Uluru | The Escapades of Pookie and Allan

This morning we again had an early wake-up call to catch the sunrise at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National park. We wanted to watch the sunrise as it cast its rays onto Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock. Uluru is a large sandstone monolith that is sacred to the Aborigines. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site twice over and is only one of a few dozen sites that has achieved that status in the world. It was first recognized in 1987 for its rare plant life, geological formations, and its animals. And then in 1994 it received its second award for “the unique relationship between the natural environment and the belief system of the Aborigines, one of the oldest societies on earth.”

Uluru is noted for appearing to change color at different times of the day and year, most notably when it glows red at dawn and sunset.

As we entered the park to see the sunrise, Susan told us to say the word palya which means hello in the Aborigine language. It is a form of respect to the sacred monolith. Interestingly, the word also means goodbye, finish, and thank you.

Susan and Tristan arranged for us to have coffee, tea, and biscuits when we arrived at the park which we enjoyed in the darkness, and then we walked to one of the viewing platforms to wait for the sunrise.

It was dark and serene, and a few people had already arrived to witness the event. We stood quietly and watched as the sun started to emerge from the horizon and began to cast its colors and shadows on Uluru.

And what a sight it was!! The pictures do not do it justice. We all just kept taking pic after pic to capture the changing colors of the rock.

After sunrise, we went back to the resort and had breakfast and then we were out once again to visit the National Park and Kata Tjuta . While Uluru is the centerpiece of the national park, Kata Tjuṯa, meaning many heads, is sacred to the local Aboriginal Anangu people, who have inhabited the area for more than 22,000 years. It is an important focus of their spiritual life. It includes spectacular rock formations and we were able to walk to the gap area that made for a great photo op.

The walk wasn’t easy as the rocks and uneven stones made for difficult footing, but we persevered and Susan pointed out interesting points along the way.

As we boarded our coach to return for lunch, Susan passed out Tim Tam, a favorite chocolate cookie that the Australians love. It was very good, but very sweet.

After lunch we took an impromptu tour back at Uluru, getting up close and personal to the rock. First we visited the Cultural Center, which according to the brochure, “promises a warm welcome from the Anangu, the traditional owners of Uluru. It introduces visitors to Tjukurpa, which is the foundation of Aboriginal culture in the region and the traditional law that guides daily life for the Anangu people.” It was very interesting to learn the ways of these people.

After the visit to the center, we once again visited Uluru and Tristan told us many of the stories and legends of the different markings on the rock. He took us to a cave where paintings and markings from thousands of years ago were still present. We walked to a waterhole which is sometimes dry but today was beautiful with the water sparkling in the sun. It is a sacred area and Tristan asked us to meditate in silence for a few minutes as we gazed into the water.

Sunset was quickly approaching, but we made one more stop to a place where we could touch Uluru. There are places around the rock that the Anangu people have asked visitors not to photograph because of its sacredness, so of course we all complied. But we were able to touch the rock in a designated area. Tristan had the idea to photograph our shadows on the wall which made for a great pic.

We then had a lovely champagne party at sunset, with cheese and crackers as we watched the sun set and cast colors and shadows, just like sunrise, onto Uluru.

We left after the sunset and Allan and I and one of our friends Sharon went to dinner at a local pub. Tristan drove us over and then joined us for a soda. When we arrived, Allan and I selected our meat (2 lamb chops) and then we went over to the BBQ area and I grilled them myself. We also had unlimited salad bar to go with the meat.

Unfortunately, the lamb was fatty and very tough. We couldn’t even cut it no less eat it. We had the salad bar but we didn’t have the beer we were hoping for since they didn’t have any dark beer available.

We enjoyed talking with Tristan and Sharon and then Allan, Sharon, and I caught the shuttle back to our hotel in the resort to pack for our flight in the morning.