On the route from Alice Springs to Uluru, we opted to divert into the Watarrka National Park in the hope of finding some bracing walks. The most direct routes involved some off tarmac driving, but a long detour kept our borrowed 2WD van on firm footings!

We stayed in a busy out of the way Roadhouse, Kings Creek Station. The plan was to visit nearby Kings Canyon and to slog up and around a popular rim walk. The campsite was not great and incredibly expensive - 60aus$ a night without water or power! Facilities were not near our van and there was no lighting. However it was well placed for our Aboriginal lecture in the morning and the Rim walk. What’s more it had a desert sunset viewing platform and camels!

Before setting off we had booked ourselves into a talk in a small Karrke aboriginal settlement where we were introduced to the way of life for the Wanmarra Community whose ancestors lived off this land as hunter gatherers.

We were shown home made weapons for hunting and tools which included a form of boomerang and a throwing spear which was demonstrated with an impressive throw into the sand. There were also locally made shields and sticks of various kinds which were used in male ceremonies. Jim looks great with his shield!

We were told how wild animals were hunted for food by men and trapped by watering holes. These skills were passed on by men to boys around puberty, when they were separated from mothers and girls.

We were shown how various, naturally occurring desert tree seeds, fruits and plants and grubs, were gathered by women and eaten raw or crushed and ground into powders and pastes and incorporated into breads. These skills of identifying edible wild seasonal foods and preparing them were handed down through generations, by grandmothers to grandchildren.

We were told that, even today, marriages tended to be within communities and not across communities and that families were very involved in introductions of suitable marriage partners.

We were shown decorative arts. A woman was branding wooden sticks with patterns by heating irons in a hot fire. Another had produced dot art paintings, no longer using traditional paints but modern robust acrylics. The traditional dyes and colours were used for body art in ceremonies and we were able to handle and touch all the items demonstrated.

This was a family business and they seemed to be one large family living on the land. It was popular and busy and not run or controlled by White Australians as far as we could see.

We were being given information handed down directly from generations of hunter gatherers. It was fascinating that this information is still very current. Their detailed knowledge of how to use naturally occurring plants and wildlife, without damaging it for future generations was a case in point.

I do have to point out that this community are benefiting from tourism. And this demonstrator was wearing an Apple Watch. I am sure more could be done to harness tourism for the benefit of local people here. Why was our caravan spot nearby not Aboriginal owned and run? 🤷‍♀️

Kings Canyon Rim Walk

Kings Canyon has become a very well visited tourist area with two sites for overnighters. There were walks on offer of different lengths and levels of difficulty. There were maps and descriptions available and it was all very well done, with good parking for visitors.

We wondered how arduous the popular rim walk would prove to be and whether we would struggle with the scrambling involved. In the event it was a steep warm uphill climb but once up on the top, the path was not too challenging. (We are reasonably fit).

We were surprised to see defibrillators up a mountain, call points to ring a park ranger for help and spots identified for helicopter rescues! This was clearly catering for those not used to getting very far off the beaten track. The path was very well sign posted and difficult spots had artificial staircases installed to reduce the risk of falls etc.

This was not really an ideal walk for those with a poor head for heights. Occasionally I just had to look upwards and not be tempted to look down!😨 But putting that aside, it was a really stunning walk with incredible rock formations and great views.

Uluru

We were now a mere 300kms away from Uluru and had a day in hand and stayed at a free campground not far from Uluru before pitching up there a day early. This was not madly pleasant but we had our house on wheels. On arrival in Uluru we found an overflow campsite with access to all the facilities. This was perfect before we were given our allocated pitch.

Getting our head around the set up took a bit of working out. There is no town or village as such. The rock itself sits in a National Park accessible only by car or coach. There, rangers offer daily free introductions to Uluru and its stories and significance. Some of the rangers are aboriginal and in any event the whole complex has indigenous employment targets and training courses.

About 5 minutes drive away there is a beautiful Information Centre with a cafe, site maps, art work for sale, exhibitions and talks. Then visitors are free to wander around the well maintained paths around the perimeter of Uluru. Catering for all budgets you can sign up for Segway tours or hire various push bikes or electric bikes. We walked round the base and were fortunate that it was not too warm.

Then about 20 minutes drive out of the National Park there is Yulara, an artificial holiday complex offering high end hotels, village rooms and a few shops, selling nothing very much, although lots of aboriginal dot art is on sale in various outlets including a small gallery. Our well managed campground was huge and also part of the resort. And movement around the resort was facilitated by a free bus loop. The resort is wholly owned by a large corporation and rubbish collection or upkeep and maintenance is organised across the whole site. There is serious money being made for investors here.

Within the public spaces in the Yulara resort, there were many Aboriginal people. Some working in hotels and others making use of the public area to have picnics or to hang out. The atmosphere was very different to Alice Springs and happy children were running around. What was not clear, was where anyone not working in the resort was actually living? I guess within all the empty desert landscape there must have been some homes dotted around?

There must have been a school somewhere in the complex as the resort bus had quite a lot of young people in it at end of school time.

While we were there we visited the rock several times and walked around, listened to talks and stories. The colours changed all day as the shadows moved. And at sunset the rock becomes a vivid red under the gaze of the setting sun.

We were shown the steep track (above) that had been a route to the summit before it had been banned. Now the ropes and pegs have been removed but the track is still visible. It was explained that Aboriginal people had so many sacred stories about the rock and what it represented that they found it deeply offensive for people to walk up it. In addition people were slipping and getting killed or injured and needing to be rescued with vertigo. In addition, visitors were urinating on the rock and the rainfall was washing deposits down into the pools that sat close to the base, and it was polluting these watering holes and local wildlife and plants were dying. Once the practice was banned, all these pools sprung back to life and the frogs are happy!

One of the photos below shows part of a cave art which is apparently very old. There are various caves which had been used to provide shelter to hunters. Some were used by women for cooking, others were used by men for training up boys. Others were used by adolescents. There were many stories told which had been handed down and have become the tales of the visit.

Kata Thuja

We then went onto visit Kata Thuja which is a small group of massive red rocks protruding from the desert landscape. These rocks are apparently geologically different from Uluru, but are still deeply red like the colour of the earthy desert sand in this part of Australia.

This was less than an hours drive away from Uluru, so we went out there twice on different days as it offered at least one very special walk and lots of scenic photo opportunity’s!

Kata Thuja - Valley of the Winds walk

What had surprised me on this visit was the amount of vegetation existed in the desert. There were many small trees, bushes and grasses. Because of the sandy soil, these plants are growing on surfaces that are fragile and these plants are easily dislodged or destroyed. So there are countless signs urging visitors to stick to paths and not divert into the sandy vegetation.

What was also amazing was the quantity and variety of flowers at this time of year. In this walk I photographed many plants as well as the beautiful rock formations.

Kata Thuja - Walpa Gorge walk

This was a short walk up between these massive boulders. It felt like entering a cathedral but in the open air.

The children here with their families were gaily shouting and creating massive echoes around the space. We were supposed to see small wallabies here as we walked up the gorge towards dusk. But any sensible Wallabies had taken flight!

So what did I think? Was it a bit over commercial? Yes. But given the sheer numbers of people arriving and leaving by car, van, bus and plane each day, it has to be managed. Did we feel crowded actually walking around Uluru in the early morning? Not at all. It was peaceful and atmospheric. Did I feel that enough aboriginal people were involved in all aspects of the site. No. I feel more needs to be done. They have stories to tell and why are non aboriginal people employed to tell it?

However, this will be the highlight of our trip. Whilst our trip is still on-going and there will be many more things to see, I have no doubt that seeing these incredibly dignified rocks rising out of the desert landscape in all their redness is going to be up there as an experience in life.