Right: This tourist may be contemplating the view from the top - or he may be wondering why he bothered. Both reactions have been reported by those who have climbed "The Rock".
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Background information
(The information below has been abbreviated from the Wikipedia entry titled 'Uluru'. The full entry can be accessed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uluru)
Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock and officially gazetted as Uluru / Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory in central Australia. It lies 335 km south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs, 450 km by road.
Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Ulu?u-Kata Tju?a National Park. Uluru is sacred to the Anangu, the Aboriginal people of the area. The area around the formation is home to an abundance of springs, waterholes, rock caves, and ancient paintings. Uluru is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The local Anangu, the Pitjantjatjara people, call the landmark Uluru. This word is a proper noun, with no further particular meaning in the Pitjantjatjara dialect, although it is used as a local family name by the senior traditional owners of Uluru.
On 19 July 1873, the surveyor William Gosse sighted the landmark and named it Ayers Rock in honour of the then Chief Secretary of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers. Since then, both names have been used.
In 1993, a dual naming policy was adopted that allowed official names that consist of both the traditional Aboriginal name and the English name. On 15 December 1993, it was renamed "Ayers Rock / Uluru" and became the first official dual-named feature in the Northern Territory. The order of the dual names was officially reversed to "Uluru / Ayers Rock" on 6 November 2002 following a request from the Regional Tourism Association in Alice Springs.
Description
Uluru is one of Australia's most recognisable natural landmarks. The sandstone formation stands 348 m high, rising 863 m above sea level with most of its bulk lying underground, and has a total circumference of 9.4 km. Both Uluru and the nearby Kata Tjuta formation have great cultural significance for the A?angu people, the traditional inhabitants of the area, who lead walking tours to inform visitors about the local flora and fauna, bush foods and the Aboriginal dreamtime stories of the area.
Uluru is notable for appearing to change colour at different times of the day and year, most notably when it glows red at dawn and sunset.
Kata Tjuta, also called Mount Olga or The Olgas, lies 25 km west of Uluru. Special viewing areas with road access and parking have been constructed to give tourists the best views of both sites at dawn and dusk.
Flora and fauna
Historically, 46 species of native mammals are known to have been living near Uluru; according to recent surveys there are currently 21. A?angu acknowledge that a decrease in the number has implications for the condition and health of the landscape. Moves are supported for the reintroduction of locally extinct animals such as malleefowl, common brush tail possum, rufous hare-wallaby or mala, bilby, burrowing bettong and the black-flanked rock-wallaby.
The mulgara, the only mammal listed as vulnerable, is mostly restricted to the transitional sand plain area, a narrow band of country that stretches from the vicinity of Uluru to the northern boundary of the park and into Ayers Rock Resort. This area also contains the marsupial mole, woma python and great desert skink.
Of the 27 mammal species found in the park, six are introduced: the house mouse, camel, fox, cat, dog, and rabbit. These species are distributed throughout the park but their densities are greatest near the rich water run-off areas of Uluru and Kata Tjuta.
Uluru-Kata Tjuta, a National Park flora, represents a large portion of plants found in Central Australia. A number of these species are considered rare and restricted in the park or the immediate region. There are many rare and endemic plants in the park.
The growth and reproduction of plant communities rely on irregular rainfall. Some plants are able to survive fire and some are dependent on it to reproduce. Plants are an important part of Tjukurpa, and there are ceremonies for each of the major plant foods. Many plants are associated with ancestral beings.
Trees such as the mulga and centralian bloodwood are used to make tools such as spearheads, boomerangs and bowls. The red sap of the bloodwood is used as a disinfectant and an inhalant for coughs and colds.
There are several rare and endangered species in the park. Most of them, like adder's tongue ferns, are restricted to the moist areas at the base of the formation, which are areas of high visitor use and subject to erosion.
Since the first Europeans arrived, 34 exotic plant species have been recorded in the park, representing about 6.4% of the total park flora. Some, such as perennial buffel grass, were introduced to rehabilitate areas damaged by erosion. It is the most threatening weed in the park and has spread to invade water- and nutrient-rich drainage lines. A few others, such as burrgrass, were brought in accidentally, carried on cars and people.
Tourism
The development of tourism infrastructure adjacent to the base of Uluru that began in the 1950s soon produced adverse environmental impacts. It was decided in the early 1970s to remove all accommodation-related tourist facilities and re-establish them outside the park. In 1975, a reservation of 104 square kilometres of land beyond the park's northern boundary, 15 kilometres from Uluru, was approved for the development of a tourist facility and an associated airport, to be known as Yulara. The camp ground within the park was closed in 1983 and the motels closed in late 1984, coinciding with the opening of the Yulara resort. In 1992, the majority interest in the Yulara resort held by the Northern Territory Government was sold and the resort was renamed Ayers Rock Resort.
Since the park was listed as a World Heritage Site, annual visitor numbers rose to over 400,000 visitors by the year 2000. Increased tourism provides regional and national economic benefits. It also presents an ongoing challenge to balance conservation of cultural values and visitor needs.
Climbing
The local A?angu do not climb Uluru because of its great spiritual significance. They request that visitors do not climb the rock, partly due to the path crossing a sacred traditional Dreamtime track, and also due to a sense of responsibility for the safety of visitors. The visitors guide says 'the climb is not prohibited, but we prefer that, as a guest on A?angu land, you will choose to respect our law and culture by not climbing.'
Despite being discouraged by its traditional owners, some visitors still climb Uluru. A chain handhold added in 1964 and extended in 1976 makes the hour-long climb easier, but it is still a steep, 800 m hike to the top, where it can be quite windy. It is recommended individuals drink plenty of water while climbing, and those who are unfit, suffer from vertigo or medical conditions restricting exercise, do not attempt it. Climbing Uluru is generally closed to the public when high winds are present at the top. There have been at least 35 deaths relating to recreational climbing since such incidents began being recorded.
On 11 December 1983, the Prime Minister of Australia, Bob Hawke, promised to hand back the land title to the A?angu traditional custodians and caretakers and agreed to the community's 10-point plan which included forbidding the climbing of Uluru. The government, however, set access to climb Uluru and a 99-year lease, instead of the previously agreed upon 50-year lease, as conditions before the title was officially given back to the A?angu.
The Aboriginal traditional owners of Ulu?u-Kata Tju?a National Park (Nguraritja) and the Federal Government's National Parks share decision-making on the management of Ulu?u-Kata Tju?a National Park. Under their joint Ulu?u-Kata Tju?a National Park Management Plan 2010-20, issued by the Director of National Parks under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, clause 6.3.3 provides that the Director and the Ulu?u-Kata Tju?a Board of Management work towards closure of the climb and, additionally, provides that it will close upon any of three conditions being met: there are 'adequate new visitor experiences', less than 20 per cent of visitors make the climb or the 'critical factors' in decisions to visit are 'cultural and natural experiences'. Despite cogent evidence the second condition was met by July 2013, the climb remains open.
Of the approximately 310,000 visitors to the Red Centre in 2008, most - about 170,000 - were foreign visitors and only a minority actually climbed the rock.
Several controversial incidents on top of Uluru in 2010, including a striptease, golfing and nudity, led to renewed calls for banning the climb. However, most Australians appear to be against a ban - political correctness gone mad, say some. Australian travel agent Totaltravel.com has sampled 1500 travellers in a recent online poll and says 60 per cent are against the ban.