Outback Trip: Day Five

Photos!

Day five was Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock). We spent an hour or so browsing the nearby cultural center, which explained the significance of Uluru in Aboriginal culture, as well as more general aspects of the culture of the tribes living in the area. The whole exhibit was very well made, and gave the impression that Aborigines were actually involved in the planning and creation of it.

Next we had a tour led by three guides, one white and the other two Aborigines. The Aborigines, Richard and Wayne, spoke Pitjantjatjara, their native language, while the third guide (whose name I forget) translated. They showed us traditional Aboriginal tools and customs, and the guys got to try our hand at using a spear thrower. The girls didn't get to try because it's a cultural taboo for women to use men's tools (and vice versa). After that, Richard told us a traditional story, illustrating by drawing in the sand. The tribes near Uluru have a number of stories they tell that involve Uluru, and often explain physical features of the rock. For example, in the story he told us, one of the characters (a lizard) stole some meat and hid in a cave high up on Uluru. The hunter he had stolen from built a fire to smoke him out, and he fell out of the cave, leaving bits of skin on the rock as he rolled down. Part of the rock near that cave is stained green, which they say is the lizard's skin.

Tourists like to climb Uluru, which is allowed, but the Aborigines prefer that people do not. Interestingly, it's not as much because Uluru is sacred to them (though that is one reason) as just that they would prefer people stay on the ground and learn about why Uluru is important to them. Richard told us, "Up there, it's just rock. There's nothing up there. The stories, the life, it's all down here. Why would you go up there just to see the same ground?" They also worry about people hurting themselves on the climb, a very real danger. Almost 40 people have died on Uluru, either from falling or heart attacks and the like from exertion. Our guides explained that it was okay if we chose to climb it, but they wanted us to think about it first. Whether it was what they said or the fact that the temperature was in the mid 30s (which translates to Fahrenheit as 'very hot'), everyone in our group chose not to climb it.

After lunch we hiked partway around the base of Uluru. I took tons of pictures trying to convey the immensity of the thing, but of course none of them really do it justice. I'll just say this: Uluru is huge. Breathtakingly huge. Its size is accentuated by the flatness of the land all around it (even right up to its base). It's one of those landmarks that should really be seen in person.

We stayed for a sunset on Uluru, viewed from a trail some distance away. Something about the atmosphere kept the sunset from producing all those gorgeous reds you see in pictures of Uluru, but the sunset itself was quite nice, and we could see Kata-Tjuta (The Olgas) off in the distance. We drove back to the same bush camp near Mt Conner for the night.

What struck me about Uluru is how well the owners have balanced different interests. Instead of becoming a trashy, overrun tourist trap (which is most definitely a danger), they've managed to accommodate the floods of sightseers while still preserving the cultural links of the native Aborigines. The land is administered jointly by a board of park rangers and Aborigines. The nearby resort (Ylara), instead of being glittering and huge, is actually so well built into the landscape that it's barely visible from the road. And instead of selling cheap imitation trinkets, the cultural center offers tours like the one we had and sells art by local Aboriginal artists. It felt like they were doing a lot to change the focus from sightseeing to education, which in my opinion is exactly what they should be doing. There are still a lot of unresolved social issues surrounding Aborigines (more on that in day 7), but it's nice to see that at least in some places Australians are doing a rather inspired job of accommodating both cultures.