibition on Black Australia called Half Light, which was very powerful and featured a range of different mediums. I also made an exciting new discovery there: Destiny Deacon, an indigenous Australian woman whose work deals with post-colonial politics and tackles stereotypes about what it is to be Aboriginal. I really liked what I saw, it was really challenging and confrontational. On a continuing cultural note (get me), when in Brisbane I paid a visit to it's Gallery of Modern Art, and saw an installation by the hyper-realist sculpter Ron Mueck (In Bed, see image taken from Flickr below) which I was very excited about as I've always been interested in his work. 
Seeing one of his creations for real really rammed home to me the true meaning of the word uncanny - I felt very strange and voyeuristic standing there looking at something so lifelike, almost like I was violating the space of the sculpture (this in spite of its size and, well, unrealness). In Bed, as with all Mueck's work, definitely raises lots of interesting questions about the physicality of what it is to view art and is a very creepy experience. Fresh from Wikipedia, I can also tell film-fans reading this that he's been a model maker and pupeteer for kid's TV and movies, including Labyrinth and The Storyteller. So there you go! Who knows when that might crop up in a pub quiz?!
And now for Uluru, Kata Tjuta and the breathtaking landscapes of northern Australia. Wonderful. If I were less of a wimpish Pom I would love to live out there - the tenacity and rawness of the landscape appealed to me like nothing before has: there's a magic about the place which you breathe from the moment you step off the plane. And lots of mosquitos, as my legs will testify. And that's why I am what our antipodean cousins would call a whinging Pom. Seriously though - I can't recommend the Northern Territory and Ayers Rock Resort enough. There is a soulfulness about the country there and you can really see why Uluru is sacred to the Aboriginal people. It was amazing to learn more about Australia's indigenous culture, a culture which has endured despite the disgusting treatment it received at the hands of white settlers and a culture which is Australia's true heart and history. I can say no more but just add this picture, which does more than any words.
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