Things to do before you die!

---

It is one of those things that is on most people's "Things to do before I die" (or "Things to do before I'm 30" - which until recently seemed to mean more or less the same thing to me!) list. It is up there with walk the Inca Trail, visit the Pyramids, Skydive, snorkel/dive Great Barrier Reef and the list goes on... Uluru (sadly more commonly known as Ayers Rock).

This rock in the midst of the Australian Outback that flirts with the light and changes colour as the day changes, that has spiritual significance to the Aboriginal people, that is, in many ways, a symbol of Australia, is what so many people wish to see before they feel they can die knowing they have lived. I wasn't one of those people. In fact the only reason I was to visit this icon was because my multi-stop ticket stopped there and it would seem silly not to. I was in fact far more excited about visiting the neighbouring town, Alice Springs (by neighbouring I mean a 5 and a half hours drive away, but for the NT, that is pretty much next door!) Alice is where Pricilla Queen of the Desert was set and you can never knock a "Cock in a Frock on a Rock".

The more I started to research Uluru the less and less excited I became. Uluru is in the middle of nowhere and all that surrounds it is the Ayers Rock Resort. One look at the prices told me that Uluru has become to the Northern Territory what the mines are to WA. Rooms started at $45 a night for a dorm! (I am paying less than $30 in Sydney.) Where internet is normally $1 for 15 minutes, it is $1 for 6 minutes in Ayers Rock resort. What makes it worse, is that you really have no other choice. There is a free camping site, but unless you have your own transport that isn't a feasible option. I spent many hours trying to work out how I was going to see this bloody rock without blowing my whole Australia budget. Having Uluru as one of my stops was becoming the ultimate White Elephant. The more and more I thought about it, the more and more I got flashes of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Ultimately a horribly disappointing experience, a tourist trap where people can walk away with the their own souvenier- a tacky relica for your dining room table just so people know without you having to find ways of slipping into conversation that you have seen the world, you've even visited Uluru!

I eventually found a tour that would cover the main attractions in the area, Uluru, Kata Tjuta (better known as the Olgas) and King's Canyon. It was a budget trip- we would be cooking for ourselves and sleeping outside under the stars - exactly how I would want it. It still cost $295, but in comparison, that was cheap. As the tour started in Alice and I was flying into Ayers Rock Airport, I would still be spending a very expensive night in the resort. Once it was all booked and paid for, I resigned myself to the cost and started looking forward to the trip (secretly preparing myself to be disappointed).

Uluru blew my mind! My love affair with this magical rock began as we flew in. It was a clear day and from my window seat I peered out of the window at the vastness of nothingness that I have never seen the likes of before (and we have a fair amount of nothingness in South Africa). Suddenly out of this rose an unmistakable image - Uluru! I am unable to explain what is so moving about it, but to see it took my breath away and the sceptic in me was silenced by awe! We could also see Kata Tjuta.

We arrived at the airport and as I suspected everything was set up for tourists. The Ayers Rock shuttle picked us up and drove us around the resort (which was tastefully done, with all the different accomodation options kept in the colours of the desert). I checked in and put down my stuff. Each resort has their own unique viewing point of Uluru and mine was no different. Despite knowing that I was to see Uluru by sunset on my tour, I couldn't resist going to view it as soon as I got there. I paid my $45 for the short drive to Uluru. Uluru and Kata Tjuta are both a part of the National Park. The land was returned to the local Aboriginal people on condition that they lease it to the government. The Aboriginal community and government run it together and it appears to be a positive example of the two working hand in hand for mutual benefit. There is a cost of $25 to enter the National Park, but the ticket is valid 3 days, so very reasonable.

I had a short bit of time to explore before the driver took us to the sunset viewing point. I headed off on the Mala Walk (about 2 km). They had advertised that national park rangers did free walks, but as there weren't any in sight, I headed off to explore on my own. Uluru close up is as spectacular as it is when viewed as a whole. It is a red rock with various indentations and strips of black (where water has "rusted" the rock... or was it the other way round?) The local Aboriginal people have stories that describe each indentation and how they came about, these stories were also used as a way of explaining where food and water could be found. Many of the stories are unable to be shared, but a few were and were very interesting. Sadly, many of the stories are being lost as the culture is being lost. As they are all passed on verbally (through song) they will never be able to be reclaimed. When you think that people would travel 800km to get the next bit of the "song" and survive by having a deep, deep understanding of the landscape (after visting the NT and seeing what a harsh land it is, it is even more impressive than it sounds) and that all that knowledge is being lost, it is heartbreaking. Especially as often it is being lost with nothing to replace it, but more of that later.

A couple of minutes into my walk I saw what was obviously a ranger doing a tour. Excitedly I joined in. He was excellent, very informative and I learnt so much about how the landscape was formed. The fact that what we see of Uluru is only really the tip of an iceberg so to speak- it stretches a further 6km east and considerable further into the earth too. The part of the world where Uluru stands used to be an inland ocean. I would love to retell all the facts about the geological formation of Uluru and how it changed from when Australia was a cold, ice covered country until now, but I don't have a good enough understanding of it all and fear that my facts would be slightly to largely incorrect (you never want to publish potentially untrue information on the internet, even if it's just your family and friends reading it!) On our tour he also pointed out Aboriginal rock art. I was fully active on the guided walk, asking questions and smiling and nodding at all the right places. I was unsure why the "ranger" kept looking at me strangely, surely it's OK to join in a few minutes late. It was only when he said "And tomorrow morning you will all see Uluru as the sun rises" that I started worrying. Quietly I turned to the couple next to me and asked whether this was the ranger's guided walk. They informed me that it was in fact a tour group and the "ranger" was the tour leader. I had just gate crashed somebody else's tour!! What do you do though? It felt rude to just walk ahead as if I had lost interest in what the man had to say, but I obviously was not a paying customer and just looked like a cheapskate trying to get a free tour. Luckily the couple thought it was funny and told me to tag along! (The couple next to them looked very unimpressed- this was obviously not a budget tour and the expense of Uluru had obviously left them less than charitable to "scrounging backpackers" as myself! We ended the walk at a watering hole where the red of the rock shined onto us so that we were all tinged red. It was so quiet, it was actually spooky. One of the stories would have led the people to this part of the rock and after days in the desert, this fresh supply of water would have been a life saver.

I got the bus back to the sunset viewing point. It was just as I had initially feared it would be. There were hundreds and hundreds of people in various forms of transport. Many had their own camper vans and so had a fresh supply of drinks (I was jealous!), lots of big tour buses and lots and lots of cameras. The flies were also out in full force. When I had arrived at the resort and seen people wearing fly nets I had scoffed inside at "silly tourists", but it didn't take me long to see the sense in this protection from having flies up your nose or worse as a snack. Despite the huge number of people, it still somehow felt as though the sunset was just for you. As though you were the only one who had ever experienced the wonder of the rock changing colour before your eyes! Uluru is a flirt who manages to seduce you into feeling like the only one, while doing exactly the same to everyone else. Everybody had a different way of taking it in! There was even a girl doing yoga while watching it (unsurprisingly maybe she was travelling in a van called "Hippie Camper"!)

I returned to the resort for dinner (they had a "Aussie style BBQ" where basically you paid a lot of money to cook your own food!) I opted for an overpriced salad valley - it was delicious though and listened to the acoustic guitar player before heading off to lie looking at the stars and talk to the Kiwi. He was half asleep and very jealous of my adventures. (He tried to look more noble and say he wanted to be with me, but I think he was just wishing he was the one lying under the stars - who wouldn't!)

I had a lovely. lazy morning swimming and reading and waiting for my tour to begin. By the time I met them at lunchtime, they were all knackered from an early start and a long drive from Alice. I was however, rearing to go! We headed off to do the Valley of the Winds walk at Kata Tjuta (this means many heads in the local Aboriginal language- it doesn't take much to see where that name comes from. The heads were each supposed to represent a warrier). We ran out of time to complete the whole walk, but it was spectacular! Kata Tjuta is the sight where Aboriginal boys would go through initiation. Not much is known about what that actually entails. The group seemed nice and the guide, Tom was laidback and knowledgable. You are not allowed to walk the Valley of the Winds if the temperature is 36 degrees or more. This is largely due to stupidity. It is amazing how many people have a lack of understanding of how to handle the heat and apparently many people don't take enough water and end up in trouble. It is a very difficult/impossible walk to send rescue vehicles and so makes for a very difficult and expensive rescue mission should people be in trouble. It seems ridiculous to me to even consider a hike without ample water, but then I think back to the American surviver episode where they were somewhere in Africa and had to much to carry and so through out the water!!! How disconnected to survival we are to lack the inherent understanding that everything can go before the water!

We returned to watch Uluru by sunset. We were at a different viewing spot from the previous night. I actually preferred the angle, but we had a school group who missed the spiritual side completely. The teachers handed out drinks and snacks while they shrieked as only teenagers can! I tried to remind myself of me at that age and how the dynamics of trying to understand where you fit socially are far more important than a rock (be it a beautiful, awestriking one!) It is at times like this that I realise I am getting old, I have to remind myself not to judge people for being how I was once. Again though, Uluru worked her magic and another, god knows how many photos were taken.

We returned to camp to cook dinner- we were all involved with the cutting of vegetables, but we had a Hungarian chef on our trip and so he was immediately nominated to actually cook the spagetti bolognese - who says this is a budget trip? After eating too much we retired to the bonfire and sat around chatting and relaxing. We had the option to sleep in tents or in a swag (a pull out mattress thing very popular in Australia and nicknamed a Matilda... seriously!) We could hear the dingoes in the background and the stars were bright in the sky. Again I realised how different my upbringing was to so many people's. I was one of the few people who had ever slept outside (the group comprised of Koreans, Japanese, German, Swiss, Hungarian and Italian people). We all slept under the stars, but many people were very nervous and were doing it to challenge themselves - very bizarre for me!

We were up at the crack of dawn (5am to be exact) for sunrise over Uluru! (Need I say it was amazing!) We then did the base walk of Uluru - an easy 10km walk. It is possible to climb Uluru, however there is a lot of controversy surrounding it as the traditional owners of the land have requested people not to climb it. It is a bizarre set up as everywhere there are signs requesting you not to climb and yet you can still choose to. It is often closed due to winds at the top. It is a hard and dangerous walk, on average 1 person a year dies doing it. This is one of the reasons the Aboriginal owners ask people not to, they don't like people getting hurt on their land. For me, if you are requested by the local people not to climb their culturally significant rock, don't! Our group divided into half about who wanted to- all the Westerners didn't want to climb and all the Asians did. It was such a "neat" divide, it was almost unnerving. The walk later opened and half our group headed up to do it. I discussed this with Tom and he said that the Aboriginal people mind less when Asian people climb Uluru as for them going up equates to getting closer to God and so they can respect that. To be honest, I don't think any of our group wanted to climb it to get closer to God, I think it was just a challenge. I guess if I came from somewhere where people climbed it and that was the reason for visiting it, maybe I would want to. Imagine getting all the way to Everest to walk to base camp to discover that I was being politely requested not to? I also believe that if you have the option, it is up to people to decide. If it is that important that it not be climbed, it should be closed. Perhaps this is another example of the lack of real power held by the Aboriginal people of Australia, or perhaps money really is the deciding factor. (Currently 40% of people who come to Uluru want to climb and will if the climb is open. When that drops to 20% they will close the climb!) While the Asian contingent of out group attempted to climb Uluru (one girl in black jeans and a black jumper!) the rest of us did the Mala walk (this time with me a legitimate member of the tour) and then went to visit the cultural centre. Most of the stories were a repeat of what we had already read on the base walk. There was a big focus on the white people and the Aboriginal people working together and learning from each other. They focus on sharing skills and knowledge for the benefit of all. For example, the Aboriginal people will take the rangers out to teach them about the local food, etc. It seemed positive and done very sensitively.

We met up with the rest of out group, many of whom didn't make it to the top - it was a very gruelling walk (and they had all just completed 10km previously). They were glowing with the experience and so happy they'd had the opportunity to do it. After a quick lunch, we drove to Kings Canyon stopping to view Mount Conner (flat on top like Table Mountain!) It was a long drive and I sat up front to get a better view, eventually falling asleep. Most of the van slept the whole time. Tom explained that it was the land of the big sky and how right he was. The sky seems so expansive! It is incredible. There had been a lot of rain before we arrived and so there were many green plants growing out of the red earth and then the huge blue sky! It was incredible. I instantly fell in love with the landscape and the long staight road ahead that seemed to go on forever. You feel so free, like you can breathe openly and easily. For a city girl, I sure like open spaces!

We got to our next campsite and had some time to relax before another yummy dinner. This time we got a couple of beers and again sat around the campfire, relaxing and chatting and just enjoying the feeling out being in the bush. We got to know each other even better and exchanged facebook and email details. We did see a python (not one that is dangerous to people) however a number of people decided to tent it for the night. The rest of us laid out on a circle around the camp fire. I willed myself not to sleep so that I could appreciate the stars for a bit longer!

The next day we got a lie in and only had to get up at 5:30am! We did a spectacular walk at Kings Canyon. Again I was blown away by the scenery and how very old the area is and how many changes it has seen. (We could see the fossil of a seashell which is how people know it used to be an ocean!) It made you realise how with all the worry about global warming and how we are ruining the earth. It is only ourselves we will destroy, the earth will evolve and change and survive as it always has! We ended the walk with a swim in the gorgeous waterhole. We had a quick lunch back at camp where we competed with the flies for our sandwiches and then threw away a revolting amount of food. I don't think I will ever be able to feel OK throwing out food even if there is no other option when I have seen hungry people daily. We headed back to Alice- another long, beautiful drive of nothingness! We stopped at a gorgeous little outback Road House -Mount Ebenezer where I got NT's own Iced Coffee... I have a new addiction which I probably won't be able to find anywhere else!

When we finally arrived in Alice, we said our goodbyes to Tom before arranging as a group to meet for a final dinner. I was staying at a very comfortable hostel called Toddy's and sharing a room with a 68 year old Finnish woman who was doing the same tour I'd done the next day. She clearly felt out of place in a dorm room and needed lots of reassurance that she would be OK on the tour. She got the right roommate! I thought it was fabulous! (Although I did quietly hope that she wouldn't feel too out of place. I also hoped that she would have a slightly older group like ours and not a group of pisshead backpackers.) I wonder how her trip went?

While Uluru celebrates the Aboriginal culture and how wonderful it is, Alice shows the destruction and damage done to nearly to a whole people. That will be saved for the next blog though, the one on Alice Springs!

For now, I am off to get myself into some beach clothes and head to Bondi beach, after collecting and posting my chest x-rays- a step closer to possibly working in NZ! The funds need me to save and my heart needs to be closer to the Kiwi for a while!

The next entry will come soon (hopefully). Exploting does get in the way of writing blogs... which is exactly how I want it!

---

Comments

[Eric]

Hey Kate, I really enjoyed your Uluru post. It reminded me of my time there. My blog is looking for travel photos, travel stories, hostel reviews, and food reviews. If you have any to share email us at [e-mail], or check us at dirty-hippies.blogspot.com Continued fun on your travels, Eric

[Sue McCarter]

Uluru
Bloody marvellous - made me laugh and cry!!