1995/11 Australia trip - Uluru and Kata Tjuta |
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Saturday morning, we were up before dawn again to witness the impact of the sunrise on the rock itself. Some mornings it is supposed to glow magically. It didn’t, but it’s an impressive sight at any time.
We took advantage of being up early to also start our climb of the rock. It’s only a 1000 ft climb, but the beginning is very steep, so 
there’s a chain provided for balance. What we were really surprised at was the wind! It blew at about gale force for the whole climb, so the chain was also used as an anchor. I think I could have walked up and down without using the chain, but the wind could easily have blown us 10 feet to the right and straight to the bottom.
Sandie did very well for somebody who doesn’t like heights and doesn’t do much climbing. She made it to the top, but there were lots who quit because of exhaustion, wind, or fear. Once you’re past the steep part, you still have to contend with those tiny ripples you can see in the pictures. Those ripples are 15 feet high and very steep, so there’s a lot of clambering and jumping.
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Uluru (Ayer's Rock) (12.06) |
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At the top, the reward is a magnificent view of the Olgas (more rocks) and Mt Connor. Surprisingly, there are a few ponds up there, with shrimp and tadpoles, and a few straggly trees. And it’s still windy: the ponds have waves on them.
The climb down is a lot easier, but tough on the toes and on the nerves, if you don’t like heights. About the time we made it down, the rangers closed off the climb for the rest of the day as it was already 104 at 10am. We had a celebratory cuppa and headed for the cultural centre, run by the local people. Interesting and restful, and some of it even air-conditioned.
Then we were off to Kata Tjuta, which is the locals’ name for the Olgas. These are similar rock to Uluru, but more of them and smaller, lots of different shapes and sizes. We hiked into Olga Canyon, but it was extremely hot, about like our Death Valley trip back in ‘79, around 120 in the shade, but there wasn’t any. We also had a problem with the water we were using. We thought we’d bought lime flavoured water, but what we really had was clear lime cordial, meant to be diluted. A few mouthfuls of cordial in that temperature and you dried up instantly! This was a serious problem, so we zoomed back to Yulara to buy a gallon of water, most of which went down quickly. Once you get dehydrated in the desert you never seem to catch up.
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Kata Tjuta (Olgas) (4.36) |
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We stopped by at Uluru again to join the crowd waiting to see the rock at sunset, but there was a line of cloud on the horizon and the sun’s final rays did not get there and light up the rock. So, another washout, but we did see a dingo just as we were leaving. Like the American coyotes, dingoes love to visit picnics.
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Nukanya Dreaming Act 1 (25.28) |
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Nukanya Dreaming Act 2 (12.34) |
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Nukanya Dreaming Act 3 (18.00) |
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We weren’t done with the day yet though, as there was a show in the amphitheatre, another aboriginal dance company, Nukanya Dreaming, this time reenacting one of their legends. As before, good didgeridoo music and dancing, and then they switched to their invention, a mixture of rock and traditional music. They finished off by getting a few of the audience to participate in their dances as birds and kangaroos. This was hilarious, as they used their spears to tickle the kangaroo victims. One of my favourite memories is of a fierce-looking hunter with body paint teaching a three year old boy how to be a bird.