Yulara: Uluru … Kuniya & Mutitjulu

One last walk at Uluru!

To pass the time after we checked out of our apartment at the resort, we headed back into the national park.

Our 3-day pass had already expired, but I had read that you can get a one-time extension. Indeed, when we asked the attendant at the entrance kiosk about doing so, she just waved us in. “If anyone asks, just tell them that Lindsey let you in,” were her instructions. No one asked.

Our plan was to drive to the Kuniya carpark and do the short .6-mile in/out walk to the Mutitjulu Waterhole. Didn’t expect to see any wildlife there — except birds. And we didn’t. The waterhole is more or less the most reliable source of water in the park, though the inflow was barely a trickle today. It was a very peaceful place … serene with no one else around for most of the time that we were there.

On our way in, we detoured onto the short spur where there are some paintings on the cave walls. Turns out that the cave is Kulpi Mutitjulu. Nearby signage explained that it is the family cave where generations of Anangu families camped. The men would hunt for kuka (meat) and the women and children would collect mai (bush tucker). They would then bring everything to the cave to share. The adults also used this place as a teaching cave, painting on the walls to teach the children the traditional stories.

Another sign nearby urged visitors to look up and see the Tjukuritja … the physical evidence of the ancestors’ activities during the Tjukurpa (creation time). I’m glad there was a sign as we would have otherwise been unaware of how the traditional people interpret what look to visitors as just scarring on the rocks. (I have attached a collage of the Tjukuritja. But if you are interested in reading the details on the sign, you can go to the online gallery … https://eenusa.smugmug.com/Oceania/AUS23-24/Yul….)

After our walk, we returned to the Ayers Rock Resort. Parking near the town center, we went to Gecko, one of the casual eateries, for lunch. Slow service, but good food. And it helped to pass some more time before we had to head to the airport for our flight to Sydney.Read more