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I head west through 100 kilometers (60 miles) of nothingness, and there stands The Rock. It's the biggest monolith on the planet, and geologists reckon two-thirds of it lies underground. It's the perfect symbol of the Australian Outback - hard, unforgiving, frighteningly ancient, silent, and still.
Uluru National Park is about as happy as a weird, cross-cultural marriage-of-convenience gets. The Anagu have the controlling interest on the Park's Board of Management; the Chair is Anagu and the meetings are bilingual in Pitjantjatjara and English. No park development occurs without Anagu consultation. It's a delicate balancing act: in return for about $700,000 (almost US$513,000) a year, they expose their sanctum sanctorum to the masses. But they retain ultimate control. |
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Uluru, the aboriginal name for Ayer's Rock, translates as "meeting
place." Kata Tjuta, a nearby labyrinth of rounded rock outcrops, means
"many heads." These landmarks and the surrounding plains of gum trees,
mulga, and spinifex were designated a national park in 1958. The park
was then handed back to the Anangu tribe in 1985. They lease it to the
National Parks Service, and in return, they receive A$75,000 (about
US$55,000) a year and 20 percent of the entrance fees. The 30,000-odd
annual visitors pay A$10 (about US$7) each. The park was 
The first thing everyone wants to do when they get here is to climb
Uluru, but that's a tacky and dangerous activity. More than a dozen
climbers have been killed, and some clown gets into trouble every few
days. The Anagu conduct initiation ceremonies here, usually in caves
off-limits to visitors. Occasionally, the entire park is closed for
this reason. The Anagu prefer that no one climb Uluru, though they
tolerate the activity. They are very disturbed by the accidents and
deaths, and look forward to the day - perhaps not too-distant - when
the trail is closed. In one local language, the word for the
ubiquitous black ant is "minga." It is the same word for tourist.