32 Uluru (Ayers Rock) - Day 1

We got up at 6 this morning to drive to Melbourne and caught a flight to Uluru (the current and native name for Ayers Rock) for our 3 days 2 nights camping trip. After a 3 hours flight, we were picked up at 12:30. The tour actually started at Alice Springs; it was a good thing that we flew directly to Uluru so we could skip the 5 hours drive (through nothing!). It was such a coincidence - the Korean girl, who sat between us on the plane, was on the same tour.

There were 13 of us in the tour and we are the oldest in the group. After a quick lunch at the camp site, we set out for the walk around the base of the rock. Instead for doing the entire loop, we opted to visit the cultural centre first and only do a half loop after. The centre told the story of the aboriginal people who have been living on this land for over 30,000 years!  Until the guide told us, I was not aware that the aboriginal people in Australia were only recognized as human beings by the law until the 70s; previously they were just savages!

see the Minyma Kuniya (python woman) on the upper right
corner of the rock - part of the legend around Uluru

Our guide is originally from Perth and used to have trouble dealing with the aboriginals.  Ever since becoming a guide, he started making friends with the aboriginals and is now passionate about them.  He told us about their culture, the geology and plants of the area. He is quite knowledgeable. We were then driven to the mid-point to join the rest of the group to start our half base walk.  But guess what, the entire first group decided to go back to the air conditioned bus because of the heat! The temperature was around 37, but according to the guide, the reflection from the ground probably add another 10. There were hardly any shade along the way, it was HOT; and guessed who was the smart one with the umbrella.

water flowing to water hole

a close-up view

We visited a water hole and caves with paintings. The aboriginal people held ceremonies at places and used paintings to teach their children on how to survive, how to track and hunt animals, what are the edible plants, etc. It was interesting to find out that there was a clear delineation of work between men and women; they even hold their 'ceremonies' separately.

picture of Uluru before sunset

We then went to a spot to watch the sunset and the colour change of the rock. There was not a cloud in the sky and the part of the sky above the horizon stayed blue for a while. Then the part above the rock changed to white and yellowish, instead of the orange colour they have on the postcards. We also got to sip champagne and enjoyed some snacks while watching the sunset.

Uluru at sunset (pic at the top is the one in between)

We got back to the camp and the guide cooked us a stir fried chicken dinner. While we had hot showers at the camp, we had to choose between sleeping in a tent or a swag outside.  A swag is like a canvas bag with a skinny foam mattress.  As it was quite warm (I guessed it would be in the high 20s), we decided to give the outside a try. The side benefit of sleeping outside is the magnificient night sky.  Because we are in the middle of nowhere, there is no light pollution.  The sky was so clear that there are literally millions of stars.  We can even see the Milky Way! and it was so clear.

starry starry night