Uluru, November 6: Segway Tour

Many years ago Don took an early morning Segway ride through Disneyland's California Adventure. He had a great time! When I told him Viator offered this option, he asked me to sign us up. 

Then he hurt his leg.

The tour company offered to give him a full refund (but, not me) even though the tour was about 12-hours away. Don said since he can stand, he wanted to do the tour. At this point, he was dependent on a crutch to walk.

The morning of the adventure Don woke in a good mood. The pain killers (codeine and their version of Tylenol) worked their magic. My note from that morning was: may he not overdo it.

The pick-up was at 4:50 am, so early that the gate to Uluru to check our valid park passes was not open yet. The long (by Uluru off-season standards) line of cars and buses waiting to enter the park was so we could all be in position to watch the sunrise. Just like with the sunset dinner, we were positioned so the sun rises behind our backs, changing the color of Uluru (which in Aboriginal means "the rock") like magic.

The tour company set up a breakfast of muffins, Mueslie, milk, coffee, tea, and orange juice. Fortifying. Just like the other night, it was too dark to see any stars. The clouds burn off as the sun rises.

I think this is my favorite picture

Sunrise

After breakfast, Sarah and Tony bring us and the Segways to the base of Uluru for training. Before stepping onboard, Sarah walked us over to Kapi Mutitjulu. Kapi means water. Mutitjulu is the name of the people. This waterhole was used by the Aboriginal for hunting, not for swimming. As the Anangu people still own the property (which they lease to the federal government), they are allowed to go on the other side of the fence and go into the water. We are not.

Traditionally when hunting, the Anangu would spear the last emu in a herd, and let the rest live. This way the emus would not associate the location with danger and return.

Sarah pointed to a bench similar to the one Don crashed into two nights ago. She said it is made out of driftwood from a cyclone and covered in a waxy resin. They are made by local artists and cost about $45,000 AUD ($30,000 US). Don felt better to hear it was a serious bench. 

Cave is a good spot for a
snooze on a warm day

The caves are covered in creation stories. The Pukatja use these paintings as teaching tools. A snake woman gets a bad feeling, knows she has to travel to a ceremony. She connects her eggs so she can carry them like a necklace and puts them in a safe place. Later on our tour we will see where that safe place is.

cave art

The snake woman's nephew arrives under stress. Someone chases him because he stole something. His punishment is a spear to the thigh. He runs all the way to Uluru. The person who speared him must take care of him until he heals. The snake tracks are visible all over Uluru. This is the Kuniya-Lira story. Lira means soldier, Kuniya is snake woman. The two cracked lines in the rock are part of their story, it represents being cracked over the head.

The two cracks

The stories Sarah told us are at the tjitji, or child, level. Men and women learn different stories. As you show dedication, and prove you are ready to learn, you learn the stories at a deeper level.

Sarah showed us a hole in the cave. This is the safe place where the boys would watch the men hunt. There is more cave art here that was made about 5,000 years ago. For comparison, the pyramids were built about 4,500 years ago in Egypt.
 

Tony and Sarah made sure we knew what we were doing before we were allowed to go into the wild. I took several spins on the track, always knocking something over. I also left the Segway unattended so I could pick up the pole I knocked over, which made the Segway tip over. If this was a movie, it would come across as forced foreshadowing.

Between Don and his crutch, and me and my lack of skill, they were right to keep an eye on us.

The ride started at 7:45, and ended nearly two hours later at 9:40. Between that time, the temperature climbed from a warm 75 degrees to a hot 91 degrees. 

Our first stop was called "Smile." Yesterday I thought this looked like a whale. When we stopped, Don said the same thing to me without prompting. I did not bring my notebook on the ride. I do remember her saying the white lines are calcium deposits. The white spots are bird and bad poop. 

This is where we stopped for the magic shot.

We saw a skink at our next stop. So cute! I horrified Sarah by taking this picture at this spot because we were at a no photo zone. I assured her only the ground, the skink, and Segway were visible.

We rode our Segways all around the base -- all ten kilometers -- in two hours. Every so often we would stop for a story, and were encouraged to drink the water we brought with us. There is only one spot on the path to fill up water bottles. Sarah was great about having us stop in the shade. Around the halfway point she gave us each a jelly bean for some electrolytes. 

There were ten people on our tour. Our leaders were a couple who did a similar Segway tour before and were therefore considered to be experts. The woman ahead of us was very nervous, so I gave her extra space. The man behind Don was the same man I shared an outlet with in the Sydney airport. Vacations are funny like that, you cross paths with the same people. Later that day, I saw the nurse from Monday night's dinner. At the Ayers Rock airport we spent time with Betsey and John, the nice couple from Ohio Don befriended the day before when he stayed behind.

Along the trail we saw a group of about 30 Asian tourists walking in a tight pack with brown robed Buddhist monks acting as Sherpas. The Sherpas carried water bottles for them, and carried umbrellas to protect the tourists from the shade. I was not able to take a picture and safely drive the Segway. There were a few stragglers following in the group taking pictures.

On yesterday's walk, I went clockwise. On today's tour, we went counter-clockwise. I asked which way was more popular and the answer was the tour companies are told which way they have to go, but others can go either way. It doesn't matter.

Sarah continued to lead us. She said Uluru's story continues at Kata Tjuta, about 35 kilometers away. The histories are only taught where they happened, therefore they are not told here. The third part is at a cattle farm that is the women's learning space. 

We were told the Mala Men story, similar to how Adam taught it during yesterday's ranger led tour, but on the opposite side of the rock. She said the story begins before the warriors arrived at Uluru, and ends afterwards. She does not know these stories because they are sacred spaces and not shared with just anyone.

We continue to ride and end up at the Mala Carpark for our final rest. Somehow Don put his Segway in front of mine, and for some reason I cared that we kept the correct order, so I tried to move in front of him. There was a very narrow gap between his tire and a sign. The sign won and I toppled landing on my right hip. I put my hand down to break the fall. After checking to make sure I was okay, Sarah righted the Segway and restarted it. When asking if I was okay I joked, "yes, I signed a waiver saying I would be." Still, they were concerned when at the end of the tour we asked to be dropped off at th medical center rather than at hour hotel.

The visit was for Don to be checked out by the doctor who is not in as often as the nurse. While the attention he received was excellent, the nearest x-ray machine is a four-hour drive away in Alice Springs. That would wait a few more days when we had unexpected time in Melbourne.

After a shower and lunch, I went for a walk to find the camel farm moments after it closed. I then hitched another ride with a stranger. Though I don't tend to hitchhike, it feels like a natural option in the middle of nowhere, a place where people look out for each other. On my way back I popped into a food talk. The guide gathered indigenous food for us to sample after the talk.

When I realized the resort has a washer and dryer and that they are free, I gathered our laundry for a quick washing. No time to dry. We spread them out all over the room, which confused housekeeping when we were out later. 

At 3:30 pm we met with another group to make the 35 kilometer drive to Kata Tjuta to hike and see another beautiful sunset.