uluru and Kata Tjuta

uluru at sunset. the woman is an aborignal who gave a tour.





The above are pics from Kata Tjuta and some are from sunset.

Both rocks were made from run off from mountian ranges that have since disappeared. Kaja Tjuta (aka the Olgas) were closer and made of sediment and rocks, where as Uluru was made of mainly sediment (and later turned on its side). You can see rock/sediment layers in these rock.

So spent 2 days at uluru in the center of the country. The background is like this: originally Caucasian Australians thought no one could live in this area so they made it an aborignal area. But they a road was built and tourism took over- people wanted to climb what was known as Ayers Rock and a national park was made. The aborigines hated that- it is a sacred site and several areas around it you are asked not to take photos. Eventually after aborigines had their rights restored the national park reverted to their control. When the climb rate drops below 20% it will close permanently- it is about 25-30% right now (80% used to climb).

So Kaja Tjuta (or many heads) has many climbs/walks including the Valley of the Winds (which is what I went on). After that, I viewed the sunset- both were amazing. The soil is so red! And when the lights hits the rocks it turns different shades of orange to red.

The next day I strolled around Voyages resort: they have several outlooks, resorts, even a gallery with an artist or two and aboriginal artwork. In the afternoon I took a Uluru tour by the Anagnu tours (aborigine group)- the Kuniya walk. My tourguide was Judy and Mimi was the translator- both were local peoples. They both speak several different dialect/languages. We were told the 2nd half of the Lira- poison snake man and Kuniya- python woman story. We were also pointed out drawing/features of the rock/plants/tracks. The features of the rock correspond with this story. Afterwards I viewed a gorgeous sunset. My last day I viewed a sunrise, did the Lira walk and heard the first part of the same story- different guide/interpreter. We also did some spear throwing, piti walking, glue making and during the walk we again saw many features. Both tours went through foods, plants etc. Really well done. During one tour I saw another group take a similar tour but it was not given by a native group, but by a regular touring group. While the story was the same, it felt very different hearing it from an aborigine.

I'm going to touch on 3 more subjects in this post. One dreaming- that is the culture/religious beliefs of all aborigines. They draw their dreams from the top down which is why most dots, lines, etc. It items they sell they will draw animals now, but those are not actually stories. in fact they generally do not sell their stories. They will draw a meeting at a gathering place with a waterhole, but not what happened at the meeting. (so only part of the dreaming is drawn).

Two: I happen to agree that its really inappropriate to climb uluru, the aboringines own it- and its a spiritual site with many stories. You are free to walk around, but please don't climb.

Three: Voyages owns all the resorts. As a result everything is overpriced and expensive. You can find cheaper food, but it still is pricey. You can buy your own food and BBQ it- but its still $$$. But this was an amazing experience. At first I was unsure if I was going to go, but in retrospect, totally worth it! One of the most gorgeous places on earth, and how the Anangu lived off this land was interesting.

The word palya means how are you, good, im doing good, etc. its used in many different phrases.