Uluru, aka Ayers Rock
We visited Ayers Rock late one afternoon on our way to watch the sunset coloring the Rock. As the sun sets the rock changes color. The land was returned to the aborigines, who don’t think people should climb the Rock; however, the aborigines do not forbid anyone from climbing the Rock, because they think it is a stupid thing to do. They assume that people should know better. An example of swimming from Australia to South America was given. Would you? So why bother forbidding it. The land was leased back to the Australian government for 99 years and the national park is run by the government, under the guidance of a mixed government/aborigine board. The Australian government is going to outlaw the climb in November 2019. In the meantime it is closed anytime the weather is above 30C as it was while we were there.
We went to the Rock again the next morning, accompanied by a guide who has been working with the Aborigines and has learned some of their stories associated with the Rock. The aborigines tell stories about natural features of the Rock, illustrating how they came to be and what they signify. It is a matrilineal culture and an oral culture, which honors older people more than younger, because the older people have more knowledge having learned more stories. Aboriginals will come from many miles around to meet at the Rock to find marriage partners for young adults. They have strict guidelines that require marrying outside the small family group or tribe, and have specifications on which tribes they will allow someone to marry into so as to maintain genetic diversity and health of individuals, except that it is fine to marry someone of western descent, as we are most definitely outside the family group. There is a permanent water hole at the base of Ayers Rock for drinking water and another (which we did not see) for children to play in. Swimming is not allowed in the drinking water hole for sanitary reasons.
There are small black flies everywhere, while the sun is up. They don’t bite, but they are attracted to moisture and we were provided with stylish black net head covers to keep them out of our eyes, nose, ears, mouth, etc. I didn’t mind it at all and since I do mind small black flies trying to fly into my eyes and nose, I wore it fairly regularly. There is a type of native grass that is silica-based and if you walk through it, you will be cut severely.
We stayed in a local hotel called Sails in the Desert and swam in their heated pool in the evening. We saw Orion and the Southern Cross, but no other constellations.
