The massive sandstone monolith located 335kms south west of Alice Springs in the red centre of Australia was known as Ayers Rock when I first visited it in 1984 but since that time the move to recognise local aboriginal names has resulted in Ularu being adopted. Officially it is now gazetted as Ularu/Ayers Rock but straight Ularu is more commonly used.
Back in 1984 mass tourism was only just starting to arrive at Ularu.There was a short dirt airstrip but the usual means of travelling there was by a domestic flight to Alice Springs and then a long bus/coach ride through the desert .
I cannot remember the accommodation I stayed in with the family back then but I do remember that I climbed the rock which at that time was something visitors did.
It was not an easy climb. It is steep and the rock surface is very smooth. There are big sheer drops on either side of the climb track which was marked by steel posts linked by a chain. The chain was very important. One misplaced step or stumble and you could be in very serious trouble. Fortunately there is a small flat rock platform at the top.
Ularu is a very sacred place for the local Aboriginal, Pitiantiatiara people, and as tourist numbers grew opposition from the local people to climbing the monolith increased. This was not solely for cultural reasons -the numbers of visitors being seriously injured or dying on the rock was also becoming a major concern. Additionally rescues on the rock were very hazardous and rescue workers were regularly being put at risk.
Finally in 2019, the inevitable happened and climbing the rock was closed to visitors. The posts and chain were removed so now for those who ignore the prohibition the climb is even more perilous than before.
After my 1984 climb I climbed it again in 1996. It was high summer so a small group of us went out very early to avoid the heat and did the climb.
I did have a camera with me when I summited in 1984 but I cannot find the print of the photo I took that morning. I did not have a camera in 1996.
Looking back I feel guilty that I have done the climb twice but at the time there was much less awareness of the cultural sensitivities of the local people. If I had known then what I know now I definitely would not have done the climb.
I know it's easy for me to say that now having done the climb twice. However when I visited Ularu for the third time in 2016, 3 years before the climbing ban, I felt very differently and the climb was definitely not a consideration.Times have changed and so have I.
The 2016 visit was mid winter and the red centre is very cold in winter with often a frost overnight.
Here are a selection of the photos from that trip from ten long years ago. So much has changed in my life since then and I have very fond memories of that trip.
All the photos were taken with my Leica X Vario.
The aerial shots of Ularu were taken from a helicopter and the surprise is how sharp they are despite being taken through a perspex side window.
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