sydney - uluru sunrise tour & cultural walk

so, woke up at 5 am on saturday morning and actually managed to run to the common bathroom just in time to avoid being turned into an icicle.

this is what you see when your coach reaches the sunrise viewing area. pretty dark aye?

gettin a bit lighter...

kata tjuta, far left

it's about to start...


yes, that beanie makes me look dumb. and i don't give a rat's arse about it, i'm warm :D
actually one of the tour guides offered me 10 bucks for my gloves...


they gave us hot beverages and little biscuits as breakfast. i think i'm gonna start venerating the great arnott's parrot.


then the sun came out, quick and efficient. went from not there to full ball in less than 2 minutes. a grand sight to behold.





i think that would be decent background music for that moment.



it was so beautiful, so quiet, so empty. the first rays of the sun blazing over uluru's sides is an unforgettable sight. to be seen at least once in a lifetime.







in the distance, kata tjuta displays a lovely show as well. i think it's underrated, too overwhelmed by uluru.


after witnessing the sunrise, there was a guided walk along uluru's flanks.
the rock's true color isn't that orange/red actually; that's just the sand coating it. it's silvery-grey beneath in fact.

a very, very dry desert indeed. ahem.


the grey streaks are where the water mostly flows when it rains.

this is said to represent Lungkata the blue-tongued lizard. in aboriginal lore, it was very lazy and slow; upon meeting two human friends, hunters who had hurt an emu and were tracking it down, he lied to them by telling them he hadn't seen the bird, which in fact he had spotted, stole their prey and hid in a cave with the meat. so the blokes made a fire to engulf said cave in smoke and get Lungkata out to seek revenge and kill the liar and thief.
this teaches kids not to lie or steal, and to hunt lizards by putting smokes into the holes they live in to make them run out.
the walk was 3km long only; to fully go around the rock, it would be 9.6km long.


the willie wagtail, or jitta jitta according to the anangu, the local aboriginal people, named after the chirping sounds it produces. it is reputed to spread gossip and doesn't have a very good reputation among the anangu.

this is supposed to represent a tjita tjita. with the head on the left.


the rock has a very cold and surprising feel. its temperature is generally 5°c higher than the air's. in summer, when it's 50°c in the shade, the rock can be as hot as 60°c and makes the climb even more treacherous. last summer, apparently, a family of mexicans tried to climb the rock with crocs; obviously, after a few meters, the crappy plastic shoes melted and their feet were burnt to blisters. 3rd degree burns, they had to be flown by helicopter to the medic centre. stupid, stupid, stupid, dammit. contraceptive pills should be compulsory below a certain IQ or something.

and still we reel around the sun...

there is a sacred side of uluru (among many) that people aren't allowed to photograph. it's said to be kuniya piti, the place where kuniya, the mother snake (people identify to their animal totems) came to lay her eggs. the waves along the rock's surface are said to be the traces she left.
her eggs never cracked, because she never came back. that's because she met her nephew, who had been hurt by another tribe for breaking their law. his puncture wounds are represented above. (see the cute heart up there? ^^) he died and she mourned him sorely, not without seeking revenge on the foe tribe's members, who had been rude to her.
this story is meant to teach children to respect your elders.



the multitjulu waterhole at uluru's foot. not very drinkable water, as it doesn't move and allowed lots of bacteria to develop. one good thing to do if you're in dire need of water, is to filter it through some tissue; it should make the liquid safer to gulp.


rock paintings, used to illustrate stories told to children by teacher elders. the U shapes depict sitting people, the concentric circles, waterholes. the kids were taught where to find food and water, how to track animals, etc. later, initiation for adulthood was split between genders; men didn't know what women learnt and conversely.



after this lovely walk and all the stories told by our excellent guide (niall if you're reading this, great job!), we were taken further around the rock, to the climbing area.

in the late morning, it's a red center alright!

on the right, this is the slope on which some crazy folks climb. it's kinda pointless, horribly dangerous (the number of sprained ankles and dehydrated people...) and the anangu don't like it if you step on their rock. i guess it would be as if someone wanted to climb, i dunno, the kaaba, that great cube relic that stands in mecca. so might as well save everyone the trouble and look at uluru from the ground or the air without climbing it, right? no?... dammit tourists!
the only piece of safety on that very steep climb, is a single metal railing that runs along part of it. you have to do the first and last coupla meters for yourself. i'd actually ask to be paid to climb that thing. omg heights.

another little walk :)

OMG this thing is gonna melt on me! halp! or not.

erosion has an artistic sense that i fancy.

aaaand that's it for the morning :) next, kata tjuta (aka the olgas) and sunset on uluru!