Aussie travel experience that should be on your bucket list

There’s a world-class experience happening for a limited time in Australia. And we’re embarrassed to admit it almost slipped under our radar.

When most people think of an artistic Aussie light show they think of Vivid — that somewhat maligned glitz fest that uses the dazzling Sydney Harbour as its canvas.

But forget Vivid. There’s another light installation with an iconic Australian landmark as its backdrop that should be added to your travel bucket list.

Field of Light by artist Bruce Munro is spread out at the base of Uluru. Munro’s work is made up of more than 50,000 glass orbs elevated on handcrafted stems, spread over an area the size of nine footy fields.

The extraordinary Field of Light installation at the base of Uluru.

The installation, which weighs 15 tonnes, travelled more than 19,000 kilometres on 32 domestic and international flights from Munro’s workshop in the UK before arriving at its home at Uluru.

The installation is powered by solar. The spheres, connected via glowing optical fibre, begin to light up as darkness falls and the stars come out over The Rock. Then the bulbs slowly change colour, creating a shimmering field of light.

Instead of battling hoards of visitors as you do at Vivid, here you’ll find yourself completely alone most of the time as you drink in the stillness and wander the pathways through the illuminated desert.

It’s a dazzling way to experience the majestic Top End.

A hot tip is to go before sunrise. Watching the sun come up and throw a spotlight on the searing red of Uluru as you stand in this colourful, glowing sea is an experience you’ll never forget.

While it may seem garish to have something so modern in this beautiful (and sacred) natural setting, it’s a credit to the artist that it doesn’t jar at all. It’s low to the ground and gentle and slow … while it does have impact, it’s subtle at the same time. By day when the bulbs are extinguished you almost don’t notice it on the landscape.

The good news is Field of Light has been extended until the end of 2020.

Upon learning that the installation would be extended due to popular demand, artist Munro said: “I am greatly moved and humbled by the enormous response to the artwork. It’s obvious the combination of the exhibition and a canvas as visceral as this — flourishing from red dirt and tufts of spinifex, in the shadows of nature’s biggest shape-shifter, Uluru, is immensely powerful to people.”

The Huawei P30Pro captured the exhibit in all its splendour.

Oddly, Field of Light was not really on my radar until I was taken there by phone manufacturer Huawei to promote their new P30 handsets.

The biggest drawcard with this new phone is the killer camera, and the company felt that

photographing Field of Light was a great way to demonstrate the phone’s capabilities.

And they weren’t wrong. All these pictures were taken by yours truly — a tech putz who can barely operate a microwave — so that’s saying something about how idiot proof this camera is. Even in difficult to shoot scenarios, like the pitch black before sunrise, you get jaw-dropping results.

These shots were taken on the P30Pro which is available from April 16 and will set you back $1599.

For further proof of how powerful this phone’s camera is, let us refer to this picture that was taken of me. There are enough megapixels available that you can zoom in and see the breakfast pastry that I refused to put down while having my picture taken.

Gosh phone cameras have come a long way in the past few years. You can’t get away with anything.

Simone Mitchell was impressed with the quality of the camera …

… which turned out to be a little too impressive.

Simone Mitchell travelled to Uluru as a guest of Huawei.