Uluru

If there is one place within Australia that has reached pilgrimage status amongst the citizenry, it is Uluru. The sacred status of this place amongst the local Aboriginal people, the Anangu, is easy to understand - Uluru springs out of the flattest of flat land in the middle of Australia, a giant sandstone monolith that glows with rich color at sunrise and sunset. Uluru also has dual status as a World Heritage site for both cultural and natural significance.

We had a whirlwind trip around Uluru via our bus tour, stopping for several walks around the base, at the cultural centre, and for sunset and sunrise viewings. During these, our tour guide explained that he only knows the simplest stories of Uluru, the "childrens" stories. The more complicated and socially-important versions of these stories are strictly divided into men's and women's stories. It isn't appropriate for him to know even the men's stories, because he is not a member of the Anangu.

On our walks around the base with him, he spoke of the story of the great fight between a venomous snake and a python, ending with venom thrown over the area. The story includes bush wisdom about taking care not to dirty the water source in this area (a rare thing in this desert environment) and taking care not to gather plants around the battle site (as some toxic plants in the area that could be confused with edibles). The children's story was far more complicated than this, and I can't remember all the details. I imagine that the adult stories must be immensely detailed and contain an incredible amount of information on Anangu societal customs.

Looking up the massive rock face - serpent track

Our sunset and sunrise viewings of Uluru didn't give the most spectacular color changes due to some unfortunate cloud cover. I think it was Bill Bryson, in A Sunburnt Country, who stated that he could sit and watch the play of light across Uluru all day. After being there, I totally get that sentiment. The downside of a bus tour was moving so quickly from spot to spot and not having some time to just sit and be with this incredible space. All too soon, we were moving away from Uluru - and on the road to Kata Tjuta.

Intrepid traveling partners, Bob & Barb