Uluru (Ayers Rock) is the icon of Australia. Of course one has seen dozens of pictures of it before getting there. And yet, it's stunning, magical, unforgettable. It's more than a big red rock lost in the middle of nowhere. First, it has a very special presence. And second, it is not only red: its color changes progressively with the hours of the day and the distance from which you view it. Its smoothness is unbelievable: a total contrast to its imposing size. Uluru is made of sandstone, and towers 348m above the sandplain around.
Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), which means "Many Heads" is located is 32 km to the west (45km by road). It is an ensemble of rocks spread over several square kilometers. The tallest one is 200m higher than Uluru. There is a more mysterious atmosphere to Kata Tjuta: wandering thru its many gorges one could easily feel lost (that is, in summer, when there aren't that many buses unloading tourists at the carpark!).
Archeologists think the Uluru area was inhabited for at least 22000 years. Two groups of Aboriginal people live in this area: the Yankunytjatjara and the Pitjantjatjara. Both call themselves Anangu. European settlers arrived around 1870 but in the 1920s conflict between settlers and Aborigenes caused the area to be enclosed in the Great Central Aboriginal Reserve. It was only in 1985 that the Anangu were officially given back the ownership of what is now a national park.
Aboriginal religious concepts are very foreign to Westerners. Their "Dreaming" is not a creation myth per se, but a myth of formation. The world existed before this time, but was featureless. Semi-human beings, resembling plants or animals, rose up from the plains and roamed the land aimlessly. As they wandered around, they carried out ordinary tasks including camping, making fires, digging for water, fighting each other, and performing ceremonies. When the heroes became tired, the Dreamtime came to an end. Wherever the creators had been active, some form of natural feature now marks the place. The creators made everything with which the aborigines are in daily contact. The heroes also established laws that govern all aspects, both secular and sacred, of the tribes. Dozens of ancestral beings are associated with Uluru and Kata Tjuta and the Anangu see the physical signs of their deeds in many marks in the rock and shapes of particular features. The battle between Kuniya (the woma Python) and Liru (another snake) for instance left huge scars on Uluru. Around the rock, many sacred site are scattered. Some are "men sites" other are "women sites", and only initiated people of each sex can enter those premises. Kata Tjuta is sacred as a "men site", and details of stories associated with it are in the realm of secrets and cannot be disclosed to uninitiated people.
Climbing Uluru used to be the highlight of many visitors' trip to Australia. Yet, for the Anangu the climbing route is sacred as it is the way followed by the ancestral Mala men in one of the main myths linked with Uluru. Thus they ask visitors not to climb. But the climb isn't forbidden either, which we thought was a bit strange: everywhere in the park there are displays explaining about the Tjukurpa (traditional law/foundation of Anangu culture/Dreaming) and way of life of the Anangu people but at the same time buses bring crowds to climb along the spiritually significant route. However mentalities are evolving: shops in the resort now sell as many "I climbed Uluru" as "I didn't climb Uluru" Tshirts.

For more details on Aboriginal spiritual life, turn to "Mysteries of the Dreaming" by James Cowan, Brandl&Schlesinger, ISBN 1-876040-28-9