Today we got up early to be at the airport for our 9am flight to Uluru.
Oh. My. Gods.
On the plane, I had an aisle seat, but then spotted an empty window seat and just clawed my way to it. Was that worth it! I was utterly stunned by the views, as the coastal farmlands gave way to the desert, peppered with only a hint of clouds, a complete emptiness divided by the curling lines of dried up rivers. Some hair-thin roads, running perfectly straight for miles, connected few unlikely houses and some mines. And then…
Ayers Lake.
At first I couldn’t believe it as it emerged from under the plane wing, a massive white plane of salt, completely dry with only small hints of shimmering water in isolated ponds, it’s deepest spots. We were flying right above! Its white planes spread and spread and then, just as I thought that was it, more emerged from behind the wing – the lake curves like a boomerang to the West. It went on and on and on, with more and more dried out river deltas growing out of it. And then, just as I thought that was it, MORE EMERGED on the horizon! With even more massive rivers falling into it, stretching beyond the horizon. It stayed there, on the horizon, for a large part of the flight, a massive white plane dissolving into the distance and meeting with the sky.
I still can’t quite believe it.
As we got closer to Uluru, the desert became even more desertey, with even the dried river beds gone and only a few trees spotting the land. The smoke from a bush fire was rising in the distance. I thought I’ll only glimpse Uluru itself from air, as I was on the other side of the plane, but then we took a turn and – yes! – first some of its sister rocks emerged from under the wing and soon the Rock itself appeared just over the wing, just enough to see! I simply can’t believe how lucky I was with this flight!
It only got better from there. We got our car, turned out to be a Mitsubishi Lancer – i know nothing about cars, but Dee says it’s cool. It is quite speedy and nice, and since it only cost some $3 per day than a Punto, I’m not complaining. Anyway, we went to our hostel which is based in the Yulara resort. We had a look around, had some food, and since we couldn’t check in until 3pm anyway, we went straight to Uluru.
Oh. My. Gods.
Just the approach to it, driving through the flat desert with the Rock looming ahead, the road taking us around and letting us appreciate it from several sides… We got to the Uluru Cultural Centre and were taken on a journey through the various tjukurpa of the Anangu people. These are their stories of creation, of the ancestors, the animals, the land and its people, their knowledge and tradition. They are present everywhere in this place, and Uluru plays a major part.
We were also told the story of the White people, who took the sacred land of Uluru and turned it into a tourist attraction with no respect for its story and meaning to the Anangu – and how the Anangu fought back for it, finally regaining its ownership and a place in managing the national park it is now. They kindly allow visitors to see their lands, though ask us to respectfully refrain from climbing the Rock, visiting some culturally significant sites, or taking pictures in specific places. And while we’re here, they want to educate us about their culture and land, offering free guided tours and inviting us to the cultural centre. There is more to this than I can convey in this short post, but let me just say that hearing these stories, having the narrative presented from their perspective and seeing the kindness of their approach… It was all very powerful. I want too respect this land and those people who went through a lot of pain because of my kin.
We took a short walk from the centre towards Uluru, through the bush, burnt grass and red soil. After all we just heard, this was a meditative, slow experience. Taking the time to breathe it all in. I should say here – I’m still debating whether to add pictures of Uluru to this blog. I took hardly any and I’m inclined to agree with the Anangu: this is a unique place and its significance goes far beyond what could possibly be captured by cameras. I’ll need to think about this.
We came back to the hostel to check in and as it was getting dark, went to look at stars. This day continues to amaze at every step. The cloudless sky is simply incredible. Hundreds of miles from the nearest city and its light pollution, you can see everything. I learned to recognise a few constellations and spent about an hour just staring.
Finally, we went to see more lights, this time on the ground. An art installation of thousands small lights rising from the ground on thin stems covers a couple hectares of the desert, with little paths leading you for a walk between them, slightly eery, magical and otherworldly.
We came back and slept, slept and slept.
68elin