Red Rock
Trip Start
Jun 05, 2007
1
90
131
Trip End
Jun 2009
Yulara,
Northern Territory,
Australia
Monday, September 22, 2008
We ventured into town, mainly to pay for the national park fees for the tour we had booked of Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon. This was a cheap, basic tour that included transport, a guide and sleeping in swags - an idea I hadn't quite come to terms with yet, couldn't nearly every animal here kill you?
Alice Springs gave us quite an unsettling feeling, it was the first time we had been in a place where the community has a large Aboriginal population. There is a history of The Alice being quite a rough place, there is an obvious segregation of colour, mostly by choice and there really is a 'them and us' feeling, as a tourists, this is because we are experiencing a completely alien culture we have never encountered before. We have read and heard lots about Aboriginal culture and are very aware of the strict laws on how communication should occur - historically eye contact is a very threatening form of non-verbal communication, so as a visitor you want to be polite and smile but are unsure as in by doing so this maybe seen as insulting or as a stare, but in by not giving eye contact, in a community that is very well acquainted with tourists, are we seen to be rude?? It was all a very odd experience and very difficult to explain. I wish we had more time to delve deeper into the very different cultural values and beliefs but as our tour heads out in the morning, there really is no time for anything other than food and sleep, which we might have been successful with had there not have been 4 people trying to enter our private room with the wrong key at 4am!!
It was an early start the next day, picked up at 6am and driving around town collecting the other people in our group. Already on the bus was a French family - mum, dad and 2 children, initially our hearts sank with thoughts of impending tantrums and silence after 8pm. How very wrong we were, these kids were amazing, really enthusiastic all of the time and a real breath of fresh air, I think the family made the experience a very different one to what we might have expected but in by no way was this a negative one - maybe this is a sign of our ever increasing age?! The rest of the group comprised differing nationalities of German, Australian, Taiwanese and us. Uluru and Kata Tjuta are within the same national park and some 600km from Alice Springs, a fair old drive. But on our way there, the journey was broken by stopping off at Kings Canyon where we took a 3 hour walk up and around this magnificent gorge, it was very hot and the landscape very dry. We crossed a gully in the gorge where there was a supply of water underground and an oasis of green plants and trees emerged, one of which a descendant of a prehistoric plant with deadly poison if eaten - strong enough to kill a dinosaur! The walk, as well as learning a little more about the landscape, gave us chance to get to know our fellow trekkers.
Our stop for this night was a bit of land on a one million acre cattle ranch, there was no one around for miles, the perfect place for a campfire, food, guitar and singing as well as a few beers and enough port to sink a battle ship!! 4 of us stayed up quite late drinking and were privileged to see a couple of owls and I saw a shooting star, although Kev reckons I'd had too much port! At least the alcohol had given me the courage to sleep in the swag, well, I guess 'passed out' would be a better term of phrase! The morning came all to quick and my head was pounding, I really wasn't sure at all how Kev was functioning, I felt like a jibbering wreck with a need for sweet fizzy drinks and dirty food. We packed up and moved on out, destination Uluru, the rather large rock we have heard so much about. We stopped in at a Roadhouse along the way and my culinary desires were satisfied. We planned to stop in and explore Kata Tjuta first but the road in had to pass Uluru, albeit at a distance. Our guide stopped so we could climb a huge sand dune, the view from the top was incredible and it led to quite an emotional time, unsure why, the tears were rolling down my cheeks which Kev found highly amusing!
I was feeling a hell of a lot better by the time we arrived Kata Tjuta, luckily as Beej our guide had another 3 hour trek up his sleeve!
There are many different Aboriginal clans throughout Australia and historically, they each have land boundaries that seperate their land, a bit like countries within Europe but without military might guarding them. It was just an unwritten rule that if you trespassed you would likey be killed so, don't do it! Aboriginal people believe in The Dreaming and each have different stories that explain how the land was created, the stories usually contain a serpent or two and they rest within the land, making significant geographical features very important in ceremonial gatherings. Uluru and Kata Tjuta are contained within the land boundary of one group of Aboriginal people, therefore these amazing formations are only important to this group of people. Uluru is a sacred site for women and is important in initiation ceremonies and as such, men, traditionally, will not look at or acknowledge the site. Kata Tjuta on the other hand, is a sacred site for men, especially the initiation of male adolescents to adulthood and equally, women cannot look at or acknowledge this area. The whole area has been leased off the traditional custodians by the government and so the Aboriginal people have to share their sacred land with tourists - the reason for mentioning this is to understand the compromise made by the indiginous people of this area.
Back to Kata Tjuta and the 3 hour walk. There is a path that winds its way through the giant rock formations, made from a conglomerate of large pebbles fused with now solid sand, with little respite from the glare of the sun, but the formations are incredible and are remnants of when there was glacial activity in this area, hard to imagine in this heat! At the centre after a fairly steep climb, we stand upon a platform that is dwarfed by the surrounding cliffs that tower above us, we feel like ants in Manhattan!
In awe we wonder how Uluru can now compare. We drive to the visitors centre and take in all the information that has been compiled by the national parks authority in collaboration with the Aboriginal people. We get our first up close view of Uluru as well as an insight to the Dreaming story from Beej. There is a huge debate regarding the climbing of Uluru, the traditional owners do not like anyone to climb it as if a person dies on the rock, they believe your spirit stays on the mountain and they feel very sad for their family, as well they have to undertake a grieving ceremony involving male members having to make 'sorry' cuts on their bodies, a ritual undertaken when a person dies. The counter argument is that it is a naturally occurring geographical feature that you should be allowed to climb if you want, just like Mount Everest. We decided to wait until the morning and see what the weather would bring. As it turns out, the weather was far too windy on top and the walking trail up was closed, the decision was made for us by Mother Nature, or maybe it was the creation spirits!
We were taken to the lookout point to watch sunset along with at least 1000 others. Sunset was lovely but as there wasn't a cloud in the sky it didn't make for anything too dramatic. Sunrise in the morning is viewed from another point in the park but our guide decided to use the sunset area, as he felt this would be better in his experience. It was nice to see the sun and Uluru in the same picture but I would have preferred to see the sun lighting up the rock. That day we had time to complete the 7.4km base walk, where we could get up close and personal with the huge monolith, in more ways than one. It was a fantastic walk and every corner had a different perspective, although photographs cannot be taken at some points as these areas are particularly sacred, if caught photographing these areas a very hefty fine can be imposed!
Overall, our experience in the Red Centre had blown us away, Uluru for its simplicity yet massive size, Kata Tjuta for its complexity. The journey back to Alice Springs was long, only broken up by the occasional corner and Road Train steaming through!
