Much like the previous week of riding, the last day of riding to Uluru has been flat, straight, and pretty empty…and the whole time, I was getting more and more anxious, just waiting to see Uluru start showing up on the horizon…
And just when you’re about to lose your mind…there it is…

…wait…I don’t remember the pictures of Uluru making it look so mesa-like…

Nope, it’s just that deceiving bastard, Mount Connor. I guess I’ll take a break and get a photo…

Another 30 minutes of riding, and this time it really is Uluru

It felt like it was just a few kilometers away, but as I continued riding and didn’t feel like I was getting any closer, I started to understand how huge it really is.

Once I arrived in the park and got to the base of it, it’s massive size was yet again confirmed.
The walk around it is over 10km, and its much more interesting than you’d expect a hike around a big rock to be.
 

 
 

 

 

 

I didn’t climb Uluru, but it’s an option (when weather allows). But the whole idea and conflict around climbing it makes no sense.
When I first got there and picked up a brochure for the park, I noticed that there was a section with a warning about the dangers of doing the climb. On the same page, directly next to the safety warning was a note from the local Aboriginals urging people to not climb it…seems a bit confusing to have one thing saying, “Here’s how to climb it safely” and another saying, “But please don’t climb it.”
Once you get to the base of the climb, you see the very clear trail, complete with posts and a chain the whole way up.

And in front of it, these signs…
 
I don’t understand how the park can be working towards closing the climb? What do you need to work towards? The posts could be pulled out in a day, and climbing could be prohibited immediately. Uluru is on Aboriginal land, so if they don’t want it climbed, why is the park not respecting that request?
Outside of the argument of whether or not it should be climbed, it’s just confusing to me why it hasn’t be closed off.

OK, back to the photos…
About 40km west of Uluru is Kata Tjuta, or sometimes called The Olgas


 
This area is a bit more enjoyable to hike in, as you can actually walk amongst the rock formations, as opposed to just walking around the perimeter of Uluru

A half day’s ride from Uluru is Kings Canyon


 



 

Next up, I’ll head south towards Melbourne