July. August 79boardroom; the staff were all pulled in for the announce-
ment. It was packed, and people were sitting on the
f loor. The buzz in the room was palpable. It was just
incredible to be there.”
Steve says the response to the decision has shown the
board is “not token”, and that joint management of
Uluru-Kata Tjuta NP by the federal government’s Parks
Australia and the traditional owners is “much more than
just words”.O
N THE 30-MINUTE BUS TRIP from the resort at
Yulara to Uluru, desert oaks, heath myrtles and
the occasional honey grevillea give way to
mulga trees and bloodwoods closer to the base of therock. The varying forms of the desert oaks are distinct:
some are pencil thin, others bushy and mature, a tran-
sition that begins when their taproots hit water. The
biggest ones have been growing slowly for more than
1000 years.
At the carpark, a group of about 30 tourists gathers
for the 8am ranger-guided Mala walk. Our enthusi-
astic and knowledgeable Indigenous guide explains
the rock art at the Kulpi Nyiinkaku (teaching cave).
Generations of grandfathers painted the pictures in this
cave, teaching young boys coming of age how to track
and hunt kuka (food animals).
“It’s like a blackboard,” he says, then explains to the
kids on our walk, “but back then there weren’t any jobs,
so nobody could afford erasers. They just painted over
the top.”
A young girl spots a small marsupial on the ground.
“It’s a rat,” she screams.
“Maybe it’s come to learn,” the ranger responds.
Our guide continues, stopping at various sites to
describe the making of seed cakes, explain how ancient
tools were used, interpret rock art and provide descrip-
tions of the desert environment and its animals. There
are questions, of course. He pauses before answering,
often for moments that stretch out longer than we’re
used to. Yet his answers are so profound that we, too,
pause at the gravity of them.
The walk culminates at Kantju Gorge, where our
guide explains that the waterfall forms when heavy rain
fills the rock pools at the top and then water gushes
down the sheer face, filling the waterhole at the bottom
where Anangu traditionally bathed and hunted. He
relates the scene to sustainable hunting and water man-
agement practices, prompting us to question the habits
of our modern world.
Anangu have passed on knowledge through story,
song and dance for thousands of years. This time it’s
coming from Leroy Lester, an Anangu area custodian.
“No way you’ll be eating red kangaroo meat during a
10-year drought,” he says, as he delivers a bush tucker
lesson to a crowded room at the Ayers Rock Resort.
“You’ll be going from the delicatessen to the fruit and
veg department. You’ll be eating a lot of underground
food, a lot of roots. Our culture has lasted 60,000 years
because of diet. All desert foods are superfoods. Noth-
ing keeps out here, so you’re eating fresh superfoods
every day of the year.”August 15, 1993. With nearby Ayers Rock Resort receiving
an $8 million faceli, tourists were actively encouraged to take
part in a range of activities around and on Uluru.Anangu have passed on
knowledge through
story, song and dance for
thousands of years.
Continued page 82