Uluru’s traditional owners are “sitting here with bated breath” for the final climber to make their way down the sacred site, with NITV correspondent and Anangu man Ryan Liddle describing the climb’s imminent closure as a “magical moment”.
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Speaking to PEDESTRIAN.TV just hours before the climb is closed to the public, Liddle said there will be a “collective sigh of relief, that it will be an opportunity to put that chapter of Uluru into the past and look forward”.
The climb’s closure comes at the request of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park board, which says climbing risks visitor safety, degrades the environment, and goes against the wishes of the site’s traditional Anangu owners.
But those valid concerns didn’t deter scores of visitors to the site today, who queued up before sunrise for one last chance to scale the monolith.
“I understand people have bucket lists or things like that they want to tick off or whatever, but I think if you went to a place, and you knew that it was really hurting the feelings and culture of people, how would that not make you change your mind, you know?” Liddle said.
The final climber’s descent at 5pm will be marked in two ways: signs referencing the climb will be unbolted, but traditional owners will also practice Inma, which Liddle says “will mark this moment with traditional culture to make sure that it is remembered in that traditional Anangu way”.
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Despite the influx of visitors who want to clamber up the site, Liddle maintains the climb’s closure will encourage new – and old – ways to appreciate the region.
“We’re more than happy to share that, to tell those stories, but there are ways people can come and experience Uluru without disrespecting or desecrating the site,” Liddle said.
“What’s wrong with coming and just having a look at it, and hearing stories about it?”
Liddle will be on deck Sunday to co-host NITV’s live coverage from the Uluru climb closure, which will feature traditional ceremonies and speeches from Talinguru Nyakunytjaku. The two-and-a-half hour special will celebrate Uluru’s importance to the Anangu people.
That show, plus a special episode of NITV’s The Point on Wednesday, October 30, will hopefully convince any final stragglers there are better ways to experience Uluru than climbing it.
“Looking at Uluru itself will always bring people here,” Liddle said.
“It’s a natural wonder of the world.”
