Twenty-seven years ago, in the Red Centre of Australia, I climbed the 350 metre high great red monolith of Ayers Rock. As I stood atop this strange prominence I felt a real spiritual high. These days, climbing Uluru, as it is now called, is discouraged as visitors to the Australian scenic landmark increasingly recognize that it is sacred to the indigenous people.

For anyone still wishing to climb the dramatic rock formation as part of their travel bucket list, there’s just two years left to do it before all climbing will be banned. A park board made up of a majority of the Anangu – the traditional owners of the land where Uluru stands – made this decision last month. The last day of climbing will be Oct. 26, 2019, a date chosen because it is the anniversary of the date in 1985 when the land and the formation called Ayers Rock were handed back to the Anangu people. After that, no one will stand atop, listening to the wind and feeling the awe that filled me nearly thirty years ago…