After packing a ute with supplies, she has embarked on a three-day drive to Uluru with partner Brian James to lead an arts project with Chinese-born artist Zhou Xiaoping and collaborate with the Anangu people in the Mutitjulu indigenous community.

"We're obliged to converse in society," said Ms Rozakeas, who's also co-owner of popular South Melbourne cafe The Kettle Black. Being front and centre of the on-the-go life, she declared: "There is nothing wrong with silence."

Leaving behind queues of people, and mounting breakfast and lunch orders, the daughter of Greek immigrants understands challenges and respects other cultures. "I love any creative collaboration that brings people together from different cultural backgrounds who are able to share an experience that really showcases people's abilities and talents as opposed to what we're unable to do or the challenges or the difficulties."

Transcended by the red earth during her two-week stay, she will revel in the sort of shush that enriches her life spiritually. "In the desert, you hear the quiet."

Following previous trips to the Northern Territory, Ms Rozakeas and Mr Zhou were invited by the Mutitjulu Community Aboriginal Corporation and elders to return and paint murals on their buildings with input from local artists. Going beyond a one-off splash of paint, they will return several times over the next 12 months to oversee the project's completion.

The project's title, "Paint a Different Picture", reflects the motivation of the participants. "It's a great project to showcase to Australia a different story as opposed to the ones we constantly get bombarded by in the media," she said.

Progressing from the previously dire societal ills of alcohol abuse and petrol sniffing, the Mutitjulu community of about 200 people situated near the base of Uluru will have up to five of its buildings beautified with artwork.

During her spiritual trajectory, Ms Rozakeas emitted signals to the universe and was rewarded. Fortuitously, she discovered Mr Zhou's connection with Aboriginal artists when watching an ABC documentary, Ochre and Ink, about his collaboration with the late Aboriginal artist Johnny Bulunbulun. She approached him and he agreed to join her Mutitjulu multicultural mission.

In addition to taking his painting supplies, Mr Zhou will pack his tent to fully experience the simple life in the outback. He's used to the swag existence after arriving in Australia in 1988 and spending 27 years connected with indigenous communities in Arnhem Land and the Kimberley in Western Australia. Another essential is rice paper but not to eat it. He paints on it and fixes it to his canvas.

This is his first arts project at Uluru and a momentous opportunity. "If we look at the bigger picture, we see the big buildings," Mr Zhou said. "It is very important how we curate the space with all the artefacts around. The space could be used for traditional uses like ceremonies or in a more contemporary way for music. In each community I have been to, everyone loves music."

One of his artworks, Our Country, incorporates the Aboriginal dot technique and will be replicated in a six-metre-by-two-metre mural on a Mutitjulu school wall.

Aided by donated food and cooking utensils, Ms Rozakeas will cook for the locals and has packed oats, nuts and honey to make porridge. She couldn't leave home without a supply of coffee, too. She is excited about bringing a touch of Melbourne cafe cool to the outback and in return, learn about its native produce.

In our materialistic and self-absorbed world, Ms Rozakeas is driven to upgrade her inner self instead of her possessions. "With the elders I've met, I've felt very humbled by them. You want to be in their presence."

In a reciprocal way, Mr Zhou definitely made an impact on the Aborigines. Those with a catalogue of action films called him "Bruce Lee" and mimicked the actor's martial arts manoeuvres. That's an energetic way to flick paint on a canvas.