Again, no rest for weary travelers - we were up at 5 am to dash over to the rock again - this time to watch the sun rise! The sun did its job and we trekked back to the hotel for breakfast.
After breakfast, we went back to the rock for our third and final adventure there - this time for a walk around the base. The trail around the base is about 6 miles in length - we made it for about half the distance before the sun did us in - thankfully, our trusty coach was waiting - with cool air and cold water.
Close to the base of this massive chunk of sandstone, it is possible to see the diverse rock formations and the sculpted effects of millions of years of erosion by rain and wind.
We walked first the section known as the Kuniya Walk, which leads to Mutitjula, the one permanent waterhole in the area and home of an ancestral watersnake sacred to the Aborigines people here. We also passed caves containing rock art painted by the local tribes.
The next section of the trail was known as the Lungkata walk, where we passed several sacred areas and learned about some of the Aboriginal legends. For the heartiest of our group, the trail continued with the Mala walk, past more rock art, caves and the sheer vertical walls of Kantju Gorge.
Back in the 'car park,' we had a look at the side of the rock where climbing is sometimes allowed. The Aboriginal people don't want climbers at all since they consider this to be a sacred place. On a day today, it's easy to find a reason to close the climb area; 36C = 98F = HOT.
Last stop in the park was the Aboriginal Cultural Center, an interesting structure that blends into the environment and is filled with information about the local Aboriginal people, the Anangu or snake group. Around Uluru, there are many sacred and ancestral sites, which were explained (somewhat) in various exhibits. There were arts and crafts to see and/or buy, and an especially interesting exhibit on bush foods. It seems that every plant has some part that is eaten in some form or another by the Aborigines.
We headed to the local "shopping center" for a late lunch before flying to Cairns, in the state of Queensland. This is the only place in the world where two World Heritage sites - the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforest - lie side by side. We'll be exploring both in the next few days. Our home for tonight and tomorrow is the Sea Temple Resort and Spa in the little town of Port Douglas, about an hour north of Cairns on the edge of the Coral Sea
