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Palya! Which means hello to aboriginals!
We were woken and it was still pitch black and could still see the stars! I didn't sleep well as was pretty cold. I put my coat on in the middle of the night but got my rolled up sleeve caught at my elbow which meant I couldn't bend my arm...not a good night.
We ate a breakfast of fruit toast and cereal with hot drinks. Rolled up our swags and drove 1 hour towards Uluru. We passed mount Connor on the way which in the dark looked like Uluru. However as the sun stared to rise we saw Uluru!!! Very exciting!!! It looked so big compared to the Barron flat desert around!
We stopped briefly at our campsite for tonight where I had a quick warm shower which was fab because it warned me up!
We entered the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and got our tickets for $25 each. The tickets were valid for 3 days. All over the ticket it said 'It is requested that you respect the wishes of Anangu by not climbing Uluru.'
Sam told us how the locals believe the various formation came to be; Once upon a time two brothers who were giants found some wet sand and decided to make a mud pie, which is Uluru, and the lines down the sides are the brothers fingers. On their journey the younger brother ate some leaves that we're poisonous and became ill. So the older brother made a bed for him, which is Mount Connor, and went off to find an antidote. However, he took too long and the little brother had died so the older brother carried the body from that place and wept, which is now a salt lake, and buried him, which is the small island in the middle of the lake which has extremely lush flora, which is due to the fertility of the body underneath. Sam then went onto explain how the came about geographically through various seismic activity and the buckling of tectonic plates...
Either way, I find it quite a coincidence that such an extraordinary rock is slap Bang in the middle of Australia.
We drove right past Uluru which was magnificent and round to Kata Tjuta (which means 'many heads' in the local language as they think the domes look like their ancestors heads) which was a group of giant dome shaped rocks. Uluru is compressed sandstone but Kata Tjuta is a conglomerate (lots of stones stuck together with mud). The huge mounds were stunning! We did a 5.4km wall through the Valley of the Winds and it was indeed windy! Half of the group opted to do the longer walk of 7.4km which Garth did.
Along the way Sam told us great aboriginal stories and shoes is some plants and their medicinal qualities. we reached the Karingana Lookout which was a high point between two of the domes. What a sensational view!! One of the best in my whole life!! The wind was mental though. We were freezing within seconds of arriving!! We waited up there for what seemed like forever but was only 10mins for Garth and the others to join us from the other side.
We all walked back and ate a yummy lunch of tuna salad wraps. There were millions of flies. The most I'd ever seen. I couldn't stop moving/fanny flies away for the whole lunch hour!!!
We then went to the cultural centre where we spent and hour learning about aboriginals. Tjukurpa (chook-orr-pa) has many deep complex meanings but basically creation time, law, way of life or story. This includes levels of knowledge. Once you learn the first level you are allowed to know the next level and do on. This means that the only things we are allowed to know about aboriginal culture are the same things that their children can know. So there was only a small amount we learnt about the culture. :(
We looked at the 'Sorry Book' where people had written sorry letters and sent back stones that they had stolen from the park years ago in a hope to rectify their bad luck in life...interesting.
We watched a video about the history of the ownership of the rock - how the Australian government took it and only part gave it back in 1985 which was really sad.
We then took the much anticipated drive to meet Uluru.
As we arrived in the car park, Sam swore loudly and we saw many, many people walking up the rock. I was really shocked by this and Sam said he'd explain shortly.
We all sad down in the sand at the foot of the rock in the sun. Sam explained that when the government handed back the rock in 1985 the contract specified that the government would co-run the park as they believed the locals would be able to properly. And that tourists could still walk up the rock as they believe there would be no profit made if people couldn't walk up. Sam said the locals were so desperate to have back their sacred site that they would have signed anything.
Sam then gave 3 reasons to not climb Uluru:
1. It's Sacred to the locals. In aboriginal culture. Aboriginal boys are sent on a Walkabout for 3-4 years at the age of 12. If these boys can survive this time in the outback hunting, making fire and shelter, then they have the right to become an aboriginal man. If you fail at this, then you die a boy. Once succeeding at the walkabout the. ceremony for becoming a man is having the honour to climb up to the top of Uluru. Uluru is the most sacred place for a originals and the heart of Australia. No local was ever allowed to climb the rock or even lay a foot on the rock unless it was their ceremony for become a man. These people had worked their whole lives to walk up the rock and many locals had lost children striving for that honour. And here are the white fellas turning up in their air conditioned busses, walking up Uluru and going back to their comfy homes, causing immense offence and disrespect to people who had been here for thousands of years.
2. It causes great pollution. The climb to the top takes over 2 hours, in the beat where you will be drinking lots of water. So you need he toilet when having reached the top. There are no toilets on Uluru... The urine passes down the rock into one of two drinking holes which is not only disgusting but the wildlife are no longer drinking from these pools but going elsewhere. So the wildlife is suffering and the locals have less to hunt and survive. The top of Uluru is covered with urine, faeces, toilet roll and used tampons... Sam also said that when you get to the top there is nothing to see. We saw this ourselves when up on the Kings Canyon - there is flat desert as far as the eye can see - so why would you want to risk your life and go up there.
3. It not only causes great disrespect to the locals but harms them greatly. Aboriginals believe that it is their responsibility to train and prepare people for the climb (a lifetime of teaching and walkabouts) and if there is a fatality (there is an average of 35 deaths a year) on the climb that it is their own fault. When a death of a tourist occurs they have a grieving. Seeming where the women wail and cut their legs and arms so they are covered in blood to show their remorse. The men bash their spears into their heads until their eyebrows split and blood runs down their face. Sam has seen someone fall off the rock and die, because when you slip there is no way of stopping.
Everyone in the group was dumbfounded at why these people were walking up the rock. There were even signs asking people to show respect and not climb the Rock. I felt ashamed to be a white person and a tourist.
Sam went onto explain that currently 20% of visitors climb. If they can keep the numbers at or under 20% for the next 2 years, the. The government will close the climb...on condition that they come up with an alternative attraction. Just shocking!! Sam asked us who came here to climb the rock, no one put their hands up. He then asked if our experience had been lessened by not climbing and everyone said no....
I was an angry bunny!!! Such ignorant people!!!
We then took the Mala Walk which was 2km around the food of the rock to the left of the climb.
We saw a large cave in the shape of a wave where the young men would return from their walkabout and wait there to be met by the grandfather to be taken to the top of Uluru.
We entered a smaller similar shaped cave further down for the women. They cooked and slept here. Sam told us a story about a neighbouring tube conjuring up a giant dingo to attack them and they fought and fled down to South Australia.
We saw a sacred womans area where they gave birth. Sam asked the men to turn abound and not look to honour the culture. Also no one could take photos to keep in with this culture as it would be bad if an aboriginal man were to see a photo of this area on the Internet.
Sam taught us about the symbols used in cave paintings which was very interesting - everything is drawn from an above perspective and is extremely basic. We saw some awesome cave paintings which was very exciting! (apparently the more advanced cave paintings are found further north near Darwin because the tribes up there had more food and more rainy seasons, so more time to paint.)
We finished at Kantju Gorge where we saw a dripping waterfall which is very rare and a big pool at the bottom. It was really beautiful!! The sandstone of Uluru is red due to the rusting of the iron content, but it was black where water runs down it due to bacteria that likes water so there was a large black line where the water would flow at full strength. We later saw this line from the sunset viewing point - amazing!!!
We then took the bus up to the sunset viewing area. There are only 2 tables there do there was a race to get there first to get a table, which we did by the skin of our teeth! We settled there for the evening. Sam cooked us spag Bol and very spicy vegetables which we ate as the sun set and enjoyed some beers. There seemed to be a lot of people there but only 5 of 100 coach spaces were filled!!
We drove to our campsite and settled in fit the night around the fire with music. Sam showed us how to work out south from the stars.
Getting ready for another night under the stars I decided to wear the fleece from my coat to bed straight away, but the zip got stuck and after lots of attempts Sam kindly cut my coat for me!
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Darren. Superb