Pilgrimage to Uluru | the Pilgrim's Journal

What is the Pilgrimage to Uluru?

Posted on April 5, 2012 by ulurubasecamp

The Pilgrimage is an opportunity for young people to take a journey of reflection to their nation’s heart. Busloads of young people are invited to travel together to the centre of Australia with new found friends, along with parents, teachers and youth workers. Each coach will depart from different states across the continent while participating in a daily routine of reflection, discussion and creative activity as they travel to their destination.

Once arriving at Uluru, the Pilgrims participate in a fun packed education program which includes cultural exchange with Indigenous students and elders, and hosting a family festival and concert drawing people from around the Uluru region.

For over ten years the Pilgrimage to Uluru has been changing lives, changing perspectives, and changing the way young people feel about themselves and others.

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Posted on April 4, 2012 by Biz

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Day Ten – Sydney

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Biz

Bound for Coober Pedy

Well, we were back to the mornings of rising before the sun is up? It was a challenge for some trying to pack up their messy tents in the dark. The girls were way a head of the boys this morning, all packed up well before time. The boys eventually got there and we all say down for breakfast.

At about 8am we were all packed up and headed out of Alice, bound for Cobber Pedy again!

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Day Nine – Sydney

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Biz

Happy Birthday!

Rise and shine! 7:30am we were up again after a quiet and pleasant sleep. With bacon and eggs for breakfast we were ready for the day ahead! Happy Birthday to Anthony and Will, 2 of our leaders, who also received the Gold Plate awards this morning, along with Kyal!

Gold Plate Award to Anthony

...and Gold plate winner Kyal

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Day Eight – Sydney

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Biz

At the Dawn Service

The alarms went off 5:30am. We dragged ourselves out of bed, put on a jumper and some shoes and shuffled our feet to the bus.

We met all the other buses just out of the camp ground, then took a short drive to to one of the sand dunes. We all piled out of the buses and walked up the sand dune in the dark. We were warmly welcomed by the base camp.

As we stood quietly, for the next 30 mins we sang and were challenged to think about what we had experienced being here at Uluru and how the effect, had the chance to bring change to our lives, if we were willing to let it. As we stood, we watched the sun rise over the horizon, changing the colour of the Rock from purple to a red and to orange.

Early morning faces

Arriving back at camp, Brownie had our breakfast prepared and we sat and ate eggs, spaghetti and hashbrowns.

It took us a little longer than usual to pack up our belongings and pull down our tents, but we eventually got there. About 9:10am we pulled out of the camp ground for the last time.

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Up at Dawn

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Biz

Nate, from the VicTas bus, as the sun was coming up

After a fairly big day and late night, you’d think that a sleep-in would be in order. Well, nope. Dragging ourselves out of bed at 5am so that we can get ready to see the sunrise, sleepily getting dressed (more than one inside-out jumper was being worn by the time we were awake enough to notice!) and loading into buses to meet as a group. Then it was a climb to the top of a sand dune, where we were met by a fire and a song.

Waiting for the sun

Categories: NSW / ACT, Sydney, TAS, Uluru Base Camp, Vic | Leave a comment

Festival and Concert

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Biz

Parachuting

Woot. So, Festival day is where we run a Community Festival for free, for both the residents of Yulara and Mutitjulu. It’s a time to have fun, play, and make a lot of noise. It’s also the time we got to spend with the local Indigenous community. They had a lot of fun with the waterslide (water provided by the Yulara Fire Brigade!) and in the giant parachute. The kids were excited to be a part of it, and so were we.

Waterslide!

Dot painting with women from Mutitjulu

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Big Top Times…

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Biz

In the Big Top

Yes, we do have a circus-like Big Top. And shenanigans go on inside it. Some singing, some dancing (there was, in fact, at one point a dance battle going on. Instigated by the kids with only a little encouragement from Christian, our MC) and in there somewhere (we hope!) some learning about local culture and language.

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The Mala Walk

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Biz

VicTas, at the base of the rock

There’s a particular walk around part of the base of Uluru that’s special to us, and to many of the people who visit here. It’s named the Mala Walk, named after a small wallaby. Each of the Bus groups took the walk, hearing the stories associated with different parts of the rock. There’s a lot to learn about the importance of these places to the Mutitjulu community, and we only get to hear a tiny part of it!

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The Pilgrims Arriving…

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Biz

Big Top set up

At Basecamp we busily got ready for Pilgrim arrival. We sorted bandanas, poured the cordial, and on Wednesday our Big Top tent went up (with the help of some firemen!), which is where we held our ~~parties~~ Evening Program. Which did involve dancing. And cheering, and singing, and group hugs. With a little bit of learning thrown in as well. Each Pilgrim got a bandana, which for us is a symbol of who we are and carries a reminder of some of the lessons the Pilgrims have been learning on the way up. They also received something that no other Pilgrim has gotten in all of the previous years – a hand painted piece of wood, which were done by the local Indigenous community and the Basecamp team, as a gift.