Sat 14/4
Climbing Uluru
At last a couple of days off in a row and my opportunity to climb the rock. I am a little worried about my sciatica flaring up again but decide I am going anyway. I have tried twice now and both times the climb was closed due to high winds. It is Saturday today and I have confirmed with a phone call that the climb is open. Before I leave to head out I meet up with friends of mine Naomi and her husband Rob who are keen to come with me.
We are all excited about getting out there and get our stuff together so we can go.
It’s about lunch time by the time we get out to the base of the rock and it’s quite hot. As we start the walk up the first stretch of the hill there is no chain rope to hold on to and Naomi has a panic attack. Now this is a scary climb even with the chains to hold on to. Naomi lets fear get the better of her and was sitting down shaking like a leaf as Rob and I try and coax her to keep going. She is determined she cannot make it and wants to sit there and wait for us to get back. Now there was no way we were going on without her so Rob tries to comfort her and let her get over the initial fear and we hoped she would realise she could do it. After about 10 minutes and a couple of my terrible jokes she is ready to have another crack at it. Rob takes her hand and leads her up until they reach the chain and then there’s no turning back. It’s a slow process and Naomi is still shaking like a leaf all the way up and is almost in tears but does not give up. I went on ahead of them and took a few photos waiting until they caught up. Once we reached the end of the chained section that was the steepest part conquered and the rest of the climb was not as scary. We all walked together from here to the very top and by this time Naomi’s nerves had started to settle and it was all good. Over 30 people had died or been injured doing this climb so it’s not surprising that people freak out. As for Naomi in her words “I did it and I’m never doing it again” as for me I would like to do it once more before I leave. Well done Naomi you should be proud of yourself.
Climbing Uluru
At last a couple of days off in a row and my opportunity to climb the rock. I am a little worried about my sciatica flaring up again but decide I am going anyway. I have tried twice now and both times the climb was closed due to high winds. It is Saturday today and I have confirmed with a phone call that the climb is open. Before I leave to head out I meet up with friends of mine Naomi and her husband Rob who are keen to come with me.
We are all excited about getting out there and get our stuff together so we can go.
It’s about lunch time by the time we get out to the base of the rock and it’s quite hot. As we start the walk up the first stretch of the hill there is no chain rope to hold on to and Naomi has a panic attack. Now this is a scary climb even with the chains to hold on to. Naomi lets fear get the better of her and was sitting down shaking like a leaf as Rob and I try and coax her to keep going. She is determined she cannot make it and wants to sit there and wait for us to get back. Now there was no way we were going on without her so Rob tries to comfort her and let her get over the initial fear and we hoped she would realise she could do it. After about 10 minutes and a couple of my terrible jokes she is ready to have another crack at it. Rob takes her hand and leads her up until they reach the chain and then there’s no turning back. It’s a slow process and Naomi is still shaking like a leaf all the way up and is almost in tears but does not give up. I went on ahead of them and took a few photos waiting until they caught up. Once we reached the end of the chained section that was the steepest part conquered and the rest of the climb was not as scary. We all walked together from here to the very top and by this time Naomi’s nerves had started to settle and it was all good. Over 30 people had died or been injured doing this climb so it’s not surprising that people freak out. As for Naomi in her words “I did it and I’m never doing it again” as for me I would like to do it once more before I leave. Well done Naomi you should be proud of yourself.
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