Kata Tjuta

Kata Tjuta (meaning many heads) is a giant rock that looks like a series of dome like heads in the middle of the Australian outback. The entire rock is considered sacred to the Aboriginals (original people in Australia) who live in the area. It is the initiation sight for the tribe where boys go to become men. No "white folk" know exactly what goes on there...we just know that when the boys come back, they are missing a front tooth. Sounds painful! The rocks in this area look very red. They are actually a gray-green color but over time, iron particles from Western Australia have blown over to this region settling on the ground and the rocks. Rain and wind compact the particles into the rock and it therefore looks red. If you scrubbed for a while or dug a few feet in the dirt, you would find the original color of the rock! Another name for this rock is The Olgas. Like most things in Australia, there is the Aboriginal name and the name given by European explorers or the "white man." The Olgas was named by the explorer who first spotted the mountain. He named it at first Mount Ferdinand after his mentor. Ferdinand, however, was very humble and did not want a mountain named after him. He the requested that it be named after the queen of his country...Olga.