Team behind Vivid Sydney creates spectacular new display at Uluru

The pre-dawn chill is torpefying, cutting to the bone as we sit, swaddled in blankets, gazing into the desert under a cloudless sky.

Desert spectacle … Sunrise Journeys.

There’s a collective gasp as a shooting star streaks across the diamond-studded blanket, slowly fading from black to indigo; while in the distance, a silent monolith – its shape so familiar to every Australian – looms on the tangerine-tinged horizon.

As a new day begins at Uluru, a soft glow appears in some trees in the foreground, a soundtrack of wind, birdsong and contemporary music morphing into a voice, softly speaking in Pitjantjatjara language before offering a translation: “This is our Country.”

So begins “Sunrise Journeys″⁣, the latest immersive offering from Ayers Rock Resort that marries traditional storytelling and the latest in laser, light and animation technology. On a vast desert canvas, the experience brings to life a modern Indigenous painting, interpreted into a kaleidoscope of light and sound that creates a prelude to the greatest show on Earth – sunrise over Uluru.

The voices we hear are those of three renowned Anangu artists – Denise Brady, Selina Kulitja and Valerie Brumby – who collaborated on an artwork entitled Ngura Nganampa Wiru Mulapa – Our Country is truly beautiful. Proudly displayed in the Gallery of Central Australia, this canvas depicts the artists’ shared connection to the spiritual heart of Australia, the rhythms of nature and the seasons that forge a link between past, present and future.

“A collective gasp”… Sunrise Journeys.

“We’re speaking through that painting for people to understand and to know us, that we are from this Country, and we belong here,” says Denise Brady, from the remote Western Desert art centre of Kaltukatjara. “That’s something that’s given to us, and now it’s given to other people by hearing and seeing it through “Sunrise Journeys″⁣.”

Bringing the women’s story to life is the world-renowned Australian visual experience team Mandylights, best known for their illuminations during Sydney’s Vivid festival, including the Dark Spectrum installation for Vivid 2024.

This beautiful collision between old and new techniques of storytelling involved breaking down the original artwork into 170 digital pieces, then animating them with video and laser software to match the artists’ narration and a soundtrack created by local Anangu musician, Jeremy Whiskey.

“We start with references to Country with the seasons, we see the clouds form, listen to the storm, and then comes new life in the desert,” Mandylight chief executive Rich Neville explains.

“Doing justice to the original artwork was always in the back of our minds. It’s easy with the amount of technology that’s out there to get carried away and go crazy with it – but our aim was to pull it back and continuously reference the artwork, with every laser cue based on the actual dots in the painting.”

The two-hour ‘Sunrise Journeys’ experience – which includes a native ingredients-inspired breakfast on the viewing platform as licks of sunlight bring Uluru to life – complements Ayers Rock Resort’s first commercial collaboration with Anangu traditional owners, a sunset drone and laser show called “Wintjiri Wiru″⁣.

What they’re here to see … Uluru’s majestic presence.

Launched in May 2023, Wintjiri Wiru tells a chapter of an ancient Tjukurpa creation story through the use of 1200 drones, seven projectors and six lasers, with the artistic collaboration raising the bar for respecting and remunerating Indigenous cultural intellectual property.

While technologically impressive, this spectacular show is far from a Disneyfication of a traditional story, with the esoteric imagery and evocative, languid Anaṉgu narration allowing pause for reflection against a natural backdrop that refuses to be outshone by artificial means.

“When guests come [to Uluru], we feel the responsibility that they go away changed, enriched, understanding a bit more about Culture and the Anangu way of life,” says Matt Cameron-Smith, chief executive of Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia that operates Ayers Rock Resort, Uluru.

“Sunrise Journeys elevates our commitment to authentic, meaningful and responsible cultural tourism. It’s a real honour and privilege to be able to work with leading artists of the region and share their unique connection to the natural environment.”

Early-morning magic … Sunrise Journeys.

With more than 100 guest experiences listed on Ayers Rock Resort’s website, there’s no shortage of activities for visitors to the Red Centre to keep themselves occupied. Sunrise, sunset and evenings under a starry sky are clearly the hero hours, but in the heat of the day, particularly in the warmer months or the rainy season, relaxing activities that take place indoors are a little thin on the ground.

And so a new culinary experience has been launched at Ilkari Restaurant at Sails in the Desert – an Australian Native High Tea. Celebrating the Indigenous flavours of Central Australia and beyond, this daily offering is a fabulous introduction to ingredients found in the desert, the unusual flavours integrated into traditional High Tea sweets and savoury bites.

High Tea with flavours of the desert.

After being greeted with a rosella-tinged bellini, executive pastry chef Graciela Jonen places a three-tiered silver platter before me. Starting from the bottom up, the savoury selection includes a barramundi lemon aspen and saffron tart, a finger sandwich with brie and prosciutto-wrapped anise myrtle fig, a slider topped with roasted pumpkin, warrigal greens and bush dukkah Persian fetta, and a mini-wrap with Barossa smoked chicken, lemon myrtle and sun-dried tomatoes.

But it’s the sweet temptations that have me salivating … scones flavoured with lemon myrtle and topped with a tangy quandong jam and cream; a chewy saltbush caramel “Tim Tam” a divine finger lime almond tart; and a sweet burst of heaven in a wild rosella flower mousse. It’s served with a cup of Kakadu Sunset tea from Blak Brews, an Indigenous-owned tea company who were the recent winners of Australian Food Stars with Gordon Ramsay.

Jonen’s “kitchen garden” from where the ingredients are plucked from, is, in fact, the desert wilderness outside.

This red-dirt country – painted green after several years of unseasonal rainfall – is bountiful, bringing together families and communities to feast and to connect.

Artist Denise Brady best encapsulates this in her narration for Sunrise Journeys: “We gather at special places across the Country. Nganamampa waltjapiti winkinguru, our families from all different places, come together.

“Together we dance, we sing, we heal our spirits. We feel connection in our heart… We sit together and share food and knowledge. We share with love and respect.”

THE DETAILS

FLY
Jetstar flies daily from Sydney and Melbourne to Uluru, see jetstar.com

STAY
There are multiple accommodation options at Ayers Rock Resort, from luxury glamping at Longitude 131 to apartments, hotels and camping facilities. Rates at the four-star Desert Gardens Hotel from $420 a night, with a minimum three-night stay. See ayersrockresort.com.au

EXPERIENCE
The daily two-hour Sunrise Journey experience is priced at $125 adults; $75 for children. It includes return coach transfers and a seasonal native ingredients breakfast. See ayersrockresort.com.au/sunrise-journeys

The Australian Native High Tea is offered daily at Sails in the Desert from $75 for adults and $45 for children. See ayersrockresort.com.au/experiences/high-tea

The writer was a guest of Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia. See voyages.com.au