More Uluru Pics & Stories! (AYERS ROCK)

Hey!

so there were a TON of pics from this place, and not so many from where i am right now, so i figured that i might as well post some from where i was a few weeks ago now.

this is the view from my tent at the campground. i was there so long, that i ended up being the last one at that site...so when the dingo's howled in the night, i was very aware that i was in the same area that 'the dingo ate my baby' thingy happened... i guess it's good news that im not small like a baby.

these are people climbing Uluru (Ayers Rock). apparently it's a pretty big thing that people come here to do. to me it's nuts because 1) there is a steep drop-off on either end and several people have died from doing it 2) the traditional owners [aboriginal mobs (tribes) in the area] ask that no one climbs it because it is a sacred path...but people still do it. not cool.
this is a cave painting from the Mutujulu (spelling! yikes!) tribe (although, i should really say mob because that's what they call them here in Australia). the section of Uluru that we saw this used to be used to teach boys what they needed to know to become men. on the left you can see several circles indicating water holes...obviously very important in the desert!
this is closer to Uluru. you can see that they have set paths to walk on so that people don't disturb the wildlife in the area.
is it me, or is that a scull?

you can see the one tree that was burned. here they do semi annual 'bush burns' to control the spread of wild fire, but also to help with regeneration of plant life. this is me at Uluru watching the sun go down. like my outback hat? nerd alert!