May 15th, 2016

Day 47: Uluru

So, Lindsay has wanted to see Ayer’s Rock ever since she was a little girl – one of her favorite cartoon video tapes was called Noozles, about two magical koalas who claimed there was a magical portal at Ayer’s Rock between our world and Koalawalla Land. Not that she was expecting any flying magical koalas or talking kangaroos or thing, but it’s still place that’s had a certain allure in her mind for a few decades.

Childhood influences – you never now where they will send you as an adult

We set the alarm for 5:30AM, so we could drive into the park and claim a good spot at the sunrise viewing area before dawn. Once again, we were not the only ones interested in seeing a rock at sunrise (Moeraki Boulders, anyone?) – there were about 4 tour buses, and a parking lot full of cars who beat us there. Rather than fight for a spot on the raised platform, we decided to endure a few trees in our pictures in order to enjoy the sunrise in peace on the lower path.

Snapping Instagram pics during sunrise at Uluru

After the sunrise, we headed straight for the Base Walk so that we could enjoy every side of Uluru.

 

Our walk around the base started in Uluru’s shadow – we were so glad to turn the corner and get into the morning sun

 

Artsy photos of the many faces of Uluru

 

There are many parts of Uluru that are sacred – which the Aboriginal people believe should only be viewed in person, never as a replica (picture) – Igor resisted taking photos of those sites. All rock art was fair game though!

Taking a short breather hade to admire the rock art 

The Aboriginal people can read stories from the face of Uluru, almost like it were a book. This cave tells the story of three old men who were killed in a fire from a hostile neighboring tribe – their images still haunt the cave as a reminder.

Uluru in the full morning sun

Once we were done walking around Uluru, the issue of whether or not to climb *up* it came up. The Aboriginal people indigenous to the Uluru area consider climbing Uluru to be a sacred rite of passage, and they find it offensive when tourists climb up it. Also, it is incredibly steep and dangerous, so both the Aboriginals and Australian park rangers don’t like it when people get hurt / die / need to be rescued from the climb. Lindsay decided not to climb the rock, out of respect for the Aboriginal people’s request. Igor believes, however, that no culture can “own” a natural wonder and decided that since the rock was technically open for climbers it was fair game. We have agreed to disagree on recommending the climb to others. However, we were informed by a park ranger the climb will be officially banned as of 2019, per the will of the Uluru council members (66% Aboriginal controlled), so keep that in mind.

 

Steep climb to the top, where a compass points to all the sights

There’s rainwater atop the rock! Igor could see The Olgas in the distance

 

Only one pair of boots on the top of Uluru

Beautiful texture of the rock

Panorama from the top

 

It’s a perilous climb down – Lindsay was watching Igor nervously from the parking lot. Many tourists slip and fall, which is the main reason for closing the walk.

We took a long break from the sun, heat & flies in the middle of the afternoon, and checked out the Aboriginal Culture Center, which had a lot of information about the history of Uluru (both geological & political), as well as conservation concerns and wildlife in the area. (No pictures allowed though, as it was another sensitive area)

We still had over an hour until sunset, we so decided to return to Kata Tjunta and hike the last walk that we missed the day before – the Gorge Walk.

 

The Gorge Walk at Kata Tjuta

 

Beautiful, late afternoon walk in the park

We returned to Uluru with plenty of time to catch all the variations of the rock during sunset and dusk. The parking lot cleared out once it got dark, so we had Uluru to ourselves for a final starry photo-shoot. It may be a big rock in the middle of nowhere, but this is seriously worth the trip.

The four final faces of Uluru