As I drove from Ayers Rock airport to Uluru, the sacred aboriginal monolith in Australia’s outback, the sunny weather suddenly shifted. The bright red rock loomed angrily in front of me as the storm rolled in, lightning and thunder violently booming around the mound as the color of the rock turned from bright red to an angry gray as the sun disappeared.
It’s easy to see why they think this thing is powerful.
Uluru
It’s one of those places that people try to take a piece of home with them, only to believe it is bad luck and mail the rocks/sand back to Australia. The national park staff receives these ‘sorry rocks’ daily (the heaviest rock that they received was a whopping 70 pounds).
Aboriginal Cave Paintings 
Not so long ago, tourists would come to Uluru for the chance to climb it, to the dismay of locals. The floor of tourists meant this sacred mound was violated, once clean water sources turning a mucky grey and trash littering the park.
The Australian government and Aboriginals came to an understanding that if less than twenty percent of people coming to the country climbed Uluru, they would close it to climbing. In 2015, due to increased education and cultural sensitivity, the percentage of people who climbed dropped to sixteen percent. The climb was closed to the public last year.
Sunrise at Uluru is a sight to behold as well. The sand reflected in the sun gives Uluru a mystical feel, with the color changing rapidly especially as the sun rises or sets. I was lucky enough to see one such sunrise while I was there.
Unfortunately, due to the wildfires raging in Australia, it was too smoggy to see much of anything for the rest of my time here, even though the wildfires are far from Ayers Rock.
Me and my camel pal Larry exploring Uluru & pretending the world isn’t on fire.
Forest fires are natural, and the Aboriginals for thousands of years have control-burned forests as a way to hunt and promote new growth, but due to climate change, natural forest fires are not occurring as frequently as they used to. By the time this fire started, the whole country was kindling. The fires have spread to just outside Melbourne, and smoke from Australia has drifted all the way to New Zealand, giving the city of Auckland an apocalyptic skyline.
Tomorrow, I escape the fire and smoke. I’m headed to the next country on my list: the Philippines.