Mighty rock Uluru gets better of tourist

SYDNEY - A British tourist who tried to climb Ayers Rock barefoot has become the latest visitor to underestimate the rigours of the Outback.

The 38-year-old Londoner tried to scale Uluru wearing a pair of plastic sandals. When the shoes became too hot he removed them but soon found his feet were getting blistered and burnt.

He bound his feet with his ripped up T-shirt and kept plodding towards the 348m-high summit. But the rags kept falling off and within an hour of setting off at 7.45am the temperature had reached 42C. A national park ranger was dispatched to give him water and administer first aid. The Briton had to be rescued by helicopter and flown to a clinic in nearby Yulara.

He agreed to pay the A$600 cost of the rescue operation and presented rangers with a carton of cold drinks in gratitude. To add to his humiliation, rangers said his 6-year-old son reached the top quite easily. About 400,000 tourists visit the rock each year. At least 30 people have died while attempting the climb.