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| Uluru |
After Port Macquarie, we spent a few days in Sydney, but I'll cover that when I do the rest of our time there later. For now, we are off to Red Centre, and flying in to Uluru.
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| Uluru |
There used to be campsites and motels within the National Park, but these were closed down in then early eighties due to the damage they were causing. Now they have the Yulara, or Ayers Rock Resort, just outside the park. As everywhere is comparatively expensive, we decided to blow the budget on the fancy Sails in the Desert.
We had, for once, done a bit of advance planning, and booked ourselves on to a few things. The first of these was a sunrise walk around the base of the rock.
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| Uluru |
First off, a few facts about it, starting with its names. I say names, because on 15 December 1993, it became the first place in Australia to be officially dual-named, with both its Anangu name of Uluru, and Ayers Rock, and the name given to it by William Gosse, when saw it on 19 July 1873 and named it after the Chief Secretary of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers.
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| Uluru |
The rock is 348 metres high above ground, and has a circumference of 9.4 km or 5.5 miles. The walk around it is about 12 km, as you don't follow right around the base for much of the time.
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| Uluru |
The rock, or Inselberg (island mountain) is made of a type of sandstone called arkose. It is actually a grey colour, but the iron bearing minerals have affectively rusted, creating the red colour that it is so famous for. Up close, you can really see this oxidised, flaky effect.
Now early mornings really aren't our thing, but it is something of a necessity to get around the side that would be in the sun, before that sun hots up. By starting early, we can see the sunrise, and be round at the back, in the shadow of the rock, before the heat becomes too much.
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| Uluru |
The walk started at the Mala carpark, where the Mala, or rufous hare wallaby, people first arrived. There are a number of sacred areas, where you are asked not to take photos, which of course we respected.
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| Uluru |
We progress around past the Kantju Gorge, which can have a waterfall flowing down it after heavy rains, and along Kuniya Piti, where you can see the grooves in the rock where it is said the giant snake travelled along the rock.
As we went, the guide told us various Anangu dreamtime stories, but I wont repeat them here as I wouldn't want to spoil the story if you go yourself.
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| Uluru |
At the Mutitjulu Waterhole, home of the wanampi, the ancestral watersnake, we hear the story of Kuniya and Lira, and see the paintings in the caves which are still used by the Anangu people today.
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| Uluru |
Then we go on through the Lungkata (blue tongued lizard man) Walk, until we reach full circle and arrive at the bit that people climb up, leaving a nasty white scar on the rock. The Anangu people, to whom the 'ownership' has been returned, ask that you do not climb the rock due to its sacred nature and to prevent damage to the rock.
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| Uluru |
Sadly, many people still ignore this, and climb anyway. More happily, even more respect their wishes and stay off the rock. Technically, under the management plan agreed some years ago, if the number of climbers falls below 20%, the option to climb will be removed altogether. However this is being resisted by some, and there are some reports that it has already fallen below that and not changed. Personally, I hope they do stop it.
We decided not to stay on at the rock after the walk, and were back at the hotel in time for a late breakfast.
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| Uluru |
