02.03.2023 Uluru

02.03.2023 Uluru

Yesterday we already decided to stay here for another night. We start very early, that means at 7 o'clock and start the hike at 7.30. 10 km are planned, the temperatures are pleasant and a steady wind prevents it from getting too hot. The views of the mountain are always very different, from a distance we recognize a homogeneous mass of stones, closer to the mountain there are many different facets. The climb has not been allowed since 2019, the Aboriginal people felt disturbed when strangers climbed the mountain. On the sides we can see the old cuts, caves, holes and stone balls lying on the ground. There are sides for men and sides for women, there are sides where teaching has taken place and sides where families have found shelter. The fact is, however, that the large surface of the mountain has drained rain and melt water, there is water and green plants in the immediate vicinity. Animals are present, so everything a family needs to live is provided by the mountain in its immediate surroundings. The hike is finished after almost 3 hours, it is getting hot slowly and we visit the cultural center of the Anangu people, that's what the Aboriginal people are called in this area, which is located in the immediate vicinity. An exhibition explains to us in German that people have always lived here, that they have made the area usable and understood the nature. Only the white settlers have interfered with the landscape, contaminated the waterholes and taken away the Aborigines' livelihood. The Aboriginal men and women live according to their own laws, which they do not want to reveal to outsiders. They have fought for their land for a long time, and eventually they got it and leased it to the National Parks administration for 99 years. They have influence on what happens here, work with scientists on the exploration and understanding of the flora and fauna. But they are far from being equal.

We drive back and relax by the pool, the last days of driving have been exhausting, and the next days will not be any less.