Uluru (Ayers Rock)

Uluru...what a fascinating place! In the middle of absolutely nothing. Closest town is Alice Springs, at almost 500km. It's traditionally owned by the Anangu (aboriginal) people and to them it's a sacred place. It is not hard to imagine why, on picture it may seem like just a massive ochre monolith but when it appears in front of your vehicle, after you've been driving through the desert for hours, you'll be speechless for a good moment. Uluru is especially dramatic at sunrise and sunset when the colors in the sky change and the rock starts to glow.

There's a bit of controversy going on about whether or not you should climb Uluru. The Anangu people are explicitly asking not to climb it because it is a holy mountain and therefore inappropriate to 'conquer' it. In the cultural centre at the foot of Uluru, you can buy stickers and mugs saying 'I did not climb Uluru and I am proud of it'. But I have a little confession to make here...We did climb it. It's just sooo tempting! Everywhere you're reading: Don't climb! But then there's this nice, little pathway leading right to the top, with ropes to facilitate your climb. Once you're halfway, they've even painted sings on the surface indicating the direction. This was all a little too easy. And once on top, it felt quite rewarding too, to be honest.

But if anything bad will happen to us on this trip, I'm afraid I'll be forever convinced that it's because we climbed Uluru that day...