Greetings from Australia where I have been for the past month enjoying an unusually warm Autumn.
This land of my birth is a stunning country- the sea shimmmers under a wide blue sky,parrots of bright hues swoop through the gum trees, and there is mile upon mile of beach and bush. It is a place for daily moments of awe and wonder.
This trip I have been privileged to go inland to see the cathedral of Australia’s indigenous people- the great rock standing in the desert once called Ayer’s Rock now known by its Aboriginal name of Uluru. I watched it change from red to purple at sunset and sunrise as the light caught the iron ore on its surface. I felt it deserved our silence but instead the air was disrupted by the chatter of tourists and I confess that in the evening I had a class of wine in my hand. ( Mind you it was not easy drinking wine through the flynet.)
But walking round Uluru’s base was almost more inspiring than seeing it from afar. We heard ancient myths of how the dramatic boulders, caverns and boulders were formed. Dingoes wandered near as we learnt by the waterhole how the first peoples hunted their prey while living within the natural environment rather than seeking to suppress it. Respect is the key word. The aboriginals respect the land, and they respect their elders acknowledging the sources of stories, dancing and skills by saying that they paid their respect to the person who taught them.
I write this in Sydney- part of me eager to get home and the other part knowing how deeply I will miss this wonderful land when I leave.
Best wishes
Sandra
