Australia Rocks! (by Karen)

When we first came to Australia, I didn't think we would make it to the Red Center of the country. It was so far away and so expensive to fly. But a 9 week casual job for me helped make it possible. We stayed 4 nights in the 'town' called Yulara, which is right next to the national park. Uluru is the preferred Aboriginal name for Ayers Rock. It is a sacred dreaming place for them.

We would get up at 5:00 am so we could be at the "The Rock" for sunrise. When the first light of day hits this giant monolith, it would light up to a brilliant orange/red color. It was more beautiful than I had imagined. I think the size (this is the world's largest monolith) along with the color and the contrast of the blue sky, takes your breath away.

The first day we climbed to the 348 meter summit. It is so steep, that there is a chain to assist you in the beginning. 35 people have died from climbing this big rock. The view from the top is worth the difficult climb: a great red plain stretching to the horizon. We would have to be done hiking by 9:00 or it was too hot. The trail to the summit was closed by 10:00 because of the heat.

We also hiked around Uluru. We saw lots of Aboriginal rock paintings. We even tried adding some of our own rock art (see picture with our Shadow). Many spots you were not allowed to photograph as they were sacred places. Archaeological work suggests that Aboriginal people have lived in the area for at least 22,000 years. At the cultural center, we learned more about Tjukurpa (law) of the Anangu people.

The next day, we bushwalked around the Olgas. The Olgas, or Kata Tjuta to the Aboriginals, are 36 massive dome rocks. Kata Tjuta means 'many heads'.

I've included a picture with our fly nets on. The black flies were every where. The good thing is, they didn't bite, they are just a nuisance. We also included a picture without fly nets on and we are swatting the flies.

As they say "Australia Rocks" and we were happy to see them.