Uluru

Uluru really is a sacred place. Not the quarter-mile away postcard shot (see left), but the personal, singular mammoth that it is when you are standing up beside it. It is something so ancient and monolithic and iron-rock solid that you can understand why the Aboriginies believe it is not only the place of their Creator, but it is a part of the Creator Itself. And it is still rising out of the desert - it is still increasing rather than diminishing. Its power can be felt in its oneness, its size and its endurance. Time is quite irrelevant here because it has existed from all time and will exit so beyond our measure of time we can't conceive it. Something like the Creator I believe in.

I guess I didn't know that much about Uluru before I got there. It wasn't even on my top ten places I "had" to visit while in Australia, but Joyce and Chris urged me to go and I am so grateful that they did. I suppose I believed that, like Niagara Falls for example, it was a natural wonder that would by this time, be cheapened by tacky-tourist commercialism. Not so. Since the traditional owners regained custody in the 1980s its sanctity has been largely maintianed. As part of the agreement to allow non-Aboriginal visitors to continue to come to the park, the government agreed that it would only be refered to by its Aboriginal name - Uluru. Ayer's Rock has been largely erased from the vocabulary of Australians. The airstrip and tourist accommodations that were built close to the Rock have been removed and the only people allowed to stay overnight in the park are the Anangu traditional owners. There is an interpretive centre nearby that tells some of the traditional lore and ceremony associated with Uluru. But not even a lot of that is given away - you are asked to experience it for yourself and respect that you are not a part of what is shared amongst the traditional owers and their Ancestors. But the information that is there about the Tjukurpa - the Dreamtime understanding the Anangu have of their relationship to the land, their creation ancestors and each other - is really helpful to begin to understand that the Aborigine have a very unique purpose and place in the natural world.

Many of the sites on the Rock itself that are considered to be sacred by the Anangu are restricted to non-Aborigines ... you are asked by the traditional owners to not photograph them either. But for the most part you can wlk right beside the Rock, touch it, look into its crevaces and caves. There is one sacred place called Kuniya that you are allowed to go into. It is a gorge-like area that you walk into where the rock face seems to semi-surround you on three sides. It is immediately silent when you walk in. And cool and peaceful. You feel calmer immediately. There is a permanent rock water hole and vegetation grows around it - shaded and lovely. If you stand at the base and look straight up you see the silver rockface rise beyond your viewing ability. It is like being inside a beautiful church and feeling surrounded by God. Not because of the beauty of the structure, but because of the Presence. No wonder the Anangu would come here for comfort and to consult with their ancestors.

And of course, we did do our share of the tacky-tourist thing. Our tour group had champagne and snacks while we watched the sun go down from the sunset viewing area. And we arrived at sunrise to hike around the Rock -- that was cold. Sunrise itself was nice but immediately after it clouded over and began to drizzle - cold. I thought to myself: Where the hell is my leather jacket? The one Joyce laughed at me for suggesting I would bring it. It's hanging in a closet in Calgary and I'm freezing by butt off in the desert. Stop thinking about yourself; look at Uluru; walk faster.