Uluru National Park (Ayers Rock) Things to Do

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The Uluru Base Walk trail to the east from Hunters' Cave cuts across the mouth of the Kapi Mutitjulu canyon and runs along the base of Uluru to Ikari (Smile Cave). The part along the base might be called Wila Apuru, but I am not sure.

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The Anangu respect Kapi Mutitjulu as the home of Wanampi, an ancestral water snake. Wanampi has the power to control the source of this precious water. It was also the site of a great battle between Kuniya and Liru (see a travelogue). Kapi Mutitjulu is the most reliable waterhole around Uluru. Many kinds of wildlife still depend upon it for survival, especially birds. Visitors should not swim or disturb it in any way. This site really reminded me of the El Morro waterhole in New Mexico, USA. See also a videoclip.

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Tjukurpa tells how tjintir-tjintirpa (the willy wagtail woman) hears faint sounds of singing coming from the northeast. Happily she realizes that the ceremonies of the Mala (rufous hare-wallaby) people have started. As an expression of her pleasure, she smiles and forms Ikari, a cave near Mutitjulu Waterhole at the base of Uluru.

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This small shelter is on the east side of a creek and Ikari on the west side. There is a brdige across the creek for the Base Walk trail. It was a good thing too, since there was water in the creek on 13 Aug 2010. With the water and many plants around the creek bed, I am sure there is plenty of wildlife around, especially in the early morning and evening. By the burned up tree stump near the shelter, you can tell that there used to be large trees there. The shelter was as far east as I went on the south part of the Base Walk; however, if I had it to do again, I would go further east and around the east corner of Uluru to see Taputji. See also a videoclip.

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This is the first large cave on the Mala Walk. I think it is Malaku Wilytja, the Waveform Cave. The huge slab of rock in front of the cave was made by Mala women and children to sit and rest, and inside you can see the children's hand marks on the ceiling.

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The Mala Walk (2 km, 1 hour return) is probably the most popular of the Uluru Walks. The well-marked trail passes caves and two rock art sites on the way to the Kantju Gorge and Waterhole, including Malaku Wilytja (Waveform Cave), the sacred triangular cave for women called Mala Puta (which means the pouch of the female rufous hare wallaby), and Kurpany's Cave. The pictures here include Google Earth maps annotated with the sites that we saw. See also other Things to Do tips, three videoclips and a travelogue.

It is easy enough to do the Mala Walk yourself as a self-guided walk, following the booklet "An Insight Into Uluru - self-guided walks," which is available at the Cultural Center for 2 AUD. However, a free, guided Mala Walk is conducted daily by Park rangers (October – April at 8 AM, May – September at 10 AM). Meet at the Mala Walk sign. A ranger will take you along the base of the rock, stopping to tell the stories of the Mala and the Itjaritjari (marsupial mole). They will discuss the rock art, and traditional Anangu culture, and will even show you how to make a dish, a spear thrower, and a fire the Aboriginal way. Your guide will mention the complex concept of Tjukurpa. The fundamental principle of Tjukurpa is that people and the landscape are inextricably one (see also a Local Customs tip). Each feature of Uluru has a meaning in Tjukurpa. There are also Aboriginal guided tours of the Mala Walk by Anangu Tours in the Cultural Center (~3 hours, 75 AUD). The Anangu have a special philosophy about sharing. It is "Ngapartji Ngapartji," which means "this is our culture; we share it with you; it benefits us all."

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I had made it back up to the Kura Lookout and was walking down the trail toward the trailhead around 16:45 on 12 Aug 2010. This is a fairly remote spot in Kata Tjuta (Olga Mountains). There was a group of people coming up the trail. I heard one of them talking. The accent was American, so I asked her if she were from the USA. She said, yes and asked me where I was from. I said from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She said wow, that there were three people from Albuquerque in her group! After telling my fellow Duke City residents hello, we had a picture taken. I forgot that my camera was still set on video, so there is a short videoclip too. Unfortunately I did not get the names of these nice ladies. Coincidentally I even saw one of them with her boyfriend riding bikes on the Uluru Base Walk the next day, when we were doing the Kuniya Walk.

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Just Zyg and I did the Valley of the Winds walks. The other 2010 VT "survivors" had done the Walpa Gorge Walk. We all met at the sunset viewing area to watch the sun go down and see the colors of the Olga Mountains change. There were even a couple of helicopters flying overhead doing the same thing. The sunset viewing area has a picnic area, several benches along a viewing area parallel to the mountains, and toilets.