(This is grown from my previous Uluru post, but I figured it needed a new thread title)
We’ll be visiting Ayers Rock as part of our Big Australia Honeymoon™ this September. Gonna be a quick trip out there: flying in from Cairns on Thursday afternoon, flying out to Adelaide on Saturday morning. In between we’re hoping to do the Sounds of Silence dinner (probably on Thursday) and take all day Friday to see the big rocks and do the obligatory sunrise/sunset photo shoots.
My question is how we should see these things. Kata Tjuta, in particular, is a good 50+ km from the resort where we’ll be camping. And I can’t find any mention of a shuttle bus or anything like that.
Should we rent a car to make sure we catch all the sights? I know there’s aborigine-styled tours around Uluru but can’t find any clear description of a tour that covers BOTH places. Plus we think those are a tad gimmicky (all due respect to the aborigine myths, which are in themselves very interesting).
Any recommendations?
Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of the tour company, but I took a ultra cheapo backpacking type tour out of Alice Springs. It was pretty quick, but we did get to spend most of a day hiking about Kata Tjuta (the Olgas, right?) and then seeing the sunset and sunrise at Uluru. I also climbed Uluru, even though this pisses off the Aborigines. I figured that it’s going to be closed down one of these days, so it was probably the chance of a lifetime. It’s an awesome hike and windier than all get out. I was pretty satisfied with the tour. I was a bit pressed for time so I didn’t mind the quickness, and I felt like I saw the stuff I really wanted to.
Thx for the recommendation, any other thoughts? Surely some folks have seen the big rock…
I’d say that The Olgas are definitely worth visiting. I drove out from the resort late in the afternoon, and arrived as the last tour was leaving. I had the Valley of the Winds trail to myself. Everone else was headed back to Uluru to jockey for a sunset-viewing parking spot.
While I appreciate the cultural significance of the area, I went to experience it as a natural wonder. I also hiked to the top of Uluru. Up on the summit at sunrise, it was really cool to see the Rock’s shadow streching out to the west. Being able to have a couple of hours of solitude without the crowds was the best part of my visit there.
Once again, I want to recommend that you get one of those mosquito net-things that goes over your hat and covers your face and neck. The flies there will drive you mad otherwise.
All quiet on the Western front… bump… any other thoughts?