Friday, July 20, 2012

Uluru (Ayers Rock), the most famous rock in Australia (and the world?)




Yes, a childhood dream come true, after 5 and half hours drive from Alice Spring we finally reached Uluru! Like every tourist who comes here we headed for the only resort complex in the area (this one, but there is a wide range of accommodations for different budgets), and since it was late afternoon we strolled to a quiet Uluru viewing area to see the sunset.



Almost twilight... the sun is about to disappear from behind our backs...


The sun is at the horizon now and the sand looks really red!


Twilight! The viewing area had two chairs (and only us!) There was a table there too, I am sure that they set it up to do romantic dinners and photo shoots... if I had knew I would have brought out dinner for us and some props :-)!  Next time perhaps!

The second day we drove to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, and all around Uluru. There are a number of walks to do, we did one by ourselves and one with a park ranger.






At close distance every angle of the rock looks different. It is truly spectacular

The black stripes are where water falls when it rains

The guide showed us several rock paintings and he did a few designs for us on the sand to understand the meaning of them. You can find some here!




Although the local Aboriginal people, the park rangers and the geologists ask tourists not to climb, here is a long line of people who still does it. The whitish line that you can see there is rubber from under their shoes. The guide also told us that at the top a few people also 'do their business' which is quite polluting and yuk! And that some throw the ashes of their departed there too (and below, he showed us a spot where grey ashes were freshly sprinkled!) This too is very polluting in this sensitive area. 


Of course I didn't. None of us did. And after all I always dreamed of seeing Uluru, but I never thought that it was also necessary to climb it, and even if I would have want it to, I don't think that it is right or ethical to do so, especially with a bunch of insensitive tourists with rubber shoes who pee and throw ashes around!


On the third morning we got up really early to drive back into the park to watch the sunrise. It was freezing cold and also cloudy, so the light wasn't the best, but nevertheless, it was magic! 


Photos: Alessandra  Zecchini  ©



20 comments:

  1. Uluru is such a magical place aye. I too found it insulting to see so many tourists ignoring traditional customs and climbing Uluru. It's beautiful from any angle, no need to climb up it! Enjoy the rest of your time in Aussie xx

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  2. A lovely spot and one I never got to see. Thanks for the tour and sharing. Have a great day Diane

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  3. Alessandra è meraviglioso,ma non è per caso la montagna che ha ispirato il film "Picnic ad Hanging rock"....state facendo un viaggio fantastico,è una terra incredibile...un caro saluto a tutta la famiglia e grazie per le belle foto...

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    1. Non lo so, era i film con le ragazze che si perdono?

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    2. No, un'altro posto più' a sud, l'Australia e' piena di rocce e monoliti :-)

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  4. Non sapevo nulla dell'Australia e la sto scoprendo pian piano con te...questo panorama toglie il fiato! Buon viaggio Alessandra!

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  5. mamma mia che meraviglia....quel rosso della terra è davvero unico e per me un "non mai visto!"

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    Replies
    1. non mai visto? troppo "poetico" per me, devi spiegare :-)!

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  6. posti meravigliosi e foto stupende! Un abbraccio SILVIA

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  7. Pure joy...everything about this place is magical. Thanks you so much for sharing.xoo

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  8. Alessandra what a beautiful and fascinating post. I have never been to Uluru, though have always considered it a rather magical place. I had no idea that people are asked not to climb the rock, and yet they do anyway, and then to defile it in such objectionable ways is very sad.

    Thank you for sharing this.

    Sue xo

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    1. I really don't understand why it is not enforced, they actually leave the choice to the visitors, but I think that a nice walk looking around for water holes is better, and also safer!

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  9. Alessandra grazie di postare i vostri spostamenti in questa terra splendida...mi si apre il cuore ogni volta che guardo una di queste foto!
    buona continuazione :)

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  10. E' proprio vero, questo luogo è un simbolo di una terra magica, così lontana da noi, ma ora non più da quando ti conosco mi sembra di essere quasi una vicina di casa,....almeno in un clic mi fai sentire un pò di te e delle tue meravigliose escursioni! (oltre alle ricette eh???)

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  11. I didn't know it's not supposed to climb up. If it's better not to do it, then I hope everyone just listen! What a gorgeous rock!!! I studied geology and I had so much fun learning about rocks. =D

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  12. Ecco uno di quei posti magici che vorrei poter ritrarre dal vivo, grazie a te lo sento già più vicino, i colori sono meravigliosi, davvero tolgono il fiato.
    E ammiro il fatto che non siate saliti, purtroppo il turismo di massa sta facendo molti danni in tutto il mondo, spero in un cambiamento.

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