This section is kind of difficult to write, because I really want to be able to do justice to Uluru and I think that too much time has passed for me to be able to do that. Perhaps I'll start with a history lesson, that's always fun!

Up until about 15 years ago, Uluru was known by non-aboriginal people as Ayers Rock. For most of my journey around Australia prior to visiting the rock, I referred to it as Ayers Rock, rather then Uluru. I am not sure why, but for some reason the words stuck in my throat, and I couldn't hold on to the pronunciation. After visiting Uluru, learning of its history, viewing its caves and crannies, there is no way I could refer to it by any name other than Uluru. It's almost like I had to become intimate with it, to experience it, before I earned the right to call it by its name. The spiritual significance and sheer physical majesty of Uluru is astounding, placing you in awe of it. We arrived at Uluru just before sunrise, having spent the night before camping out & sleeping under the stars. Of the twenty people in our group, only 6 of us elected to do the 8 kilometre base walk. I was a bit dumbfounded by that, and still can't really understand why you would come to this place and not want to walk around it, to see every inch of this rock. But I digress...

So we walked, and as we walked, the sky lightened, shifting shadows of orange and purple and gold onto the rock. Cracks and crevices grew out of the shadows, and light fell onto aboriginal paintings carved into cave walls. Signs at various intervals told the aboriginal stories describing particular points of the rock. Photographs were forbidden at many points around the rock, especially at the places of spiritual significance. It took a little more then an hour to walk around the rock, and at the end, I felt rather connected to it, as though Uluru had become a friend. I was also glad that the rock climb was closed that day, due to strong winds. The aboriginals who "own" Uluru and the surrounding land ask that people do not climb the rock, as the walkway has certain significance (if you ask me in person, I'll tell you the story, but it will sound strange written down) but technically they are permitted to climb, and many people do. I was not planning to climb, out of respect for the aboriginal peoples' wishes, and didn't particularly want to watch others climb for some reason.

We visited King's Canyon the day before Uluru, and climbed up both walls to look down. the rocky climb was a bit treacherous, but the views from the top were astounding. If you've ever seen Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the end scenes are filmed at King's canyon (where they climb up in drag). I was impressed that they could do that in heels; I had a hard enough time in hiking boots!

After Uluru, we were supposed to visit Kata Tijuata (the Olgas), however, the walk had been closed for the day. Apparently a visitor with a tour group the day before had separated himself from the group, and gone for a walk within Kata Tijuata. Now, this site has even greater significance to the aboriginal people then Uluru; in fact, the site is so sacred that they do not tell any non-aboriginal people, or even aboriginal people of a different tribe, what rituals take place at Kata Tijuata. Very little of it is open to the public, thus for this man to separate from the group was a big no-no. Originally they thought he may have been injured, but after a day of searching without finding him, they concluded that he must have walked back to town, or hitchiked, to avoid receiving the $10,000 fine which is the penalty for trespassing on the sacred grounds. Quite an interesting story, but I wish that this guy had chosen a different day to disappear!

One other interesting thing about Kata Tijuata -- from a distance, the rocks form an outline that looks really similar to Homer Simpson lying flat on his back. So if you have any pics of Homer, send them to me, and I'll post them here along with a photo of Kata Tijuata, and we can see how similar they are :)