After more than four years out of uni I made the crazy
decision to return to full time study.
As a bit of a last hurrah before knuckling down to I decided to take 5
weeks off of work before the semester starts and go on a few little adventures. I figured I’d have a lot less time to do
these kind of things for a while so I might as well make the most of it while I
can.
Part of that time included spending about a week in
Central Australia. I’ve visited Alice
and the surrounds briefly a couple of times in the past but never had much time
for a good look around. There is
something very alluring about the juxtaposition of the dry, bright red dirt and
soft moss green spinifex grass against the vibrant blue sky there, and there
are so many amazing natural wonders to be seen in the area so I’ve been keen
for a while to get back. Fortunately I managed
to convince my mate James that the place was worth a look in and he agreed to
come along for the ride. He lives in
Adelaide and myself in Darwin, so we both met in the middle and hired a
car.
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| The base walk at Uluru |
One of the things I’d been most looking forward to doing while
there was to getting back and seeing ‘The Rock’ again. I’d visited only briefly back in 2010 when I
did a road trip from Adelaide to Alice with a friend. James and I arrived in Alice Sunday arvo on
Australia Day and after celebrating in traditional Aussie style we hit the road
Monday afternoon. It was pretty late in
the evening by the time we arrived at Yulara (52J GT 00055 06502) – the little tourist
town situated near the entrance to Uluru – Kata Tjuta (Ayers Rock – Mount Olga)
National Park. We had stopped off at
Rainbow Valley and Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserves on the way down. Yulura is the closest you can stay to Uluru
as there is no camping allowed inside the park these days. You also have to pay an entry fee to get
in. It’s $25 for a three day pass or
about $32 to get an annual pass. I decide
to go the annual pass option...you never know, I might get back there this
year?
For a couple reasons tourists are dissuaded from climbing
Uluru. The path of the climb is said to
follow the traditional route taken by the ancestral Mala men when they arrived
at ‘The Rock’. Out of respect for the
Mala story the traditional owners do not make the climb. The Traditional Owners have voiced concern
about possible damage caused by tourists undertaking the climb and fears that
their traditions and culture may be compromised as a result. The climb can also be pretty dangerous. However at this stage the climb still remains
open except in situations where the danger is increased.
“That’s a really
important sacred thing that you are climbing... You shouldn’t climb. It’s not the real thing about this
place. The real thing is listening to
everything. And maybe that makes you a
bit sad. But anyway that’s what we have
to say. We are obliged by Tjukurrpa to
say. And all the tourists brighten up
and say ‘Oh I see. This is the right
way. This is the thing that’s right. This is the proper way: no climbing’.” – Kunmanara
(Traditional Owner)
Note: Tjukurrpa is the traditional law of the Anangu, the
traditional owners of Uluru and the surrounds.
After the late night it was about 9:30 in the morning
before James and I made it out to the base of Uluru. I recognise that it makes me a bit of a dick
but I was disappointed when we arrived to see a sign saying that the climb was
closed after 8am, though in hindsight it’s a pretty sensible decision not to
let people start the ascent after that time.
I know it’s even worse that I know the reasons why the Traditional
Owners don’t want people to climb – I can’t even argue ignorance to their
plea. But as someone who loves
adventures and is always longing to see over the next hill or around the next
corner how could I not climb the massive monolith while the offer still
stands. When George Leigh Mallory was
asked why he wanted to climb Everest he replied simply ‘Because it’s
there’. I’m certainly no Mallory but I
can understand and appreciate the statement.
Yes, like I said I know I’m a dick.
So instead of the climb we decided to entertain ourselves
that morning by doing the 10.6 km walk around the base of Uluru with a couple
of the shorter walks thrown in for good measure. As you walk around you can see the black
trails down the rock face where temporary waterfalls appear when it rains but
when we were there is was very dry and very hot. Fortunately we’d come prepared with our
Camelbaks and hats and sunscreen and sunglasses but all that garb still does
nothing to insulate you against the oppressive heat.
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| Aboriginal children swimming in Mutitjulu Waterhole |
Interpretative signage along the walk also highlights
areas of particular significance to the Traditional Owners as well as art
sites. My favourite spot though was a
place called Mutitjulu Waterhole (52J GS 045644 94616). There are a few other waterholes around the
base but this was by far the largest and is the most reliable water source. All of the waterholes have motion sensors
overlooking them to detect entry and I overheard a tour guide remark that if
you are caught swimming you will cop a fine of up to $4,000. However we arrived to see a group of about 15
Aboriginal kids swimming there and performing crazy jumps and dives. The little smartie pants had stuck a hat over
the motion sensor. They were clearly
having a lot of fun and loved the attention from the tourists. They upped their antics, dancing and singing
and diving in procession when a bus load of people came to join James and I
watching the show. I would have loved to
have jumped in with them but a $4,000 fine would have significantly upped the
cost of the trip.
After the walk we returned to our hotel for a while to
escape the heat. In the evening we drove
back out to the sunset viewing area (52J GS 01598 96577) early and set up a
little possie. I’m pretty sure everyone
who rocked up later was a little jealous.
We had a table set out with citronella candles and sat back drinking
wine and eating cheese and crackers and apricots dipped in chocolate while
music played through portable speakers as we watched Uluru change from orange
to red to purple. Who needs to spend
$185 per person on the Sounds of Silence dinner when you have that!
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| Uluru sunset viewing area |
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| The ascent up Uluru |
The next morning was take two on our rock climb attempt
(god you’re a dick Lisa). We got up
before the crack of dawn and drove around to the sunrise viewing area first
(52J GS 07687 92745). I was surprised at
how ridiculously packed it was there.
There must have been about three bus loads of people as well as a dozen
car fulls. It did have a slightly
negative impact on the serenity of the situation but it was still worth a look. By 6:40 we had commenced our ascent. For those of you who haven’t seen Uluru in
the flesh she is pretty high (346 metres) and pretty steep. It certainly gave our calf muscles a decent
workout. You need to have a moderate
level of fitness if you want to attempt the climb otherwise you could easily
get yourself into a spot of trouble. The
sign at the start of the climb explicitly states that if any of your
possessions blow off you should not try and retrieve them, very wise advice. About 35 tourists have already died doing the
climb by attempting such things, and dying would be a pretty crappy way to end
a holiday.
The first half of the climb is by far the hardest but a
long chain attached to a series of upright poles has been erected to help the tourists
out. The chain terminates at a place
appropriately nicknamed ‘Chicken Rock’ (52J GS 03823 95233) since a lot of
people reach it and decided they have had enough so they head back down. What they apparently don’t realise is that
the climb gets a whole lot easier after that.
Also the view from the top is breathtaking. After Chicken Rock the path is marked by a
series of white dashes painted on the rock.
The path terminates at a cairn in the centre (52J GS 04556 95306) and
you are not allowed to proceed any further.
From the top you can see clearly over to the undulating hills of Kata
Tjuta and other landforms in the distance.
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| James and I at the top |
The climb back down is unfortunately just as rough on the
old legs as going up but it’s still well worth a look once. The way I see it, in a day or two your legs
will stop hurting but for the rest of your life you will remember what it felt
like when you reached the summit. I did cheat a bit though on the way down. After the chain ended I decided to slide part of the way down on my bottom. But it was only after arriving back at the hotel that I discovered the substantial hole that had worn through the seam of my pants. I didn't mind too much though, it's reasons like that that I usually choose to wear my $7.50 K-mart leggings out bush. I must have been through half a dozen pairs by now getting into mischief.
A bloke by the name of William Christie Gosse also thinks the view from the top is worth the pain. He was the first white person to climb the rock, back in 1873. Gosse is quoted as saying 'after walking and scrambling two miles barefooted, over sharp rocks, succeeded in reaching the summit (of Uluru), and had a view that repaid me for my trouble'. It was Gosse that gave Uluru its other name - Ayers Rock. He name the rock after Sir Henry Ayers who was the Premier of South Australia five times between 1863 and 1873.
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| Kata Tjuta unset and sunrise viewing areas |
After packing up our gear at the hotel we drove out to
Kata Tjuta, by that time it was 11:30.
The temperature was already well into the 40s and James had some wicked
blisters coming up so we decided it probably wasn’t the best time to attempt
the 7.4km, difficult grade walk though the rocks. That would have to be a job for another
day. Lucky I got that annual pass. We stopped at the sunset and sunrise lookouts
there to take in the incredible view, then headed on our way up towards Kings
Canyon for our next adventure.
Visited 28-29.01.2014
