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We've just returned from the red centre of the country, the cultural heartland of Aboriginal Australia - Uluru.
I'm keeping a daily diary of history and information in relation to the places that we're visiting, so I won't go into all that here. I'd recommend looking into it though - to get an idea of how the country was and significantly, how western man sullied it.
We arrived in the nearest airport town to the red centre, Alice Springs, on Sunday afternoon. Alice Springs won't go down as my favourite, not least due to the very obviously segregated way of life and the subsequent shanty town feel to the streets and even CBD.
On Monday morning at 5am we left on a bus full of different nationalities (20 people in total) for what would ultimately be a 600km drive to the south-west. A lot of sleeping was done by all - predominantly due to the heat and barren landscape that we were passing through. We stopped off for a wichetty grub (I didn't try it) and then hit King's Canyon - more steep inclines and walking, but for a significant pay off at the summit. A member of our travelling party then took a nasty injury when we collected firewood for camp, meaning we got to our sleeping destination a little later than planned and cooked up a chilli.
On Day two we first went to the boulder-esque landscape of Kata Tjuta, prior to the main event, Uluru, later in the afternoon. Witnessing this phenomenon was truly magnificent, as was toasting with a beer at sunset. Day two of sleeping in a swag under the stars was again challenging, but all part of the experience.
Our final day, today, saw us return to do the base walk at Uluru. The indigenous folk ask for the rock not to be climbed due to its cultural significance and relatively fragile state as a national park. The option is still there to make the very dangerous ascent, but fortunately none of our group took up the option.
So there we are, that's a bit of a history and culture blog for you. We're back in Alice Springs tonight for an end of tour dinner and drink, before we head back to Sydney and then fly to Auckland tomorrow evening.
MD
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