ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR TOURS.WILL BE THERE IN AUGUST FOR TWO DAYS. ALSO HAS ANYONE TRIED THE "SOUNDS OF SILENCE" WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO USE MY TIME FOR A LIMITED STAY AND WHAT IS A GOOD HOTEL TO STAY AT.

I'm going their next week (March 7-9) and have signed up for the Sounds of Silence tour and two others. I'm staying at the Gardens in the Desert. I'll try to remember to pay attention and let you know when I get back from vacation on March 18.

Here's the scoop on the "Sounds of silence" dinner. There are about 8-10 tables with 10 places at each. When I went, not all the tables were full. We were offered a glass of champagne or orange juice upon arrival. After about 30 minutes, we went up to the top of a small hill for canapes, more champagne and a view of the sun setting over the Olgas and Ayres Rock. The area of the dinner was quite sandy and walking up and down the hill with the sand shifting can be interesting. The dinner is mainly a buffet, with red or white wine served during the meal and port served with dessert. During the meal, you are entertained by a didgerido(not sure of the spelling). During the meal, a poem of sorts is read before the 5 minutes or so of complete silence. Before the dessert, all the candles and torches are turned off and some one will talk about the southern stars and some of the mythology involved. I myself enjoyed it, but beware that insects are everywhere and will visit your table. I stayed at the Desert Gardens hotel in the resort area. It has a tour desk if you want to book tours. All the resorts at Ayres Rock are connected by complementary shuttle service. Hopes this helps.

Amen to above -

Hi!<BR><BR>We were at Uluru during the first week of March for 3 days.<BR>I would definately recommend the sounds of silence dinner, by far it was one of the best experiences of our trip.<BR>Yes the insects are in abundance, but they don't bother you too much after a while (and a few glasses of wine). Wear long trousers and you will be fine.<BR>We went on a sunrise trip and sunset trip combined with the olgas.<BR><BR>We stayed in the sails in the desert hotel and the rooms were really lovelly.<BR><BR>Enjoy!