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Uluru & Kata Tjuta


Riekie

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Hubby & I had a mad 4 day dash to Alice Springs & back to Sydney a week ago - detouring to Uluru and Kata Tjuta. It was hot as hell but we finally got to see the big rock! It was just awesome! And hiking in the KataTjutas was just so humbling to be surrounded by these miracles of creation. I wish we could have stayed longer, but we will definitely be back! For me it was almost like a pilgrimage to the heart of Australia! thumbup.gif

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Gosh, it is so beautiful. What a wonderful land we have to discover :)

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Awesome photos and very inspiring. I don't quite feel that you've really seen Australia until you've been to the outback, and I can't wait to check it out.

I've been getting edgy lately about doing a road trip, the last one being Melbourne to Adelaide at Christmas and before that, Melbourne to Noosa. My point is, they have been a bit 'too easy' and I really want to try something a bit more remote. I reckon driving up to Alice Springs would be awesome.

Given you said 4 days, I'm assuming you flew, Riekie? Did accommodation cost you a fortune?

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Given you said 4 days, I'm assuming you flew, Riekie? Did accommodation cost you a fortune?

We flew in and drove back - 3500km's - did 1400km's the last day (15 hours of driving, it was crazy!) Long story short, we had to pick up our landrover in Alice and get back in time for hubby to catch his flight to Singapore, so we had no choice. It involved a 800km detour to Uluru, but I was not going to drive almost right past it without seeing it.

We stayed in the Ayers Rock Campground @ Uluru - paid $41 for the night and could stroll up on the dune next to our spot to see Uluru. They also have cabins for $150 (sleeps 6 ppl, with shared bathroom facilities) and there's the outback pioneer hotel which charge $240 for a budget double room with ensuite per night (or a 2 night package for $299 for 2 ppl - extra ppl are $50 each) - waaaay cheaper than the luxury hotels on average $2000 per night for 2 ppl!

All these accommodation options are in the same resort with a IGA, servo, pub, post office, internet, swimming pools, restaurants, cafes etc and a shuttle bus to take you from point to point. We had dinner at the Outback Pioneer Hotel - you buy your raw meat and cook it yourself on the BBQ's - it includes a eat-as-much-as-you-like salad bar (incl. spuds, corn on the cob, dessert etc). I had a huge beef burger for $14 and hubby had a selection of emu, crocodile, buffalo, kangaroo and beef for $24 - absolutely worth it! The funny part is that you need a booze licence to buy alcohol, even in the pub! You get it when you book into your accommodation and have to show this as well as your driver's licence to buy a drink.

Handy websites to plan your trip:

www.ayersrockresort.com.au - scroll down and click on the accommodation option you want. for some reason they do not mention these options in the accommodation tab at the top of the page (maybe hoping if they don't "advertise" the cheaper options, ppl will just fork out the $2000...)

www.centralaustraliantourism.com

You could fly directly to Uluru or via Alice Springs

You could fly to Alice Springs then rent a car and drive to Uluru - nothing much to see, enroute though, unless you detour via the national park but that would take much longer...

You could hit the road and camp along the way - looong stretches of absolute nothing though. Between Uluru and Coober Pedy is nothing for 800km's - not even a left or right turn!

You could take a 4X4 and go offroad into all the national parks in the area such as Kings Kanyon, MacDonnell Ranges, Simpson Desert etc (there are good roads for normal cars to some of these places too, but it limits you to the main roads. Simpson desert is 4x4 only).

For a short visit I'd recommend a flight into Uluru, take the shuttle to the resort and use the shuttle services at the resort to get where you want to be. the only thing is getting to Uluru and Kata Tjuta from Yulara - there are tours and shuttle options, but they cost money. The cheapest option is $65 for a sunrise trip and you still have to pay the $25 park entry per person.

Yulara (the resort) is located about 20km from Uluru (Ayers Rock) and about 40km from Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) to put things into perspective, so you do need wheels. The gates open at about 5am and close at about 9pm, and your park entry is valid for 3 days unlimited entry. You could either view Uluru from the first viewing point (where I took the first photo) or drive right around to the other side (where I took the last 2 photos) - both are absolutely stunning!

Hope this will get you started (and more excited! smile.gif) - shout if you need more info.

PS: Summer is low season, so no problems finding accommodation anywhere and it is also cheaper - hot as hell though!

This is a photo I took from the plane - the road to nowhere on which we later travelled... It's murder!

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:blink:

That's simply awesome feedback, Riekie, thank you. A lot of food for thought there. Good to hear there are affordable accommodation options, the only ones I saw were very expensive.

Sounds to me like a trip of a lifetime. I'm actually considering doing the Australian Outback Marathon one day and we may or may not combine this trip to coincide with that. First I need to run a marathon though. :lol:

Thanks again.

Edited by HansaPlease
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First I need to run a marathon though. :lol:

laugh.gifthumbup.gifstretcher.gif

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It involved a 800km detour to Uluru, but I was not going to drive almost right past it without seeing it.

Love it. That's like a detour to Durban while driving to Johannesburg from CT.

When I was still in RSA an Aussie that was working at the same company showed me the distance between Alice and The Rock, which looked minute on the map and then told me it was the same as Jhb to Dbn, gave me a big shock.

We had folk over from the UK and they couldn't believe it was a 2 hour flight from BNE to Cairns.

And then there's the story of the pilot telling the passengers that they'd just crossed the Australian coast. One person starting getting their hand luggage together. Someone had to tell them it was still 4 hours to Sydney.

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We need an "Invaluable Travel Tips" section for posts like this!!! :ilikeit: :ilikeit: :ilikeit: Thanks so much for this one Riekie. It's now on the to-do list! We're wanting to do the train to Uluru - I'll look into fitting this in with the info you've given here. Maybe do the train one way and fly the other. But car hire is going to have to be factored in.

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Riekie, when you say you flew in and collected your land rover, was it yours or one that you hired? Fly in, drive out sounds really appealing, but I'm guessing it would cost a mint to get our SUV there?

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It was ours - broke down in Kings Canyon a week b4 Christmas (got dirty diesel in the tank - don't fill up in Kings Canyon!) so had to have it towed to Alice where it sat until the town opened again 10 Jan, then waiting for parts etc... (Told you it was a long story.... LOL)

Just to explain about dirt diesel/petrol: because it is so hot there, they float the diesel/petrol on water in the underground tanks. When the levels get too low, you get water in your tank - disaster! Better to fill up along the main roads...

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About the distance: in the outback, 800km is nothing in comparison to everything else and a detour of that distance is a quick one. In the city, picking up something 4 suburbs away is too far... LOL! Your whole perspective changes when you're out there!

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Ouch! I have a diesel, so that's good information to know. I've often wondered about diesel quality out in the sticks...

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  • 2 months later...

You guys have taken some awesome fotos!

We have to visit there as well, its is so beautiful! :)

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Riekie!

Those photos are great, the composure good and interesting. Being into photography shows.

I guess I've been lucky enough over the past few years to experience what Riekie has done.

Each wintertime now, my wife and I hitch up our caravan and just head north from the Adelaide Hills to "see Australia".

We hit the highway in our 4.2 litre Nissan Patrol and 18' Regent caravan and join all the other "grey nomads" of Australia doing the same thing every winter.

Around 3 o'clock in the afternoon we start looking out for a place to pull up for the night, and by 4 o'clock, invariably, there is a rest-stop on the side of the road where we can pull in and stay for 24 or 48 hours.

Often there is another caravan or two already parked there and by 5 o'clock it's "happy hour" when we saunter out of our caravans with a cold beer, glass of port, cup of tea or mug of coffee to chat with all the other old farts.

We compare rigs (4WDs and caravans) and talk about the strengths and weaknesses of different cars or caravans and also ask where each one is heading and, if they have just come from the place you are heading to, they can give you a couple of good tips on where to pull up for the next night on the side of the road, and what interesting spots to see during the day.

Australia is safe.

I've been camping alongside the highways and byways since I retired in 2006 and have never had any trouble, nor heard of anyone having any trouble.

When the washing basket gets a bit too full, and we start to run out of water for our showers, the batteries in our laptops, cameras and mobile phones run out, then it's time to pull in for the night at a caravan park at $25 to $35 a night and use the 240V power to charge everything up, top up the water tanks in the caravan, use the washing machine for $4 a time and get ready for a few more nights on the road before we need to spend up big for another stay in a caravan park.

Australia is a mistress.

It keeps beckoning me back year after year, always seeing new parts and falling in love over and over again.

You guys should all put a road trip around Australia on your bucket list, like I have.

I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

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Bob, we still have to do that one BIG one together one day... Maybe go completely off the beaten track :ilikeit:

We sold our pop top - LOVED it, but it took up too much space and we did not have the time to put it to use often enough. We've now invested in a roof top tent - best thing since sliced bread!

Our next one will probably be the Kimberleys, but we need enough time to get there and back and still have enough time to enjoy it, which is a bit of a bugger when you're still in the Sydney rat race! Have you done that one yet? Which time of year is best, you reckon?

PS: I like your mistress description - so true!!

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Riekie!

You let me know when you and Martin are ready to do a big trip 4 000 kms to the Kimberleys and another 4 000 kms back to Sydney and we'll talk business.

Ginnie and I am hitching our Regent caravan up in the first week in May to head north . . . . . to the 3 000 000 sq kms of Australia that is north of the Tropic of Capricorn, where it is warm in winter-time.

The best time of the year has got to be winter-time to do the Kimberleys, when it is a steady 25 to 30 degrees each and every day . . . . no cloud, just sunshine.

While you're there, you've got to do the Bungle Bungles, about 250 mms west of the Kimberley Ranges in far north east of Western Australia.

You can drive in and walk around the Bungle Bungles for two days, camping at one of the spots and enjoying the bush there.

We flew over and saw it all from the air, but to walk in is also an experience to put on your "Bucket List". It's a very ancient rock formation, with coloured bands in the rock that indicate the geological period the rocks (sandstone, actually) were laid down . . . . millions of years ago!

But . . . . the north west of Australia doesn't have to be the next place you go. We've been to any number of spots in far west Queensland and the Northern Territory . . . . . each as big in size as South Africa . . . . and we'd love to show you some places off the tourist track that we've been to, and are well worth seeing for their spectacular beauty and worth in themselves.

So . . . . . if you'll let this old Australian be your tourist guide, I'd be glad to have you guys along for a trip or two.

You can show me how to cook with a poikie pot, and I'll show you both how to cook potatoes and onions on a coal fire without the need to wrap them up first in Aluminium foil to keep them moist and tender and unburnt . . . . an old bushman's trick! :ilikeit:

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Bob, you've now REALLY got me itching to hit the road and experience all those places! You can be our tourist guide anytime! No guidebook could ever have the wealth of information a seasoned Aussie traveller like you has! Besides, we'd love the company! We'll bring the "poikie"....

Enjoy your trip with Ginnie up North - I know you're not the "share it all on the forum" type, but a few photos and a good old story will always be welcome! Have a great time! :ilikeit:

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  • 3 weeks later...

I really liked these photos and stories! I want to go visit Uluru some day as well when I live there.

If you guys enjoyed this then you would really enjoy reading Bill Bryson's book on Australia (it sometimes goes by the name of "Down Under", other times "In a Sunburned Country"). It is excellent.

He also mentions that people do not realize just how incredibly huge the country is and how there are many, many kilometers of nothingness out there.

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  • 2 years later...

When you stand next to Uluru and walk in Kata Tjuta you realise that we are all pimples on a rhino's backside and whatever our problems in life, they are miniscule and they will be forgotten one day - but those rocks will still be there...

There is something quite magical about the Territory - just glad I don't live in the Alice any more!

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Beautiful photos! We have never camped or hiked < it's dangerous you know :P > Would LOVE to do this with my kids.

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Wow!!! Incredible!! I am absolutely itching to see the Ulhuru and the canyons...and the remote openness of Aus...what a wonderful experience!!

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