News archive
Welcome to the latest news page for Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. As you can see, there is always lots going on! Feel free to pass these stories around or contact us if you would like more information
2011
eNewsletter | 5 | Wariringanyi
18 August 2011
Edition 5 of the Uluru eNewsletter is now available here.
The Wariringanyi (winter cold season) edition talks about controlled burning after a wet year, the National Landscapes field trip, Junior Rangers helping out with introduced species and the literacy and numeracy program underway in the park.
eNewsletter | 4 | Itanju
29 March 2011
The Itjanu (summer wet season) edition covers the 25th anniversary of the handback of Uluru, tjakura (great desert skink) surveys, and Pitjantjatjara lessons. Also find out what witchetty grubs, or maku, taste like!
Image: Australian Government Parliamentary Secretary Don Farrell and board chairman Harry Wilson exchange artworks to symbolise the handback of Uluru and Kata Tjuta to Anangu.
New Kids' activity book to download!
Our kids' activity book is now available to download! This 15 page educational booklet contains lots of fun activities to keep the kids entertained while they learn about Anangu culture, animals and plants within Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.
Extreme heat at Uluru-Kata Tjuta | 28 January 2011
Over the next few days we are expecting extreme weather conditions where the temperature is expected to reach over 40 degree Celsius at the park.
To enjoy your visit we ask that all visitors:
- Carry and drink sufficient water for any activities. One litre of water per hour.
- Wear sunscreen, hats and other protective clothing.
- Consider your fitness level before engaging in any activity.
- Walk with another person at all times.
- Walk in the coolest part of the day (early morning or late evening).
- Obey all safety directions, notices and warning signs.
EMERGENCY RADIO ALARM LOCATIONS
In an emergency, you can contact a ranger at the following locations:
Uluru:
- Mala carpark
- Base Walk (northeast track)
- Kuniya Piti water tank
- Kuniya carpark
Kata Tjuta:
- Kata Tjuta dune viewing carpark
- Walpa Gorge carpark
- Valley of the Winds carpark
- Valley of the Winds Walk (T-intersection)
Also see: Safety essentials (PDF 614KB) | Things to see and do
Oprah raves about Uluru | 20 January 2011
The first episode of Oprah Winfrey's Ultimate Australian Adventure has aired in Australia and America. Oprah told her millions of fans worldwide about her awe-inspiring experience watching the sunset at Uluru and her respect for local Aboriginal culture.
Visit uluru | See Oprah's video | See the slideshow | See some of the show highlights on Channel 10
Photo: Sam D'Agostino
For keen twitchers this is a fantastic time to visit Uluru - right now many of the park's birds are breeding.
Find out more on our blog, and feel free to comment on on any amazing birds you might have seen on recent trips to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.
Visit our blog | Learn more about uluru-Kata Tjuta's birds
2010
Oprah is presented with a necklace by Anangu elder Judy Trigger at Uluru | SDP Media
video: Joint management of Uluru-Kata Tjuta
video: Working together
Oprah at Uluru | 9 December 2010
It's been an amazing week for Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, with a whirlwind visit from Oprah Winfrey on 9 and 10 December 2010. Apparently, Oprah's visit was prompted by singer-songwriter Paul Simon, who told her that Uluru was 'not to be missed!'
Oprah raved about her awe inspiring experience and her respect for local Aboriginal culture. After doing the popular Kuniya Walk, Oprah was presented with a necklace by traditional owner Judy Trigger. That night, senior Aboriginal women danced the creation stories at a special inma ceremony.
Handback festival | 26 October 2010
Tjukurpa munu manta kunpungku kanyintjaku | Keeping culture and country strong together
On 26 October the park is holding its first cultural festival, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the handback of Uluru and Kata Tjuta to their Anangu traditional owners. Everyone is welcome!
Back in 1985 hundreds of people witnessed the Governor-General present Anangu with the title deeds to their lands, at a ceremony at the base of Uluru. This year we are celebrating this milestone with a community festival called Tjukurpa munu manta kunpungku kanyintjaku, Keeping culture and country strong together.
The festival is open to all visitors and locals, and runs from 10am to 8pm on 26 October 2010. It will be held at the Talinguru Nyakunytjaku viewing area within Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. There will be Anangu artists at work, Indigenous bands, Shane Howard singing Solid Rock , inma (traditional dance), lots of food and local arts and crafts.
Everyone is welcome to come and celebrate this historic occasion!
A free shuttle bus service will be running on the day with transfers from the Cultural Centre to the festival site.
For more information call the park's Cultural Centre staff on 08 8956 1100.
- Download the festival program
- Check shuttle bus times
- Talinguru Nyakunytjaku viewing area
- Read about uluru's joint management
- Read the media release
eNewsletter | 3 | Piriya
18 October
Greetings from all the staff at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.
Help us celebrate handback | more >>
"Time of the warm winds" is yet another busy season for park staff with lots of projects underway and a change in the weather patterns. The Anangu name for this time is Piriya. It's been a wet and windy season here at Uluru with exceptionally high rainfall. We have received over 300ml of rain so far. Visitors have been rewarded with numerous waterfalls flowing off the rock and new growth everywhere - a spectacular sight to see!
Read all our news in our enewsletter | 3 | Piriya
Uluru tourism plan maps out exciting directions
13 October 2010
Exciting new visitor experiences are on the cards for Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, with the release today of a plan to guide future tourism development in the park.
The plan - Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Tourism Directions: Stage 1 - plots out the sort of experiences that will define Uluru in the future and the steps for developing them.
A range of new business ideas are flagged in the report, including the potential for guided overnight walks, an Aboriginal arts and crafts market, bicycle tours and animal tracking lessons for kids.
Download uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Tourism Directions: Stage 1 | Media release
An award-winning view at Uluru
Talinguru Nyakunytjaku has just won an award for engineering excellence for cultural and environmental sensitivity in a World Heritage Area. Engineers Australia's award programs seek to identify, recognise and reward outstanding achievement, eminence in the practice of engineering, and conspicuous service to the profession.
Talinguru Nyakunytjaku took out the community engagement and people's choice award.
eNewsletter number 2 | Wariringanyi
6 May 2010
Greetings from all the staff at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.
Wariringanyi is yet another busy season for park staff with numerous projects underway and a change in the weather patterns. The Anangu name, wariringanyi, for this time means cooling down, getting colder.
Read the Wariringanyi newsletter >>
ABC podcast on Uluru and Kata Tjuta
4 May 2010
The ABC has put together a series of podcasts on the
Red Centre Way. Starting at the Alice Springs Desert Park, passing through Palm Valley and Hermannsburg then around the Mereenie Loop to Kings Canyon, Uluru and Rainbow Valley the ABC's podtour winds its way through some of the most spectacular desert country in Australia.
Visit the
Red Centre Way podcast series to hear the podcast about uluru and Kata Tjuta >>
Fatality on Uluru climb
25 April 2010
A 54 year old Australian man died yesterday on the Uluru climb.
The man collapsed some 160 meters from the base on the way down from the 348 metre high climb. Park rangers working at the base of the climb attended the man within minutes, but were unable to revive him. Paramedics arrived shortly after but there was nothing they could do.
It is the first death from climbing since 2000. Thirty six people are now known to have died climbing Uluru since records began in 1958.
Download the media release >>
Developing career paths at Uluru
February 2010
Uluru is about to survey populations of the threatened marsupial mulgara - with traditional Indigenous tracking skills now an integral part of the survey design.
Anangu already share traditional knowledge to help manage controlled burns and feral cats and foxes and senior Anangu work alongside trainee Anangu rangers to mentor them and pass on traditional skills.
And two new workforce development coordinators - Terri Fallows and Josh Quarmby - have begun work with the the Mutitjulu community to develop workready skills such as literacy and numeracy, computer skills and healthy living.
Terri and Josh are liaising with employers such as tour operators Anangu Waai and Voyages who operate Ayers Rock Resort to help develop new tourism jobs.
Rain continues at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
Kantju waterfall in the rain
January 12 2010
Rain has eased but the landscape is a riot of green at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park following substantial rains recently. The past five days have seen a remarkable 52.4mm dumped over the area - that's a third of last year's total rainfall. The bright yellow honey grevilleas are flowering, succulents like parakeelyas are purple, sweet smelling cassias are erupting in yellow flowers and many wattle are blooming such as the witchetty bush and mulga trees.
Walking tracks and roads in the park remain open, and if further rains fall visitors may be lucky enough to see spectacular waterfalls over Uluru during the rain, especially at Kantju Gorge and Mutitjulu Waterhole. Precautions are in place to ensure visitor safety in the event of further localised flooding - visitors can check in with staff at the Cultural Centre for today's conditions. People are advised to follow all sign instructions, drive carefully on park roads, and take care on the walking tracks which may be muddy and slippery.
New Plan of Management for Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park 2010-2020
January 8 2010
Environment Minister Peter Garrett has approved the new management plan for Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, including a requirement that clear preconditions be met before any plans to replace the climb with new visitor experiences could proceed.
The plan was prepared by the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Board of Management who had responded to public feedback on its draft plan, released last July, by developing the preconditions.
Media release | Download the new Plan of Management for uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park 2010-2020 >>
2009
Severe storm hits Uluru and Kata Tjuta
December 2009
Hatches were batoned and police and residents on alert as Uluru/Yulara prepared to receive to receive its worst storm in a decade. Ex-tropical cyclone Lawrence had travelled thousands of kilometres inland with an intensity not normally ever witnessed by those in the Central Australian Desert.
Trees were brought down, waterfalls erupted and waterholes filled to overflowing as Uluru was lashed by the worst storm in a decade. Ex-tropical cyclone Lawrence brought torrential rains and winds up to 120km per hour as it passed within a few hundred kilometres of the national park. Visitors and residents witnessed spectacular and rare scenes of the great monolith just prior to 5pm on Wed 23rd Dec, as waterfalls erupted and became thunderous torrents, dumping millions of litres of water into waterholes at the base and covering walking tracks knee deep in minutes.
Video image shows incredible scenes at Mutitjulu Waterhole at the base of Uluru as ferocious winds up to 120kms per hour tore through the Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park on Wednesday 23rd Dec just before sundown.
Watch a video clip of the storm courtesy of zimbio.com and Reuters News Video.
Find out more about water at uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park >>
Talinguru Nyakunytjaku | new viewing area
October 8 2009
Talinguru Nyakunytjaku offers visitors stunning new views of both Uluru and Kata Tjuta from a previously inaccessible area of the park. The area allows visitors to see Uluru and Kata Tjuta in the wider desert landscape of spinifex covered dunes and swales, dotted with kurkura or desert oaks.
Traditional Inma ceremony at the Talinguru Nyakunytjaku opening celebrations
More information about Talinguru Nyakunytjaku | Media release
New park notes
October 7 2009
A series of fact sheets about different aspects of, and related to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.
See the uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park - Park Notes
Draft Management Plan - call for public comment
July 8 2009
The Director of National Parks today invited public submissions on a draft plan to guide management over the next decade of one of Australia's most recognised international symbols, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.
Download : Press release | The draft management plan | Please don't climb uluru
$700,000 Funding for Uluru-Kata Tjuta and Kakadu National Parks
5 June 2009
More than $700,000 will be provided for three heritage projects at two of Australia's most treasured World Heritage Sites - Uluru-Kata Tjuta and Kakadu National Parks. Funding was announced today by the Federal Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts and the Member for Lingiari as part of the Australian Government's $650 million Jobs Fund initiative.
