ULURU YOU ROCK!!!

And now the Rock. Nothing in Australia is as readily identifiable as Ayres Rock (Uluru). Australia’s favourite postcard image, the sandstone monolith is 3.6 km long and rises a towering 348 m from the surrounding sandy scrubland (867 m above sea level which is almost 3 times higher than the highest point in Estonia), and, like and iceberg, has most of its bulk below the surface. That’s what a book says, but I’ll tell you a bit more. It’s definitely not just another rock, it’s an impressive landmark with a truly special aura. And it lives and changes every day. If your first sight Uluru is during the afternoon, it appears as an ochre-brown colour, scored and pitted by dark shadows. As the sun sets, it illuminates the rock in burnished orange, and then a series of deeper and darker reds before it fades into charcoal. Don’t assume, however, that a distant glimpse is enough, do take a base walk around Uluru for an extended close-up. But don’t climb, even if you ask yourself why you’ve come all this way into the heart of the Sun Burnt Country or driven an early morning 5 hours (450 km) from Alice Springs. Uluru has a great spiritual significance for the local Anangu people who are the custodians of these lands and take responsibility of the safety of visitors. Any injuries or deaths that occur on the rock (and they do occur on the demanding steep track where you have to cling to a chain) are a source of distress to them. Therefore the Anangu don’t climb and they ask you that you don’t either. As you don’t clamber over the altar of Notre Dame or stride through a mosque during prayer – it’s a question of respect. And we can proudly say: We didn’t climb! In respect for the Anangu and for our own safety :P But we did take a walk and admire the marvel both from close and from distance with sparkling wine and nibbles at the sunset. Just amazing! We saw the Mutitjulu Waterhole and some great Aboriginal rock paintings, visited the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre to read more about Tjukurpa (law) of the Anangu people (and buy some souvenirs (a)), and walked between the massive domes at Walpa Gorge in a collection of rounded monoliths known as Kata Tjuta or the Olgas. They might be smaller in surface area but they are actually 200 m higher than their prominent neighbour and equally captivating and sacred, so climbing is definitely not on, but walking is absolutely amazing. And both I and Ann have made a great choice of route traveling all the way down on the Ghan.