AustraliaQuest is an interactive expedition developed by Classroom Connect. For five weeks a team of scientists and explorers will examine the ancient culture of the Aborigines and attempt to determine how it affects their modern existence.

The Uluru experience

Uluru at sunset

ULURU, NORTHERN TERRITORY, Australia -- Uluru, Australia's most famous landmark, appears like a giant Bundt Cake on the horizon. Big and round and brown in the midday sun, it is an unlikely feature on an otherwise flat landscape. Only when you get close does its power project. Over two miles long and 348 meters tall, it's one of those rare natural wonders that makes you cock back your head and drop your jaw. Four-hundred-thousand tourists visit it annually. Over the years, 32 or them have died trying to climb it.

We came to this icon of Aboriginal spirituality to meet a traditional owner and to learn from him. Cassidy Uluru is an Anangu elder who achieved fame last month when he lead off an Olympic torch relay that ended in Sydney. He's also famous for taking people into the bush to tell stories and show them how to live off the land. I had visions of a wise, traditional man and a spiritual journey into the wilderness. What better way to seek the essence of Aboriginal wisdom?

My bubble popped when I discovered our trek would begin at Uluru Park's Cultural Center and end a half-mile away at a parking lot. Cassidy wore blue jeans, a cowboy hat, and a shirt patch that read ANANGU TOURS. He spoke almost no English. A snotty interpreter wearing a Boy Scout outfit and a bad attitude recited everything he said as if from a script. I rolled my eyes, and marched behind them.

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We stopped at a bush clearing along the way as Cassidy showed us how to make an adhesive from the minyura tree. Next, he made a stick-and-stone weapon that could be used to kill and cut open a kangaroo. He demonstrated a spearthrower and flung a spear 100 feet with lethal accuracy.

Cassidy then told us a story about the Blue Tongue Lizard Man who stole emu meat from the Panpanpalala Man and stored it in a cave near Uluru's peak. It was a long story, which our interpreter translated mechanically, pointing dramatically at the rock. It ended with the Blue Tongue Lizard Man accidentally dropping the emu meat and falling to his death. I asked what lessons the story offered.

"There are three of them," the interpreter replied nasally. "Number one, don't climb Uluru. Number two, don't steal and number three ... er ... I can't remember number three for some reason..."

"Emu meat is slippery?" I suggested.

Cassidy's demonstrations were interesting but in a sad, touristy sort of way. They lacked authenticity. At one point, I jotted in my notebook; "the true, traditional Aborigine who lives the life that produced the wisdom we seek probably doesn't exist anymore."

On the Mala Puta trail at Uluru's base, we strolled by the hole in the rock representing the kangaroo's pouch. Signs forbid photography and informed us that only women should look upon this ceremonial site. There, in an incredible stroke of luck, we met Evonne Goolagong-Cawley on the trail.

At Uluru, Cassidy demonstrates how to throw a spear

Evonne Goolagong-Cawley is the Aboriginal tennis champion who won Wimbledon twice and inspired a generation of youths to join sports. Next to sprinter Cathy Freeman, she's probably the most famous native Australian alive. For the past nine years, the Mutitjulu community in the shadow of Uluru has become her spiritual center. Today, she wore running shoes, shorts, and a polo shirt. I wondered what going back to her roots had taught her.

"The traditional Aboriginal way of life has taught me that you not only have to be connected with your environment," she replied. "but you also need to take time to connect to yourself."

As we left Uluru and headed back to Alice Springs, I sat in the back seat of John Spencer's Land Rover. I hadn't asked him about Aboriginal wisdom yet.

"Don't just speak from your mouth," he said. "Only words come from your mouth. Speak from your heart."

"Anything else?" I asked. I was looking at the back of his head. I'd really come to respect John in these past 10 days. I will miss him when we leave.

"Yes," he said. "Listen to everyone. No one is an expert and everyone has something to say. That is the most important lesson you can take from our people."

As Uluru disappeared in the rear view mirror, I thought about what good advice this was. I realized that sometimes the greatest discoveries are sitting right in front of you.

Pedals Up!
Dan Beuttner

AustraliaQuest
Classroom Connect