Sunrise at Ayers Rock

This morning we had a wake up call at 5:40!  Several in the tour wanted to go back to Uluru to see the sun rise!  It was great and well worth it!  

The sun lit up the Rock even more than the moon.

The contrast between the red Rock and the golden grass was stunning.

This was later on the guided walk - just out of place...

 

Back to the sunrise!  At 6:30 a light cover was comfortable!

  

 

Brad could not come with us this morning but the bus driver had to do the tour anyway.  You must be licensed to tell the stories of the Aboriginal tribes.  In 1965 the government of Australia finally was willing to say the aboriginal tribes were established in the country first.  They indeed did own the land they lived on.  So the tribe now owns the land that the National Park is on and the tribe leases it to the.government every year.  The tribe also has a say In how things are done in the Park.

The tribe wants the stories about their ancestors and their history to be shared with the public honestly and correctly, so they must be licensed.

All that to say, Dennis told us some stories on the tour. The snake on the side of the mountain was a part of one story.

I hope to do some reading about this area when we get home.  Here is a place that would have been used for a home years ago.  You can see writing on the walls.

   

More stories written on the ceiling of another cave home.  So interesting!

Below is the water source they would have used.

 

 

Loved this rock with a heart cave near the top!

 

At the end of the walking tour, Dennis the bus driver, drove us around the rock.  Fascinating!  Here is another rock face with interesting shapes on it.  Just past here as we drove around was the one place you can climb the rock.  It is regulated pretty closely as 34 have died climbing the rock.  Part of the way up is so steep most need the link chain that goes up the mountain.

If we were on our own, I would have loved to hike around Ayers Rock!  It's less than 10km...very doable. Years ago I probably would have liked to climb up, too.  Not so much now!

Another colorful story on the ceiling - so colorful!

 

  

One last picture...  It was a great morning!

 

Time to get back to the hotel for breakfast and a quick shower before the drive up to Alice Springs today!