There is nothing I can do about it now. I climbed Ayers Rock (Uluru in Aboriginal) and I wish I hadn't. The red monolith that stands today as one of the most recognisable symbols of Australia is a sacred site to the local Aboriginal people, the Anangu. The Anangu don't like people climbing the Rock for two main reasons: firstly, because the climb to the top follows the steps of their ancestors and has strong spiritual meanings associated to it; secondly, the Anangu feel responsible for anything that happens to visitors on their land and people have fallen off the Rock and died.
My sister and I had travelled from Melbourne and got to the Ayers Rock resort, just outside the boundaries of the National Park, on the 31st December. We spent an unusual New Year's Eve stargazing just outside the resort. The sky was packed with stars and one of our fellow backpackers had a very worn out Collins Gem Guide to Stars that got passed around a lot.
On the second day of the New Year, very early in the morning, we joined a crowd of visitors, mainly Japanese tourists who had come to Ayers Rock equipped with gloves to hold on to the chain that follows the easiest path up to the top of the Rock. From far away visitors looked like a row of black ants climbing up a big red mound. I am in no position to say "Don't climb it" so I won't. What I will say is that the best part of my visit to Uluru wasn't the climb but it was standing next to this giant piece of rock, looking at the shapes the wind has moulded out of its sides and the humbling acknowledgement of the Aboriginal people's superior understanding and respect of this inhospitable environment.
Anybody visiting Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park, should be aware of the significance these sights have in the local Aboriginal beliefs so Lonely Planet's guide to Aboriginal Australia is an essential read (no longer in print).
Bruce Chatwin's The Songlines is a great introduction to the Aboriginal mythology of Dreaming.
For a very good map of the park, use the Australia Survey map of Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park and The Red Centre: Alice Springs to Ayers Rock by Hema Maps provides good mapping of the larger area around Alice Springs.
If you are planning to do some star-gazing, the Collins Gem Guide to Stars is backpack-friendly and has all the info to identify the amazing quantity of stars you will see in the clear Austral sky above the Australian Outback.
Author: Marina De Santis
Date: 1 September 2002
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