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Aug

01

2013

Oct

31

2013


Back to the Beginning at Uluru

Published by Kristin Cowles, Editor-in-Chief

Country: Australia

The Experience

Ayers Rock or to many Australians simply The Rock, is now more commonly known as Uluru, a name that has endured with aboriginals since before the ice ages and beyond antiquity. Rising above the desert plains 348m high and encapsulating approximately 9.4 km in circumference, Uluru is locally revered as a spiritual symbol. This vast sandstone is held sacred by local aboriginal people, the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, offering visitors an ample mix of mythology and magnificent scenery.

Uluru provides many terrains to see and explore such as springs, crevices, canyons, caves, waterholes, and ancient paintings. It is discouraged by local people to climb to the summit of Uluru as it was once a traditional route taken by ancestors during the creation of time, used to evoke the spirits for blessings and communicate with during a Dreamtime. Uluru is widely admired for it's dramatic and stark colour contrasts that befall it during sunset or sunrise. Uluru appears to glow with a deep red rust like hue that appears to have remained from its original time of creation thousands of years ago. This colour is derived from oxidation which during sunrise and sunset, sets off a glowing effect due to the arkosic proporties of the rock composition, containing reflective minerals that change colour according to the suns position in the sky. Located in the Uluru-KataTjuta National Park in the Northern Territory of Australia this experience is one that is sure to stir some spiritual reflection and entice Dreamlike frames of mind.


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Map

Puzzle

When to Go to Ayers Rock

Best time to visit is Uluru is between July - October as the climate is more moderate, not nearly as severe as December and January where you can experience temperatures that might rise so high that certain sites close for travelers safety.

Odds n' Ends

The climb to the top of Uluru requires moderate to high physical abilities as the incline is quite steep and the temperatures are quite hot.

Want a Guide?

Outback Discovery - GAPAdventures.com
Grab your boots and go on this Outback adventure. Explore some of Australia's natural wonders as you marvel the sunset at Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock), The massive rock formations of the Kata Tjuta and hike Kings Canyon. If you want to get to the heart of Australia, then this is the trip for you!

More Experiences Nearby

Immerse yourself in an ancient land at Kata Tjuta National Park
If you haven’t been to Australia yet, then you need to. Preferably now, this week, later this month – you just need to get there, and soon! Mere words don’t do this magnificent colossus of a country justice. Even saying Australia is the best travel destination in the world doesn’t really come close to the myriad of jaw-dropping experiences the continent has to offer. From diving on the Great Barrier Reef to city breaking it in Sydney, to exploring the North Queensland rain forest, Australia demands to be high on the list of any serious traveller’s wish list. It’s the ...19 miles away.

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Books and DVDs

Australia Travel Guide - LonelyPlanet.com
How the hell do you get around this magnificent, monster country? Do you saddle up the caravan and take to the highways? Do you work your way around every town and city, picking fruit and pulling beers? Or do you slow it right down and simply languish in a rainforest or amble through the wine regions? This guide will show you how to do all of the above and love every minute of it.
Uluru Kata Tjuta & Watarrka: Ayers Rock/the Olgas & Kings Canyon
Uluru: Sacred Rock of the Australian Desert

Elsewhere on the Web

Uluru - Wikipedia.org
Uluru, also referred to as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies 335 km (208 mi) south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; 450 km (280 mi) by road.
Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park
The Aboriginal traditional owners of Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park, the Anangu, have looked after, and in turn been looked after by this land, for over one thousand generations.
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park - Wikitravel.org
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park[1] is a park in the southern portion of the Northern Territory of Australia, part of the so-called Red Centre of the continent. The National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage area.
Uluru/Ayers Rock - Sacred-Destinations.com
Uluru/Ayers Rock is a massive sandstone rock in central Australia that is sacred to the Aborigines of the area, known as the Anangu. In recent years, Uluru has also become important for New Age practitioners.
Travel Report Australia - Voyages.gc.ca
WARNINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
Ayers - Panoramas.dk
360 degree view, panorama from on top of Uluru.

Media References

THE MYSTERIES OF AYERS ROCK - NYTimes.com (newspaper)
Australians have a habit of calling it simply The Rock. It becomes clear after a time what rock they are talking about - the vast single stone, larger than an island, that lies at Australia's heart and that until recent times was as infrequently visited by Europeans as Timbuktu or the South Pole.
The Best of the Outback - NYTimes.com (newspaper)
Sure, Ayers Rock will enthrall you with its eerie beauty, but the nearby Olgas are more soothing, more interesting, and taller than the Rock, so make the time to wander through them, too.
Australian Outback (magazine)
It wasn't so much the pleasingly unheroic nature of the name as the realization that an expanse of land of more than 50,000 square miles didn't even have a name until 70 years ago.
Travel Column: Australia Through Aboriginal Eyes - NationalGeographic.com (magazine)
"Good morning," says Sammy Wilson. "I'm on my land, so I'm going to be speaking my language." Dark, with a gentle, middle-aged face, Wilson continues in the Yankunytjatjara tongue, his lighter-toned interpreter always at his side. Anangu is the only tour company at Uluru (Ayers Rock) that has Aborigine guides.

Language Guides

Italian , Japanese , Lao , Spanish , Turkish , Vietnamese are some of the languages spoken in Australia. If you know of a freely available phrase book or podcast for one of the missing languages, let us know!

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