Day 44 – Uluṟu

Rest was needed

Rest was needed

The 508km from yesterday took a toll on us and we decided to sleep in and take our time in the morning. We shortly considered to have a rest day in Curtin Springs but it was only 86km more to get to the Ayers Rock Campground which we classified as a short “hop” and did around lunch time.

We both dreaded the campground a bit, given how indigenous people are treated in Australia and the fact that the local Aboriginal tribe asks tourist to honour the sacredness of Uluru and not climb it while the government does not want to close off the track because it fears a decline in tourism. Talk about being disenfranchised.

Red indeed ...

Red indeed …

The earth turned even redder on our short ride and then Uluru was visible on the horizon. It is quite the sight even from far away. Getting to the campground which is on the expensive side with $40 a night, we were prepared for the worst…and were positively surprised.

The resort is made for different kinds of tourists: The ones with money go into the hotel rooms with Uluṟu view, the others have a choice of the Pioneer Hotel and the campground. The campground is definitely made for A LOT of tourists but it still has a nice character to it. Checking in, Flo got a whole handful of information sheets including a booklet of the resort and its history. (Knowing Flo, you will realize that he read the entire thing). The land was given back to the Aboriginal people and is leased to the government for 99 years. Slowly but surely, the local tribe also got involved in running the Ayers Rock Resort. You can feel it in the respect that is shown towards the Aboriginal customs and stories. Started in 2013, there is also an effort made to have indigenous staff and a trainings program for indigenous people. The campground offers free classes in things like “throwing a boomerang” or “playing a digeridoo”. There is also a free guided tour around Uluṟu . I would think that this is the reason why the campground is rather pricey.

We decided to keep taking it slow. Heading into the resort’s shop, we bought more fresh fruit and vegetables. This is when we realized that we had skipped lunch…and had coffee instead. Well, Flo had coffee and I had an iced chocolate. It was the best thing ever. 🙂

Decorative clouds

Decorative clouds

 

Around 4.30pm, we headed out to the viewing area to see Uluru in the light of the setting sun. From this area, you look onto the mountain rather than into the sunset so you can see the colours change.

The sun set at 6.39pm. We filled the time between taking photos with talking to the people around us which was lovely.

Many, many pictures later it was 7.15pm and we decided to head back to the campground instead of hanging around until the stars come out. The moon was spectacular tonight tough.