Uluru, Australia

I recently realised that most of my posts are conceived by my mind going into thinking over drive, or a something touching me enough to make me want to write. Guess I will change the pattern here a little, and do a quick travelblog post, though I am sure there will be elements from the past pattern you will notice.

Last month, I travelled to the famous Outback of Australia, and as a friend pointed out, the geographic center of the country. Ok, let me say this out loud, whilst I was excited to see Uluru (or as most people call it, the Ayers Rock) a part of me did go like, ‘It’s only a big rock in the middle of the desert, how great can *that* be?’ But checked myself soon enough, because I realized I had thought the same about the Great Barrier Reef (mind you, I grew up on the NatGeo channel). I had stood corrected then, and the diving/snorkeling trip had blown my mind, so decided to give Uluru a chance to impress me.

Arrived there for a long weekend, and catching the first glimpse of Uluru from the airplane was admittedly great

… But nothing compared to witnessing it grow from a small rock in the middle of a flat horizon.. to a ginormous piece of sandstone, as we drove towards it. It overwhelms you just to look at how big that one piece of rock, and soon I found myself contemplating the fact that this rock was actually eroded over centuries (by water, believe it or not) and is only the tip of a larger, underground piece of rock that links it to the nearby Kata Tjutas (when I say nearby I mean 46kms) ..Now that is pretty cool! It is a geographical miracle in more ways than one.

Talking about miracles, have you seen the rock glow in the sunset? It is like a time lapse movie being played over quickly. The sun goes down over the unending skies, and as it almost kisses the horizon, throws its rays at the bottom end of Uluru. That’s when it starts to glow. Like an orange-red lantern. And slowly the glow spreads upwards, momentarily banishing the darkness that had engulfed the Rock. It is visual poetry. The changing hues of Uluru have been written about several times before, but nothing will prepare you for what you see. I could have stood there, staring at it for a long long time after the sun went down, and I promise you my heart was pulp... One of those experiences that you will not forget in a hurry, if at all. (This picture kind of tells you the tale of the blush starting on the Rock)

Something else that made the place magical for me was just being on Anangu’s sacred lands. I am no hippie, but there is no way I can deny the fact that the land seems to have a magical pull. It’s effect on you is like watching the waves at the sea shore, or the twinkling stars on a clear night... It stills you, and makes you ponder over the bigger questions of life. A certain calmness will pervade you and you will only be able to sense it, as it overpowers you.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t make it to, arguably the most popular ‘Valley of The Winds’ walk, but well, at least that gives me a reason to go back there one more time!

However, unbelievable as my experience was in the Grand Canyon of Australia, there were a few things that bothered me. (And I am not even including flies here)

Uluru is sacred for the local Anangu tribe who has for centuries, used it as a place to complete rituals for the men and women and initiate them into secrets preserved over eons. Then came along us, took over the land and now politely ask if we would like to donate $2 (You heard me right, 2 dollars) to help the aboriginal community, while in the same breath saying that our accommodation and food bill was $1500. Umm sure we can, how about you do something too, and donate like a 10% of your earnings to your hosts of this land?

This brings me to the overpriced monopolistic resort of Yulara. If there was anything else that annoyed me there, it was the exorbitant (and totally unexplainable costs) for the most basic things. Remember being asked to pay AUD 45 for a hot breakfast, which wasn’t even comparable to the Swedish smorgasbord in Adelaide I paid 25 bucks for! We stayed at a mid range option, but have to say was underwhelmed by the room.

Some other practical tips, rent a car. Most visitors are on tours, so having transport of your own (even if it is a tiny Yaris like ours!) will give you flexibility over your schedule, save you money and help you avoid the crowds!

Get a fly screen if you are goofy enough, or fly repellants if you are cooler than me! That’s one thing you won’t be able to avoid!

All said, highly recommend a trip to the Center. If you are in Australia especially, there is no excuse!