A sacred place for the Anangu - ULURU

Until 1985, when the area was handed back from the "Whites" to the Anangu people, it was called "Ayres Rock". In return, the Anangu leased the land to the Australian Government for 99 years. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is located on Aboriginal land and managed in cooperation with Parks Australia. The Anangu consider this land as a creation of their ancestors and as a very special place. Some parts are especially sacred, ceremonies take place there, and photos can't be taken. It was recognised in 1994 as an UNESCO World Heritage Site for its cultural and natural values.

We took the 8:20 am bus to Uluru (about 20 min drive with several stops) and started hiking around the base of the rock. Trails were beautiful most of the time, running along the foot of the hill, even with some shade thanks to trees - mostly desert oak and mulga (acacia), which are known for their very hard wood.

 

Since it had rained quite a bit recently, the whole landscape was gorgeously lush and green, grasses high - not usual at this time of the year, as a park ranger told us later.

Didn't see any mamals, but little critters and butterflies:

Below the Mutitjulu waterhole (below), another of many sacred places for the indigenous people, beautifully quiet and pieceful (with the exception of the noise, tourists - on bike and segway, too - made).

Spectacular geological formations: notches and caves, gently sloping walls, holes and crevices, "faces" (see further below),  gorges and waterholes, many of them have symbolic value. A fantastic landscape, a bit similar maybe to some parks in the U.S. Southwest or West, but much, much stronger contrasts, much more color and much more unique location.

Uluru is made from a sedimentary rock called arkose sandstone, and, the red color comes from iron minerals in it, being weathered by water and oxygen.

See the face above? Gorge on the right side.

 

Rock paintings above, most places where you can see them close, are not accessible, so I took this photo with a telephoto lens.

We hiked on several of the designated walks, mostly around the base, but also shorter one-way excursions closer to the rock, almost 15 km in total. Heat wasn't too bad (though, it may have reached around 30 deg C at noon), thanks to some shade, but flies became a pest at patches without wind,,, 

And, the last part of the trail to the Cultural Centre was shadeless and a bit boring. But,,, the centre itself compensated fully for the effort (no photos allowed inside!) with an instructive film and exhibitions, and, the shops sold real nice artwork of Aboriginal artists (not your typical souvenir stuff!). At 2:40 pm we took the bus back to the hotel, next one would have been in the evening and wouldn't have been included anymore in our 1-day-pass.

After kind of a "cheese&ham-sandwich-ginger beer diet" for two days, we decided to have dinner in one of the restaurants on the property. And, we wanted to have something "typical" and therefore we chose the  kangaroo kebap (photo), which tasted great, a bit like buffalo with some deer mixed in. Could have been a bit more, though,,, Drink selection (in all restaurants/shops at the resort) was rather disappointing, no real bar neither, but no problem with that. Right now many groups of elderly people (many Germans, too), and Asian kids were visiting, but it was not crowded.

Last sunset from the observation point: