Well pancake breakfast turned into normal cafe breakfast as the price for pancake breakfast was huge. We went to in of the local cafe’s an picked up some stuff for breakfast. We were planning on taking advantage of the free activities in Yulara this morning so our first stop was Bush Yarns.
Our guide brought out some of th local weapons and tools and explained to us the use of each one and stories about the culture. All of the tools from this area are made out of Malpa a very strong wood that grows here. We got to hold the bone breakers and the Boomerangs which were so solid it would definitely break bones. He also explained that the returning boomerang we use done South is used for herding not killing or hitting things. He also showed us how they use plants and animals to do tool repairs when they are out hunting. Apparently kangaroo poo is a really strong glue when melted down.
The next activity was Digeridoo. Women are not allowed to use these so I got to watch. Rob did a great job but it looked super super tricky.
I had a swim in the beautiful pool and then it was time for Bush Tucker. We ended up having the same guide from this morning. He talked us through this time with the same sense of humour the bush foods of the desert. He also explained that a lot of the food is harder to find because of the camels. There are 2 million camels in the NT all breed in the wild from 14 camels that the settlers left here to die. He then attempted to show us how to cook Wattleseed shortbread luckily he had some already made and they were really tasty.
Lastly we has a sunset tour with AAT Kings. They picked us up at 3pm and we went to the Uluru Cultural Centre. It had lots of information about the area. We were asking why it is so green around here and they were telling us that since 2019 when they banned climbing on Uluru that they have had a wet season. The locals believe all the rain is the mountain cleansing itself.
We went to the cutural centre first and listened to some of the creation stories. You are not allowed to take pictures there but there but there were a few shops and galleries.
Our next stop was down to the Mutitjulu Waterhole walk. Here our guide Colin and Glenn took us to a few of the spots. They explained how the mountain ranges of Uluru and Kata Tjuta were made many years ago. Uluru is made of sandstone and lighter materials where are Kata Tjuta is made of bigger rocks and heavier materials. We headed to see the aboriginal art or what hasn’t been destroyed by tourists back in the days. We also went to the waterhole which is very full at the moment. The whole area is really beautiful.
The last stop for the tour was at the Sunset Viewing Area for Uluru. We were provided with wine, bubblies,beer and snacks and then we settled into the heat to watch the sun go down. Uluru keeps changing colours as the sun goes down and was very stunning. The most crazy thing was just as the sun was going down a rainbow appeared. Such a beautiful end to 2022. And with that amazing sunset we headed back to the hotel and went to bed as we have a tour for the first sunrise of 2023. Happy New Year everyone.
