Uluru

by Tara Brougham, University of Melbourne, Australia

A big part of being on exchange is of course being in a new country, and being able to explore as much of your new home as possible. Therefore, when mid-semester break came around at the University of Melbourne me and two other exchange student friends chose to take this opportunity to explore another part of Australia – its red centre and Uluru.

Following a thankfully not delayed flight from Melbourne despite flying with Jetstar, we landed in the middle of the dessert and were immediately hit by the intense heat and heaps of flies – the worst part of the dessert. We caught the shuttle bus to our hostel – part of Ayers Rock Resort and one of the only places to stay near Uluru. After getting settled into our 20 bed dorm, and a quick dip in the pool we walked to the nearest lookout and caught sight of Uluru for the first time. We immediately understood how and why Uluru is so sacred to Indigenous communities, upon seeing it set within its dramatic landscape.

The next few days were filled with lots of 4am starts – the sunrise over Uluru or Kata Tjuja is one of the best (and only) things to do there, and any hikes had to be done by 10am due to the heat. The rest of our time was spent learning about Uluru’s importance at the Cultural Centre, trying new foods (Camel I would recommend, emu less so) and catching up on assignments.

Overall, this trip was interesting and definitely an important place to visit if you ever find yourself in Australia. We especially loved the chance to learn more about Australia’s Indigenous history in one of its most sacred places.