I’m thinking of taking a trip to Australia next month or so, and have to decide whether it’s worth going to Ayers Rock.
Pros:
Cons:
Anyone visit and have any thoughts? I know from experience that certain iconic sights aren’t worth the effort.
IMHO it IS worth going to, assuming you do not travel to Australia often. Especially if you have no other destinations in the “Red Center” scheduled…if you are only going to see one thing in that general area it may as well be the Rock.
One thing that I would have done differently is I would NOT climb the Rock like I did last time, and I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are really into rock climbing, or something. Climbing the rock seems to me now to have been a very touristy thing to do.
In retrospect I would rather have taken the guided tour around the base of the rock which was the other option on the day I was there…I think you can learn more about the religious and cultural significance of it that way. There are also some little billabongs (water holes) around the base, some of which dry out from time to time and some of which also have cultural/religious significance, but as a biologist and bird watcher I also appreciated them for their ecological interest.
From what I remember it was possible to fly into the resort near the rock itself, or take a bus from Alice Springs, which was several hours away. This might work out cheaper, I don’t know. FWIW I was there in May of 1994 (honeymoon).
Re: climbing the ‘Rock’, the indigenous custodians of Uluru would really prefer you did NOT do the climb, because it is a sacred site of immense importance (not just size-wise either). They understand that most tourists would be Very Pissed Off if they could not scale the rock, but perhaps you could choose to respect their wishes and take the guided tour as Laughing Lagomorph suggested.
You won’t have a heart attack or fall off that way either. 
Go!
There more to the Red Centre than Uluru (Ayers Rock). And you can fly into Uluru, or into the Alice and drive to Uluru.
What kambuckta said - don’t climb Uluru.
Also visit Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), the MacDonnell Ranges, Finke Gorge (especially Palm Valley), Kings Canyon, Pine Gap (although you will not get near it), Chambers Pillar, and a host of other places.
“In the middle of freaking nowhere, …” is one of the best reasons to go. Nowhere else in the world, except probably Antartica, can you be n the middle of freaking nowhere! The Red Centre is freaking red beyond belief!
Also, you will never see the night sky with all those stars better than in the Red Centre.
I’ve been to all I listed and would go back in a heartbeat.
They will be heading into the summer in Sept. so I hope you like killer heat, and I mean killer. Northern NSW, where we stayed, is semi-topical. Lots of avocados, macademias, bananas, and Jackaranga trees. It’s a long and expensive trip so if you don’t have a lot of time I would see other things. If you like beaches go to Byron Bay (near Russell Crowe’s digs). It is one of the world’s most beautiful beaches; go out and see the great barrier reef; also the Three Sisters west of Sydney. If you want to stay in one place, we stayed at the La Mancha Health Retreat in northern NSW, cheap and basic, but with people coming and going it was a really great way to get to know some "real " australians. Enjoy your trip. 
Never been there, but I’d not miss it for the world. Talk to those wonderful people at G’Dope and get the drum on this. Finer folk are hard to find.
Uhh, September is the beginning of spring, not summer. The real heat doesn’t kick in until December through to February or March.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology the mean maximum in September is 24 - 27 C or 75 - 80 F. It may be hotter this year we are having an Indian Summer at the moment in Sydney and it’s forecast for 31 in the Alice.
Definitely go to Ayers Rock. And all of the other places that Duckster mentioned. I was there in 1999, flew into Alice Springs and joined a tour group for a couple of days. Did the West MacDonnell Range on one day, drove down to Ayer’s Rock Resort and did Kata Tjuta with a barbeque the next day. Up early the next morning to see the sunrise on Uluru, then did a small walking tour of the base and Cultural Centre. Took a helicopter ride in the afternoon over both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Went to the sunset viewing of Uluru that night, then ate at the Outback Pioneer BBQ (emu sausage, roo & croc kebabs, cooked myself.) Up early the next morning for a tour of Kings Canyon, a long hike, but well worth the time and effort. Came back that night and ate at the Sounds of Silence Dinner. This costs extra, but you do not want to miss it. The food is great and the light show is unbelievable.
You can see more about my trip and what I think are good things to see at this site. Unfortunately, I only have pictures up through the West MacDonnells, I got sidetracked, then had a problem with my scanner.
So yeah, I would definitely recommend going to Uluru.
Go for it, it’s something you have to do at least once in your life - bit like kissing the Blarney Stone. the aboriginals prefer you don’t but equally they don’t mind if you do - just go up the ‘proper’ route (don’t be an ass and go rock climbing on some other part) and prepare to find out just how fit you really are…
It’s a fair hike from Byron to the Barrier Reef, though.
Definitely do it if you’ve got the money to get there. I haven’t been, but apparently it’s absolutely amazing. I’ve never heard someone say they were underwhelmed by it.
I’ll just repeat what others have said - it’s probably best to be polite and not climb Uluru. I couldn’t tell you how far the traditional owners dislike of people climbing on it extends, though. I’d always got the impression that it didn’t impress them at all, however.
Sounds like a rather unaminous vote. Just wanted to make sure it wasn’t like Pisa.
I’m looking at taking a Contiki tour as a single. The one that includes Ayers Rock is $589 more than the one that doesn’t! So that’s why I felt the need to ask…
I’m sorry, but I have to vote against it. My wife and I did our honeymoon with a tour company called Globus. For the same price, you could do Melbourne, Sydney, Cairns (great barrier reef) and Ayer’s Rock (Alice Springs), or skip Ayer’s Rock and see several cities in New Zealand.
The reason is because flying into Alice Springs is a pain in the ass and as others have wisely stated…it isn’t all that close to the Rock anyway, so you have to alot a number of extra days to really see it. And of course…it’s just a friggin’ rock…
I know it means a lot to some people, but in the same amount of time you would spend flying into and out of Alice Springs, I think you would get more from your vacation dollar sticking to coastal cities and have a better time. Of course this is just an opinion. I like the desert as much as the next guy, but to me, the American Southwest desert is equally nice and I think if it weren’t for the Crocodile Dundee movies, no one would even bother visiting the Outback.
Well… I suppose… if you really like sheep.
(D&R)