Uluru

Yesterday was really wonderful.  We took an 18+ hour tour to Uluru (emphasis on the last syllable) which is over 400 km west of Alice, about a five hour drive each way.  [Emu Run Tours, leave at 6:00 in the morning and return after midnight] There is absolutely nothing between here and there except the tiny outpost of Erldunda, consisting of a gas station, bathroom, and, in one building, a small store, cafe and bar.  The rest is huge cattle stations, with few cattle.  Because it's so dry, a one million-acre station has only 1500 head.  The road is perfectly straight.  Temperature was 105.  So glad we didn't opt to drive this on our own!

Our two guides alternated driving and information-sharing during the trip.  They were great.  We learned a lot about the history of the area and about the Aboriginal stories of the rock formations, Uluru and Kata Tjuta, that we visited.  We were surprised by the amount of vegetation we saw, particularly during the first 3 hours of the drive.  This is an arid zone, not a desert, so there is a pretty good cover of grass and small trees.  We crossed a number of dried creeks and places labeled as flood areas, but there hasn't been a large amount of rainfall since 2009 or 2010, when there were 2 wet years.  We watched a documentary (doco, in local lingo) about that year and the amazing coming to life of the land and the estuary at the coast that's at the end of the river system.  What a remarkable transformation!  Closer to Uluru, we saw more of the red sand and dunes that we were expecting.

Both Uluru and Kata Tjuta are sacred Aboriginal sites.  Ceremonies are still held at Kata Tjuta.  There are 4 different language groups and Uluru is a meeting point for all of them.  We were told some of the children's stories of the sites.  Being uninitiated, we are not allowed to hear the rest of the sacred stories.  The children's stories, like in every culture, are used to teach values, and also to help people learn their way around this vast area.  A lot of the navigation info is put into songs and dances, since there was no written language.  Hence, the concept of singing ones way to a place.

Kata Tjuta, a group of 30+ domes, was formed, so it goes, when a group of people came to the area and decided it was a good place for a ceremony.  In preparation, the women and children got things ready, gathered food, etc.  While they were doing this, the men went out to hunt.  While they were gone, another group came and chased the terrified women and children away.  When the men returned and couldn't find the women and children, they searched for them.  When they found them and heard what happened, they were very angry.  They found the "invaders" chased them off and captured some.  The captured men were told to dig some holes, and then to stand in them.  The holes were then filled back in, with only the men's heads sticking out.  The heads turned to stone - Kata Tjuta.