Nadia, Wilcannia News
Last term 17 students and six staff participated in a major excursion to Uluru and the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in the Far North of South Australia.
The group travelled from Broken Hill by plane to Sydney and then on to Uluru arriving on a Sunday afternoon to a cloudy sky and the forecast of rain. Unfortunately, for the first two days of the visit it rained all day and all night. This interrupted some of the planned activities such as cycling around Uluru and the Valley of the Winds walk at Kata Tjuta. The group was lucky to experience some rarely seen events; waterfalls on Uluru and it shrouded in cloud and mist. Only 1% of people ever get to experience a rain event on Uluru, so the group was very lucky. Once it cleared up on Wednesday, the group had an early start and began the long bus journey to Cave Hill on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in the Far North of South Australia. At Cave Hill the students were met by some students and staff from Fregon Anangu School. They experienced some ancient rock art inside the cave and climbed the hill for an amazing view of the surrounding landscape.
JJ at Sunrise, Stevie and Kataltha on Cave Hill near Amata, Neil and Headley at Fregon. Photos courtesy Wilcannia News
After a long and muddy bus trip to Fregon the evening was spent with students from Fregon and Victor Harbour Primary School. On the following day after a fantastic breakfast and sports activities with the students from the other schools the remainder of the visit was spent at West Bore participating in sporting and cultural activities. Students tried archery and traditional Anangu painting supported by elders from Fregon.
The final days were spent with a blue sky at Uluru. Some students got out of bed early enough to witness an amazing sunrise on Uluru. The camel ride on the final day was a hit.
Overall, it was an eventful but successful trip. Students and staff had the opportunity to experience some of the most important sacred sites to the Anangu people of the region, learn some Pitjantjatjara language and history and most importantly experience new things and make new connections.
This article appeared in the Wilcannia News, August 2023.
