Uluru

After a nice relaxing day by the pool in Cairns, we woke up very early the next morning to go to the airport to catch a flight to Sydney and then to Ayers Rock (Uluru).  Once we landed in Uluru it was the early afternoon and we were picked up at the airport by Damo, our tour guide from the Rock Tours.  We loaded our suitcases into the trailer in back of the bus and first drove to the cultural center where the rest of our tour group was already.  We had a short amount of time there but were able to read some stories told by the aboriginal people who live in the area and learn more about why they consider Uluru and the other rock formations so sacred.

After everyone filled up their water bottles (the park requires each person to have at least 3 liters of water because it is so hot and dry), we drove to Uluru, the big red rock that you’ve probably seen on postcards or calendars depicting central Australia.  Damo led us around the base of the rock and told us some more creation stories that have been passed down by the aboriginals for thousands of years.  He pointed out areas where the men and women would meet and sit around fires or cook.  Because Uluru is considered so sacred, some areas we were not allowed to take photos of and it is considered disrespectful to climb the rock.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Right now there is a path to climb up the rock, even with signs right next to it explaining why it is dangerous and disrespectful to climb on it.  We obeyed these signs, but other people sadly do not.  Damo told us that in the few cases where someone has tragically fallen and died at Uluru, the aboriginals feel so saddened that someone lost their life at a place with such significance that they will fly across the world to pay respects to those people at their funerals.

Also, in order to learn the details of the stories that have been passed down for so long, a person must earn the right to the knowledge.  Damo had been told the stories at the level of a small child because he is not an aboriginal and has not yet earned the ability to learn more.  He showed us a cave area with aboriginal drawings on the walls which was used to teach children how to navigate the area and live on their own.  After the teachers felt that the young adults had learned enough to survive, they would send them out to live in the outback alone for around three years, and this is a place where it might not rain for months or years at a time so just getting fresh water is extremely difficult.  I would definitely not be able to survive for long!

After walking around Uluru, we drove to a lookout area where Damo made dinner and we could watch the sunset.  The rock was really beautiful with the changing light and we could see Kata Tjuta, another rock formation which we would visit the next day, as well.  After the sun set, the stars began to come out and because we were out in the middle of nowhere, we were able to see so many more than I am used to.  It was pretty incredible.  Diana, an astronomy major, was able to point out some constellations and I was excited to be able to actually see the Milky Way for the first time.

Kata Tjuta in the distance

That night we drove to our campsite and put out our sleeping bags and swags (basically big canvas sleeping bag covers with a foam bottom) so we could fall asleep under the stars.  I made sure to sleep in the middle of the group in case there were any snakes/spiders/other creatures that tried to get near us in the night.  Luckily, we were not bothered by anything at all!  After a shower at the surprisingly nice bathrooms, I was super tired and ready to go to sleep.