Ayers Rock

I was wandering around the rock today and found this old pair of rusty scissors, or at least I think it was rust. I didn't know that dingos could use scissors. It's not to soon for that joke is it? Anyway I drove in from Alice Springs and headed straight for the rock, it's not like there is a lot else to do if you are in this part of the world. 

The drive in was a little dull. After you turn off the highway the first thing you pass is Fooluru (Mount Connor is it's proper name). Its a horseshoe shaped rock standing 300 metres above the ground and is flat across the top. It gets the name Fooluru because many people get tricked into thinking it's Uluru when they first see it from the road.

Fooluru

Only another 100 kilometres past Mt Connor is the real deal, you get your first glimpse about 50 k's out. It really leaves you wanting more. You get your next glimpse around about 40 kilometres away and not long after that it starts to dominate the vista. What can I say but it is truly magical, mesmerising, momentous, magnificent, majestic, munificent, you get the idea. 

Let me tell you some things that aren't included in the tourist information. It's a traffic hazard. When you are driving near it, its almost impossible to take your eyes off it. There are people stopping their vehicles all over the place to take photos, adding to the traffic chaos. There are many many many people here. It's hard to commune with the rock as a solo experience. Plus when you climb it it's really steep, quite slippery and pretty damn windy. Forget about the cultural reasons for not climbing it any OH & S Committee worth it's salt would have it shut down on purely safety reasons. My legs were like jelly after the climb. It felt like I was walking around as an extra in the Thunderbirds (for those of you under 40 you should Google the Thunderbirds and see the marionette puppets in action). 

It's 10.4 kilometres around its base and you can walk it all. If you want to fly over it or near certain parts of it you cant. Plus there are a whole bunch of places where you can't take pictures. Oh and the Cultural Centre, where they give you the guilt trip about not climbing it, is hard work. All the aboriginal heritage stuff is so dense and difficult to take it that it is almost self defeating. However if you are after cheap and reasonable fast food it is the only option. 

Now having climbed it, walked around it and flown round parts of it and the one thing I consider to be the "must do" is the walk around the base. Now I did it in about 2 hours and 45 minutes and quite frankly if I had the time to do it again I would walk it in the opposite direction and slow myself down a bit. They recommend 3.5 hours and for once the recommendation was right. You get to see a couple of waterholes, some rock art, the women's cave, the old peoples cave, and the teaching cave. Plus you get to see the rock up close and see the weathering, the erosion, the graffiti (sadly but only in one part), the lichen, the algae and the water channels carved on it's surface. 

If I could define the rock and it's impact I would use the minute of solitude I experienced in the Kantju Gorge. Now this place is absolutely special (those of you who know my religious scepticism will be amazed) but I would almost define it as a spiritual moment. Despite the hordes of tourists I managed to get that solitary time alone and it was transformative. Much of the commercial side of the rock is over priced and over rated. While there have been pockets of brilliance most of it has been average at best. But you have that average moment then you turn around and this monolith is just a feast for your eyes and all the negativity just melts away. If you haven't been here come and check it out.

I've also been to The Olgas, they are about 50 kilometres away. They are pretty nice but they are nothing compared to Ayers Rock. It's hard to compete. 

The Olgas

Tomorrow I head out to King's Canyon and if I feel really keen I will catch sunrise over the rock before I depart. I'm on the home stretch now and I think it's informing my outlook. I really don't want this to end, but all good thing must do so as the saying goes. The trouble I think I will have is finding something in my remaining days that will compare to this. I'll have to let you  know.