Holiday rentals news - Australia moves to ban climbing on Uluru

Australia moves to ban climbing on Uluru

Tourists could be banned from climbing on Uluru, Ayers Rock. The Australian government wants to protect the rock from damage.

As well as protecting the rock, officials are concerned for the safety of those who climb Uluru each year - an estimated 100,000 people, according to The Daily Mail. The ban has also been proposed out of respect for the Aboriginal owners of the "sandstone monolith", who consider it to be sacred.

Tourists renting Australia holiday homes could be banned from climbing the 550 million year old rock within 18 months. Despite some opposition from tourism groups, support is strong from the Aboriginal community: "The rock and the ground around it is sacred...and traditional owners have wanted the climb closed since the land was handed back to them in 1985," said Vince Forrester, a spokesman for the traditional owners.

Respect is shown towards other attractions with religious significance, he argued: "You can't go and climb on top of the Vatican, you can't go and climb on top of the Buddhist temples....Obviously you have to respect our religious attachment to the land too, so we're saying: please do not climb Uluru."

People will still be able to appreciate the rock by walking around it and talking to Aborigines, Forrester added. Many people are attracted to Uluru by the way it changes colour depending upon the weather and the time of day.

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