Uluru Base Walk (Day 4)

This was our final day at Uluru. All of us were tired from all the walking, fatter because of all the eating and closer because of all the road trip conversations. Our last day was spent on the base walk. This walk is about approximately 10.4 km and is a loop circuit around the base of Uluru. You get right up and personal with the rock and it sure does make you feel small, tiny and insignificant.

Around the base there are a few areas that are sacred to the first Australians and you are not allowed to take photos. The walk has two areas where the Mala people did rock paintings. I was glad that we did the walk, it was a good end to an excellent trip.

Map of the base walk with locations I photographed below

Photo location 1, Mala rock painting

Photo location 3, rock art. The swirls represent water

Photo location 2, Mutitjulu waterhole. The most reliable source of water at Uluru

Photo location 3, rock art

Mala Walk (Day 3)

People pay the tour operators hundreds of dollars for a bus ride and tour around Uluru. At times the information given is inaccurate. Ask yourself this, do the tour operators know and work with the first Australians? Do they respect the culture and significance of the site? I bet, most of your answers would be 'NO'.

You may not know this, but the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Parks offer a free guided tour at the base of Uluru. This tour is called the 'Mala Walk' and is highly educational. The ranger takes us through the history and culture of the Anangu first Australians. They work with the Anangu community to ensure that Uluru is preserved for all.

This tour is a must  and I highly recommend people to take the walk, learn and embrace the experience. The tour ended at the Kantju Gorge. You really get to see Uluru up close and it was a fabulous experience. 

Uluru natural colour is a light grey with an iron composition. The red you see is the result of iron oxidation (otherwise known as rust). You can really see the colours in this shot. The oxidised section of the rock flake off and can be a hazard to tourist as they drop from the top

Us at Kantju Gorge, which is one of the many waterholes at the base of Uluru

Something you may not know is that Uluru is a major source of water for the area. The rock stores and releases water and basically supports the life around it. You can see how the vegetation changes for each of the waterholes that make up Uluru.That is why this place is sacred to the first Australians.

Sky, rock, trees