9 November 2011 - Ayres Rock Camping Ground, Yulara Resort, Northern Territory

The last afternoon of the last day here in the centre of Australia, sitting inside with the roar of the air-conditioning. Outside the sun is bright, scorching the red earth of the camp ground. There is an attractive swimming pool here however the mere thought of walking the few hundred metres under that same sun to reach it does little to encourage a swim. I could grow fat and lazy here; it must be time to move on.

We were out and about a little later this morning but still at the Mala car park on the north west edge of Uluru before 8 am, waiting for the ranger and the free guided tour. I say “free” but it is not really so, because we did pay $25 a head to enter this park, to enjoy the walks, see the sights, drive on the convoluted maze of roads and be informed as much as possible.

She, the ranger, knee high to a grasshopper and about as round as tall, arrived in due course, apologising for her tardiness and then we, together with about twenty other independent tourists, set off clockwise along the two kilometre walk, stopping along the way to hear stories and about the culture of the Anungu people who live here (or at least close by).

We learned that the sensitive and sacred places barricaded off from the public, are in fact still used for ceremonial and cultural occasions, and that the local people while receiving a cut from the takings of the National Park and the resort, do have ample opportunity to be employed in the activities and services on offer. We personally have seen none except for the one carrying a rubbish can for a ranger checking the walking trails. Perhaps they are not really interested in taking the responsibility of daily reconnaissance themselves, but better suited to a casual support role. And perhaps the others all prefer to work in the background away from the pressures of the many thousands and thousands of tourists who flock here annually.

Closing the climbing walk of the Rock

The reasons for discouraging tourists climbing the rock were once again pressed upon us, this time the environmental ones being brought to the fore. There is no shelter or no facility on the Rock, and so those who climb just do what they must when they are caught short. The unmentionables along with sweated off sunblock, and discarded snack wrappers, and lost cameras and hats, and anything else you can imagine, all get washed off eventually when the rain falls. Down it all comes into what were once pristine water holes, now more often than not, too contaminated for man or beast. The visualisation of all of this was enough to confirm that Chris and I had done the right thing in choosing not to climb. This obviously had not been imparted to those who were either setting off or returning when we arrived at the Mala car park this morning. Human forms moved on the ridge, tiny in the distance, reminding me of the black ants that are crawling their way into our caravan. At 8 am on the dot, a ranger arrived and closed the walk, the reason being the extreme temperatures expected today.

We enjoyed the Mala hour and a half guided walk very much, and were looking forward to joining another tour at the Cultural Centre at 10. We arrived with time to spare and sat watching an interesting video about “bush tucker” (food gathered from the environment by the local aboriginals as sustenance). Belatedly we discovered there was no tour today, so we returned to camp, compiled a shopping list and returned to the little IGA to fill a basket with items in readiness for our departure tomorrow morning.

It has been good to have internet here and catch up with the family. Last night we finally caught up with Kit (and little Isabella who was rather unresponsive given that it was bedtime and she only had that destination in mind) and today with my parents. One never can be sure how long it will be before we are contactable again, however I guess if things went haywire, we could be easily tracked down with today’s technology; our credit card and bank transactions leave an obvious trail.  And of course there is this, these ramblings of a happy traveller.

Our travels in Australia so far.