{"id":24892,"date":"2018-01-24T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-23T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures?p=24892&#038;preview=true&#038;preview_id=24892"},"modified":"2025-07-17T02:43:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T16:43:14","slug":"belgian-backpacker-uluru","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/belgian-backpacker-uluru\/","title":{"rendered":"This is what it looks like when a Belgian backpacker moves to Uluru"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>This post originally appeared on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/belgian-backpacker-uluru\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Outback Yarns<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s 7pm and I\u2019m watching an incredibly beautiful pink sunset over <a href=\"\/australia\/uluru\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpil=\"url\">Australia\u2019s Red Centre icon, Uluru<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As I recently moved to Mutitjulu, an aboriginal community at the foot of Uluru, I have the honour to say that the world\u2019s biggest monolith is the view from my backyard.<\/p>\n<h3>How I ended up at Uluru<\/h3>\n<p>A little over a year ago, I decided to travel <a href=\"\/australia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpil=\"url\">Australia<\/a> on a \u2018working holiday\u2019. I booked myself a one-way ticket to Melbourne and found a job at Intrepid Travel which opened my eyes to this country\u2019s ancient and rich culture. Last year Intrepid Travel launched a new aboriginal experience at Uluru; this is how I ended up working for their indigenous partner organisation, <a href=\"https:\/\/maruku.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Maruku Arts<\/a>, based at Mutitjulu community, at the foot of Uluru.<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_9238.jpg\" data-rel=\"penci-gallery-image-content\" ><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-30292\" src=\"\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_9238.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_9238.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_9238-425x239.jpg 425w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_9238-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_9238-585x329.jpg 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a>Moving to a remote aboriginal community<\/h3>\n<p>So many questions went through my mind when I was asked to move to a remote aboriginal community, 450 kilometres away from the nearest \u2018larger\u2019 outback town.\u00a0 Am I going to be able to say goodbye to the city life? Who else is living out there? What\u2019s the accommodation like? How will I cope with the heat when it gets over 40\u00b0C? After Skyping with my future teammates about my concerns, I said yes to this unique opportunity. When else would I get the chance to live and work in the heart of the country with Aboriginal artists, Aussies and other Europeans from France, Spain and England? I\u2019ve been here for two months now and I can tell you that I\u2019ve had zero regrets.<\/p>\n<h3>Why I love my job<\/h3>\n<p>Maruku Arts is where I\u2019m working. (\u2018maru\u2019 means \u2018black (skin)\u2019and \u2018ku\u2019 means \u2018of\u2019 \u2013 \u2018of the black skin). It is a not-for-profit craft company, owned and controlled by Anangu (Aboriginal people from the Central and Western deserts), one of the oldest living cultures in the world. For 35 years, Maruku\u2019s goal has been to benefit the artists, their families and their communities, and to play a key role in keeping the traditional cultural practices alive throughout the Anangu lands.<\/p>\n<p>Maruku offers dot painting and woodcarving (punu) workshops, introductions to bush medicine, <em>inma<\/em> (traditional dance) and traditional desert tool demonstrations. The paintings and <em>punu<\/em> (woodwork) can be admired at the Maruku gallery at the Cultural Centre in the Uluru\u2013Kata Tjuta National Park.<\/p>\n<p>My job allows me to give travellers visiting Uluru the chance to learn about Anangu culture and history. \u00a0I\u2019ve been learning from Anangu, the traditional owners of the land surrounding Uluru about their \u2018country\u2019, culture, andfood. I\u2019ve also been learning the local aboriginal language, called Pitjantjatjara, so I can interpret for the local artists leading the tours.<\/p>\n<h3>A typical day<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_mala-walk_cultural-experience_02.jpg\" data-rel=\"penci-gallery-image-content\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-30284\" src=\"\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_mala-walk_cultural-experience_02.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_mala-walk_cultural-experience_02.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_mala-walk_cultural-experience_02-425x239.jpg 425w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_mala-walk_cultural-experience_02-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_mala-walk_cultural-experience_02-585x329.jpg 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a>In the morning, I pick up a local artist from the community and \u2013 after our morning greeting \u2018mungamungawiru\u2019 (good morning) \u2013 we drive into the small outback town of Yulara where we give dot painting workshops. The 30 minute drive from \u2018Muti\u2019 to Yulara is always interesting; this is when the artists teach me new Pitjantjatjara words, mostly about the weather, the plants and animals surrounding Uluru, or the tjukurpa (stories) of the creation time of all living creatures and landscapes.<\/p>\n<h3>Leading workshops<\/h3>\n<p>Then it\u2019s time to start the dot painting workshop. First, we teach our guests about the sand drawings of the symbols used in traditional art. Before there was pen and paper, this was how Anangu passed down their knowledge, generation to generation, for thousands of years.<\/p>\n<p>We also give them a demonstration about the traditional tools used for hunting, gathering food and rituals. When attending the dot painting workshop, travellers also get the chance to create their own work of art to take home and to show their family what they\u2019ve learned from a traditional owner of the land.<\/p>\n<p>I can\u2019t describe how special it is to be interpreting for the artists who speak their language Pitjantjatjara; and to see how much our guests are amazed by this ancient way of teaching, learning and passing on stories.<\/p>\n<h3>The afternoon spent at Uluru<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_8880.jpg\" data-rel=\"penci-gallery-image-content\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-30281\" src=\"\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_8880.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_8880.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_8880-229x119.jpg 229w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_8880-425x223.jpg 425w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_8880-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_8880-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_8880-1170x614.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_8880-585x307.jpg 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/a>In the afternoon, we drive back into the National Park and, after enjoying our mai wiru (good food), we go out on another cultural experience. The Kuniya walk, along the Mutitjulu waterhole track, is a great introduction to the cave art at Uluru. As well as learning about the rock art in three different caves, travellers are also taught about the sand drawings of the symbols used in traditional art, and given a demonstration of the traditional tools.<\/p>\n<p>When I first went on this walk, I thought those initial \u2018wow\u2019 moments would quickly lose their impact if you came out here every day, but I was wrong. Knowing these rock paintings are at least 10,000 years old, and seeing the artists talk about them as if it happened yesterday, makes you realise how strong this culture still is, and how much they enjoy sharing their stories with the rest of the world.<\/p>\n<h3>A tough but rewarding experience<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_30288\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_9188.jpg\" data-rel=\"penci-gallery-image-content\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30288\" class=\"size-full wp-image-30288\" src=\"\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_9188.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_9188.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_9188-425x239.jpg 425w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_9188-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_9188-585x329.jpg 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-30288\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Patrick O&#8217;Neill<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Moving to Mutitjulu has been one of the most challenging, but incredible, experiences I\u2019ve ever had. The chance to move into a \u2018donga\u2019 with a window view of Uluru? Not a lot of people get an opportunity like that. But as someone who\u2019s never lived in the outback, it\u2019s also been quite intense; I\u2019ve never had to deal with lizards in the bathtub, spiders in the donga and snakes in the backyard before this!<\/p>\n<p>Working in the desert with this culture (that\u2019s <em>so<\/em> different from mine) has also made me appreciate all the things in life I\u2019ve taken for granted. There\u2019s no need to check the weather app if you can ask Anangu. The sky might be perfectly clear, but if they tell you \u2018kapi pitjani\u2019 (rain is coming), you can be sure it\u2019s going to storm. When I go on tour, the artist will always spot a lizard before I\u2019ve even had the chance to look around. I\u2019ve been given honey ants to eat, freshly dug from the ground. I stop talking and listen when I hear the birds singing. And I\u2019ve learned to appreciate the feeling of a cool breeze at the end of a hot day, and that watching the colours of Uluru change at sunset is one of the most magical sights on earth.<\/p>\n<p>Palya (thanks) for reading. I hope you have the chance to come visit us in Uluru one day.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Explore Australia&#8217;s rich culture in the <a href=\"\/australia\/uluru\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpil=\"url\">Red Centre<\/a> on a small group adventure with Intrepid.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>All images by Isabelle Liekens<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I have the honour of saying that the world\u2019s biggest monolith is the view from my backyard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16019,"featured_media":30290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[286],"tags":[26,1943,725,551],"class_list":["post-24892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-australia","tag-indigenous-culture","tag-red-centre","tag-uluru","ipf_region-australia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.3.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>This is What it Looks Like When a Belgian Backpacker Moves to Uluru | Intrepid Travel Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Last year, I travelled to Australia on a working holiday, finding a job at Adventure Tours.They launched a new aboriginal experience at Uluru, which is how I ended up working for their indigenous partner organisation, Maruku Arts, based at Mutitjulu community, at the foot of Uluru.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/belgian-backpacker-uluru\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This is what it looks like when a Belgian backpacker moves to Uluru\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s 7pm at Uluru and I\u2019m watching an incredibly beautiful pink sunset over Australia\u2019s Red Centre icon, Uluru. As I recently moved to Mutitjulu, an aboriginal community at the foot of Uluru, I have the honour to say that the world\u2019s biggest monolith is the view from my backyard.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/belgian-backpacker-uluru\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Good Times by Intrepid\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/intrepidtravel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-01-23T21:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-16T16:43:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Intrepid-Travel-Adventure-Tours-Australia-australia_northern-territory_uluru_9096.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" 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