129 thoughts on “The Rock”

  2. I take this to be Ayers Rock, David?
    I am so glad to see these photographs, David, transformed and transfigured because, in a note to my heathen self from one of my Christian friends, I was reminded that it is today that is the remembrance of Christ’s Transfiguration. He went up to a high place – an Ayers Rock – and there underwent a change which signifies for Christians, among other things, the point at which the temporal and the eternal meet.
    For a pagan like me, temporal and the eternal are not different types of time. They run concurrently and I try to live with an understanding of what that means for thought and conduct.
    Ayers Rock is a marvelous reminder of this complexity and mystery of time and its durability.
    So thank you, David!

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    1. Uluru … a huge rock in the centre
      of Australia.
      Most of it is underground, like an
      iceberg.
      The white settlers called it Ayers Rock,
      but since it was officially handed
      back to the traditional inhabitants,
      back in the 1970’s, it’s best known
      as Uluru.

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  4. Thank you for all the glorious photos David, I’m yet to travel in Australia much…. my duties didn’t allow me to do the trips of my dreams, and feel the sands of time pass between my toes… I thoroughly appreciated your beautiful post …

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      2. Actually, I do exaggerate, Punam.
        Winter is the dry season, so a good
        time to travel there. And it’s usually
        not too hot.
        Climbing upon the Rock has been
        permitted in the past, but that is
        ending in October. So there has
        been a bit of a stampede of tourists
        heading out there, unfortunately.
        Lindy & I are gentle strollers, not
        all conquering climbers 😎

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      4. Yes, the bonfire of the vertical
        vanities will be extinguished.
        They’ll have to find somewhere
        else to plant their flags, and dump
        their trash. Perhaps they could
        give the Himalayas a bash?
        I do hope there’s no avalanche 😎

        Liked by 2 people

    1. Well spotted. Being art, I thought
      I’d leave it for the viewer to find,
      rather than adding captions.
      There is Aboriginal cave art in
      various locations all about Uluru.
      The traditional custodians have
      inhabited the area for some 60
      thousand plus years, according
      to the latest anthropology.

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      1. That is so fascinating! I’m in a COMPLETELY different field but archeology and anthropology have always been so interesting to me.

        So much though is just not explained by modern science and those are the mysteries I love!

        Ok, but to be honest, the first thing I thought when I saw Ayers Rock was Elaine from Seinfeld saying, “Maybe the dingo ate your baby.”

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      2. I’m currently arranging to excavate
        underneath the Rock. Way down
        past where the dingoes hide things.
        I suspect we’ll find either a flying
        saucer, all smashed up, or a label
        saying MADE IN China 🤔

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      6. Sorry for the pause
        in this rebellious discourse.
        But I’ve been staying
        at broken down motels
        with tumble weed connections
        whilst riding the pale horse
        through a desert with no name.

        But Bojana, thanks for the reminder
        of another song, by a different Billy
        (… more idle, than Idol) ;

        When I get the urge
        I just got to splurge
        I’m a slave to all my desires
        Well I’m in a mess
        Because I can’t repress
        all of these Bad habits

        Can’t help myself
        Bad Habits
        Well I’m running wild
        Lost control
        And it’s a shame to see 
        That a boy like me
        Has so many bad habits
        ~ Billy Field

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Yes, Uluru is in the bone dry dead
        centre of Australia. And we’re in
        the thick of a prolonged drought.
        We’ve been driving north towards
        the tropical coast for the last few
        days, and the desert is slowly
        giving way to green vegetation.
        But bugger all WiFi, so hope to
        reconnect is the great bye & bye 😎

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Out of respect for the traditional custodians
      wishes, I didn’t do the climb. The local mib’s
      main objection to tourists climbing the Rock
      was the number of fatalities. Over thirty in
      recent years. So after October it’s banned,

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      1. Right. But also, there’s nothing cool about taking a whiz on another culture’s sacred site and posting it on Instagram.

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      2. There are always barbarians at the gate.
        We didn’t visit the plebeian camping
        grounds, so didn’t see any litter. But
        where ever humans go, there seems
        to be trails of plastic 😰
        Being a free-range anthropologist,
        I must apologise on behalf of the
        human race. But l am innocent
        of the crime of being an accidental
        fundamental tourist 😎

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I agree on this, David. Reminds me of when I visited Grand Canyon West a few years ago. Some people ventured close to the edge of the West Rim! I have the story and photos on my site ‘God’s Enduring Love’ http://heulu.wordpress.com
        I love your poetry, and especially the photos and artistic renditions of the Rock. I am such an amateur posting my photo editing of Kahana Beach, Oahu Hawaii at http://artwithaloha.wordpress.com if you care to comment on my photography attempts. Thanks for visiting my blogsite. Aloha, ~Liz

        Liked by 1 person

  23. Our family was there a few decades ago when I was about ten years old.
    I absolutely loved it. One of the few times in my life I got up to see the sunrise.
    Plus, it had rained on one of the days, and we walked around the perimeter…it’s absolutely magic after a rain.
    A very special place.
    Thanks for sharing these, and bringing back some wonderful memories.
    PS I also remember adoring Katherine Gorge.

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    1. I wouldn’t have said no to some
      rain clouds, Vanessa 😎
      Unfortunately, at the moment, it is a
      very dry dry season. The waterfalls
      are not happening, and the Rock is
      thirsty. I would love to come back
      when Uluru is wet and glistening.
      Linda and I decided to head up to
      Darwin, just in time for the annual
      ‘Bougainvillea Festival’, and visit
      Katherine Gorge, & Kakadu, on
      the way back. Yothu Yindi have
      reformed, after a 15 year break,
      & are the opening act of the Darwin
      Festival. I’ll let you know how it all
      goes, Vanessa 👍

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      1. That sounds wonderful!! Yes, please do!
        Safe travels!
        (Unfortunately, the atrocious weather in these parts yesterday, with blinding dust storms, caused an horrific accident between two semis…both drivers were killed, one a very young 26, a friend to a friend of mine. It’s tragic.)

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Ugh, so sad.
        People were criticizing the drivers in this one, but they had terrible choices to make…there aren’t good places for them to pull over, and the way the visibility was, it would be just as dangerous if they had pulled over, as they can’t get completely off the road.
        We need some serious infrastructure improvements if we are going to keep trucking absolutely everything.

        Liked by 1 person

  24. Very impressive photos, David.

    That rock looks familiar.

    I remember years ago seeing some movie where Meryl Streep played a Seventh Day Adventist woman accused of murdering her baby in a supposed human sacrifice.

    But the baby was carried off by a dingo.

    But I think that was the rock that appeared in the film.

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    1. Yes Chris, the Uluru was innocent,
      and had a Rock solid defence.
      And so were the parents.
      The camping ground needed
      a dingo proof fence.
      The park rangers knew there were
      some aggressive dingoes in the
      area that needed to be taken away, but
      had done nothing about it. So they
      were happy for the Chamberlains to
      be dropped right in it. Even to the
      extent of hiding the mauled and
      bloodied bady jump suit months
      later when one of the rangers found
      it. Meanwhile the parents spent
      years in jail.

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      2. There are sights sacred to the
        traditional custodians all about
        the Rock. As a courtesy to their
        culture you don’t take photos in
        those areas. But I did notice some
        tourists ignoring this etiquette 🤔
        being ignorant of the local belief
        that if you take photos of a sacred
        sight you’ll die of a horrible disease
        as a consequence 😱

        Liked by 3 people

    1. You can get up close and personal
      at most of Uluru. Just some places
      are sacred to the locals. You can
      still see, but not touch or click.
      Thanks for taking the tour Goldie
      … from the bottom of my Aussie
      flip flopping thongs 😎

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      4. That reminds me of the lyrics from
        one of my favourite songs, Kunal:

        Darkness at the break of noon
        Shadows even the silver spoon
        The handmade blade,
        the child’s balloon
        Eclipses both the sun and moon
        To understand you know too soon
        There is no sense in trying

        Pointed threats,
        they bluff with scorn
        Suicide remarks are torn
        From the fool’s gold mouthpiece
        The hollow horn
        plays wasted words
        Proves to warn
        that he not busy being born
        Is busy dying

        Temptation’s page
        flies out the door
        You follow, find yourself at war
        Watch waterfalls of pity roar
        You feel to moan but unlike before
        You discover that you’d just be
        One more person crying

        So don’t fear if you hear
        A foreign sound to your ear
        It’s alright, Ma, I’m only sighing

        Disillusioned words like bullets bark
        As human gods aim for their mark
        Made everything from toy guns that spark
        To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark
        It’s easy to see without looking too far
        That not much is really sacred

        While preachers preach of evil fates
        Teachers teach that knowledge waits
        Can lead to hundred-dollar plates
        Goodness hides behind its gates
        But even the president of the United States
        Sometimes must have to stand naked

        An’ though the rules of the road
        have been lodged
        It’s only people’s games
        that you got to dodge
        And it’s alright, Ma, I can make it

        Advertising signs that con you
        Into thinking you’re the one
        That can do what’s never been done
        That can win what’s never been won
        Meantime life outside goes on
        All around you

        You lose yourself, you reappear
        You suddenly find you got nothing to fear
        Alone you stand with nobody near
        When a trembling distant voice, unclear
        Startles your sleeping ears to hear
        That somebody thinks they really found you

        A question in your nerves is lit
        Yet you know there is no answer fit
        to satisfy
        Insure you not to quit
        To keep it in your mind and not fergit
        That it is not he or she or them or it
        That you belong to

        Although the masters make the rules
        For the wise men and the fools
        I got nothing, Ma, to live up to

        For them that must obey authority
        That they do not respect in any degree
        Who despise their jobs, their destinies
        Speak jealously of them that are free
        Do what they do
        just to be nothing more than
        something they invest in

        While some on principles baptized
        To strict party platform ties
        Social clubs in drag disguise
        Outsiders they can freely criticize
        Tell nothing except who to idolize
        And then say God bless him

        While one who sings
        with his tongue on fire
        Gargles in the rat race choir
        Bent out of shape from society’s pliers
        Cares not to come up any higher
        But rather get you down
        in the hole that he’s in

        But I mean no harm nor put fault
        On anyone that lives in a vault
        But it’s alright, Ma, if I can’t please him

        Old lady judges watch people in pairs
        Limited in sex, they dare
        To push fake morals, insult and stare
        While money doesn’t talk, it swears
        Obscenity, who really cares
        Propaganda, all is phony

        While them that defend
        what they cannot see
        With a killer’s pride, security
        It blows the minds most bitterly
        For them that think death’s honesty
        Won’t fall upon them naturally
        Life sometimes must get lonely

        My eyes collide head-on
        with stuffed graveyards
        False gods, I scuff
        At pettiness which plays so rough
        Walk upside-down inside handcuffs
        Kick my legs to crash it off
        Say okay, I have had enough
        What else can you show me

        And if my thought-dreams could be seen
        They’d probably put my head in a guillotine
        But it’s alright, Ma, it’s life, and life only

        ~ It’s Alright Ma

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