Uluru and Katajuta; or, as Whitefella says, "Ayers Rock and The Olgas"

The main purpose for our Darwin to Alice Springs road trip was to visit the Red Center and see Ayer's Rock (now known as Uluru since they started calling it by its original name, given by the traditional owners of the rock, the Aṉangu), but we worried that it wouldn't live up to the hype. 

Happily, for us anyway, it totally did.  We met a couple from Vancouver at the rest stop we slept at the night before we got to Alice Springs who told us they were underwhelmed by Uluru.  Once we arrived at the rock, took it in, and walked around it, we really couldn't figure out what they were talking about.  Much like the Great Wall of China, Uluru had a presence about it that is hard to describe.  We saw it from many different angles and at several different times of day (sunset being the most impressive, when the enormous rock begins to glow like someone lit a fire inside it).  And from a purely physical level the size, scope, and geology behind it blew us away.  True, it is just a rock, but it is so much more when you stand below it and try to take it all in.  As our friend said when we stood below the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, "You can really feel the weight of it."  Walking around Uluru really gave us a sense of its scale and importance. 
 
The walk around Uluru also allowed us to watch three dingoes chase a feral cat up a tree, an event described by the lone European who saw it too as, "Just for us."  Indeed, the sight was not something we expected to see, but it was fascinating to watch the dingoes work as a team, bounding through the tall grass and barking in a strategic attempt to corner the feral meal....er, cat.

Near Uluru is a similar, though far less famous, clump of mountains called Kata Juta (the Western name is the Olgas).  We were, at times, more impressed by the Olgas.  They have a unique look from far away and from up close.  And the Valley of the Winds walk we took in and around Kata Juta held some really magnificent scenery and views.  It is a mystery to us why you don't hear much about Kata Juta until you read more about the area or actually visit it.  To us, Kata Juta completed Uluru and the strange and wonderful geological formations and processes at work in Australia's Red Center.


 There is certainly a spiritual presence around Kata Juta and Uluru.  Jeff was intrigued by the "sorry book" that lives in the cultural center there.  This book is filled with letters sent by people who took rocks from Uluru and Kata Juta and regretted it.  Some were racked by guilt after learning more about the cultural and spiritual significance Uluru and Kata Juta have to their traditional owners, the Aṉangu, while others had experienced nothing but bad luck after taking the rocks (which is one reason why the Aṉangu ask that rocks not be disturbed or removed).  All of the letters were sent in with the stolen rocks, which were piled at the base of the book stand.  Another request that is often ignored is that visitors not climb Uluru, as it is dangerous and holds spiritual significance to the Aṉangu.  It is a shame that so many people still climb the rock even though they are asked not to, but fewer people are climbing out of respect and if enough stop climbing the board of tourism for Australia will close climbing of Uluru all together.