Location
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This sandstone formation sit in the south-west area of the Northern territory. It lies in the center of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park which was set up to help protect the rock. In the park, there is not only Uluru, but also a settlement of aborigines to whom the rock is very sacred. At 350 km South West from Alice Springs the co-ordinates are 25.3450* S, 131.0361* E. The area is very rich in cultural heritage and is a massive part of Australia's tourism sector.
Accessibility
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Because Uluru is very tourist orientated there are many forms of transport going to and from the National Park in which Uluru sits. There is an added admissions cost of $25 per person to the park which may affect the accessibility to the park for tourists on a limited budget. Accessibility to the attraction has gotten easier as accommodation and roads have been built and improved and the tourism industry increases the number of attractions around the rock as well as on it.
Cultural
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Uluru is very sacred to the Pitjantjatjara tribe that live in the park. The reasons the monolith is so sacred to the local tribe is that their ancestors walked the path which the tourists now climb. Dreamtime is the time when the Pitjantjatjara believe the rock came about. The Sandstone monolith has many caves which hold ancient rock paintings and are accompanied by deep meanings for the Aboriginal tribe. According to aboriginal culture , Uluru was formed in dreamtime by ancestral beings with the fissures and caves being evidence of this. Many of the forms around Uluru represent ancestral spirits to the settlement of the Pitjantjatjara people. The people in the settlement still hold sacred rituals in the caves at the base of Uluru which the opposite sex is not allowed to see.‘No Photography’ signs are placed at these caves out of respect and so that the aborigines do not come across photos of these rituals and break their culture.
Environmental
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Alice Springs has a very dramatic climate. Approximately 308 mm of rain falls per year in the park which classifies it as a semi-arid desert. Although the rainfall is very limited, the rock itself has a watering hole on the summit. The temperatures range from a searing 37-38° in Summer and a freezing -4° in Winter. The land around Uluru is a very flat scrub land. 46 Animal species are recorded to have lived in the vicinity of Uluru. Only 21 of those are currently living there and the locals are worried that over-tourism of the area led to the decline and environmentalists want to re-introduce native species that died out. Environmentalists are worried that the increasing number of tourists visiting the site each year will damage the natural environment and the cultural areas surrounding the monolith.
Economical
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A massive 400,000 tourists visit each year bringing in approximately $400 million from those tourists. Many transport companies also benefit from the site. Flights from all major cities around Australia to Uluru depart daily, bus companies, train companies, even camel companies provide transport to the thousands of visitors. The only accommodation you will find near Uluru is the Yalara Resort, catering from budget to luxury travelers. There are multiple tours and walks for tourists to chose from, all bringing in money to benefit the companies as well as Australia's tourism sector
Interaction
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The local Aborigines