Uluru

An early morning wander around the shrubland surrounding Talinguru Nyakunytjaku, the main sunrise viewing area for Uluru, to find the perfect spot to capture the sunrise. At dawn, the first rays of sunlight appear over the sand dunes. The sun rises and the rock comes to life as light and shade dance across the ripples on its surface.

After a spot of breakfast at the Cultural Centre, I follow the Liru Walk to meet at the base of the climbing point for a ranger-guided walk to Kantju Gorge. This is where the Mala people camped when they arrived at Uluru in the beginning. There are examples of Anangu rock art along the way and the tour ends at the sheer vertical walls and profound peacefulness of Kantju Gorge.

I continue to explore the natural and cultural beauty of Uluru by escaping the crowds on the Base Walk which circumnavigates the rock. The walk takes a meandering journey through acacia woodlands and grassed claypans to get up close and personal with the rock and follow in the footsteps of the ancestral beings that shaped the landscape. For this is a sacred place, the homeland of the oldest, most continuous human presence on Earth.

After seeing so many selfish people wobble and crawl their way up Uluru, it was lovely to see, back at the Cultural Centre, that many more people signed the "I will not climb" book to respect the wishes of the traditional owners.

Distance: 85.5km