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Published: November 6th 2013
Alarm at 4am ready for a pickup at 4.30! This morning it's Uluru sunrise and a cultural walk around the base of Uluru. Today's is a 5k walk so slightly worried!!
The sunrise is even better than the sunset. The changing colours of Uluru are just fabulous as the sun starts to hit the sandstone. I was worried that I wouldn't get to feel the spirituality of the place but didn't need to worry, and the walk after with a very knowledgable and enthusiastic guide just made the trip. Even if she was a Canadian.
We walked around about 50% of the base in two sections split by a coffee stop (and breakfast) at the cultural centre.
Our guide explained all about the Aboriginal beliefs of the local tribes who are collectively called the Anangu. Tjukurpa covers their social,religious and ethical philosophies. These beliefs are told through their creation stories. Proof of these stories can be seen in the formations on Uluru and this physical evidence is called Tjukuritja. For this reason Uluru is seen as a sacred site which is why climbing the rock is discouraged. Amazingly 26% of visitors still feel the need to ignore the
Sunrise at Uluru
And not blocked out by the man in the front! feelings of the owners of Uluru and still insist on climbing. It is likely this will finally be legally stopped when the contract between the Anangu and theAustralian government is renewed in 2020. Ok - rant over!
It is hard to describe how awesome Uluru is from a geological perspective and I'm sure our excess number of photos will still not do it justice. When you add in the stories we were told as we walked around the base you really felt you were somewhere unique in the world.
On top of that the walk was flat, it was much cooler as it was earlier than the day before and so generally much easier, although flies were still a problem!
So back at the resort for a freshen up and a quick snooze although we had to get to the centre of the resort by 12.30 as Ian was very keen to try out a digereedoo. Videos available. I can vouch he did get some noise out of it. Luckily it can only be played by males so I didn't have to compete. Aborigine culture is very sensible. They have women's business and men's business and they
Base walk
Don't ask - I have no idea why he has his bottle of water on his head! remain separate and based on their skills!!!!!
So lunch whilst watching the Melbourne cup on the tv in the bar, sit by the pool for the rest of the day and an early dinner and night ready for our flight back to Sydney tomorrow.
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Rose
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Uluru
Looks amazing! Really enjoying your blog too. X