Rolf Potts in the Australian Outback

Slate began a Well-Traveled series today by Rolf Potts about his trip to Australia to explore aboriginal culture—and particularly the uneasy relationship between the continent’s indigenous people and curious tourists. That relationship, Potts notes, can easily be captured on film at the famous red monolith Uluru, by the sign near the trailhead.

“This sign, which was erected by the local Pitjantjatjara people, solemnly requests that you don’t climb up the face of a rock that they consider sacred,” Potts writes. “Aim your camera at a certain angle, however, and the top half of your viewfinder will capture the knots of tourists who’ve decided to climb the rock anyway (aided by a safety chain designated by the Australian National Park Service for that very purpose).”

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