Uluru or not to Uluru?
 

I've been lurking on this board for the past month and I've obtained 20 pages of notes in preparation for our trip about June 2005. We are a middle-aged couple in our mid 60's. We've never stayed in a 5* hotel or resort and don't plan on starting now. We prefer to be centrally located, clean and safe. An ensuite bathroom is nice but we can definitely survive without one. We would rather pay less and travel more. Our itinerary will include Sydney, Melbourne (probably staying with our son-in-laws' parents) and Cairns. We haven't decided about Uluru yet. My husband would just as soon skip it because of the cost and he's seen it in pictures but I suspect that he would love it once he was there. He has been to and enjoyed the Colorado National Monument and Grand Canyon and loved them both. I would like to go simply because it is there and it isn't like anything in Connecticut. Is it possible to fly in one day and fly out the next and still have enough time to do some walking near Uluru and learn something about the aboriginal people who live in that area?

We will be flying between locations except for renting a car to "do" the Great Ocean Road. I haven't investigated any of the Quantas airpasses so might that be a way to keep costs down?

I certainly appreciate all the advice that has been posted on these boards and I will be asking for more advice as our trip nears.

Barbara in CT (incidently, we are both under 5'8")

Hi Barbara,

It is certainly possible to fly in one day and fly out the next and still get to walk around at the rock.

It really depends on what your expectations are in relation to the rock. I have been to the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley etc and they leave Ayres Rock as a poor second cousin in my view.

You will have to stay at Yulara which does have extremely high accommodation costs and quite frankly I do not believe the money asked is justifiable.

If you do decide to come out here to see the rock then at least you are picking the best time of the year to do it. The temps will be mild and there will be no flies to drive you crazy.

There is aboriginal history with Ayres Rock, however contrary to popular belief the current aboriginals that live at the rock are not the traditional owners and in fact prior to the early 1980's you would not have seen an aboriginal at Ayres Rock. It was a ceremonial place and was taboo to go there unless taking part in a ceremony.

The current aboriginals were relocated from Western Australia by the Government after they failed to locate any living traditional owners. So the current aboriginals were brought in to give the tourists an aboriginal experience. However it has since back fired on the government and the aboriginals have claimed the place and now pretty much rule it. A lot of what was once accessable to the public has now been locked away.

Cheers

Paul_S

i vote yes.

it took me 27 years to reach the grand canyon and when i did i was so mad for never having done it before.

this summer, on my 5th trip to australia, i finally visited uluru, just overnight, and i found it appealing in the very same ways as the grand canyon.

you cannot tell from the one picture of uluru how stunning and varied the features of the rock are. there are no images of these because they are sacred to the aboriginal people who ask that photos not be taken- this is why there seems to be just one sterile image of uluru.

there are two reasonable accommodation choices that are not budget breakers and you can find a cheap-ish qantas flight.

i landed at 2pm and rented a car and toured the cultural center, did two small hikes at the base and visited kata tjuta all in the first afternoon and then did the round the rock walk the second morning.

uluru is very much like grand canyon in that the changing light changes the way the rock looks each time. it is also like the grand canyon in that if you see it as "just a rock" or "just a gash in the earth" then maybe nature is not for you.

asutralian winter was a perfect time for a visit- i saw almost no flies and the weather was crisp and comfortable for hiking. if this is your only ever trip to australia, i would say yes, go.

i also learned a great deal about the local culture and i really throughly enjoyed my overnight there, despite the expense.

it is very easy to drive yourself everywhere you want to go and to pick up a hike with a ranger for free.

there is a night sky presentation for about $35 AUD that gets you to a telescope to see the stars, instead of the costly sounds of silence dinner.

i would say if you are incliding to visit, don't make a fuss- hop on a plane from cairns and then return to sydney and you'll be happy of it!

the hotel that is reasonable is: the pioneer lodge.

Hi, Barbara in Connecticut!

I don't know whether I have anything of importance to add to the two excellent replies above, but I always make a point of replying to any post written by Americans who stand under 5 ft 8.

It's a long way to look at a rock, I always think, and there is no doubt that the rock's custodians have decided that everyone who does go there must necessarily be as rich as Croesus and just dying to be separated from their money. There is simply no excuse for the astronomical costs of just about everything you will encounter while in sight of Uluru.

On the other hand, Uluru is right smack in the centre of one of the most unique areas in the world (as you say, it is there, and it is NOTHING like Connecticut!), and you are coming to Australia at exactly the best time to visit this area (the outback nights, I warn you, will be as cold as, well, Connecticut, but that probably won't worry you unduly). Everyone compares Uluru to the Grand Canyon, but when you go out to see the canyon, you see much more than a hole in the ground... you get the whole area and the people and the history.... well, it's the same with Uluru. You're coming all this way, and you're not going to love Melbourne in June, even with your son-in-law's parents as a bonus, so I would have to say.... yes, do it, but try to make Uluru part of something bigger: Alice Springs, the Olgas, whatever else you fancy in the great outback.

One way to keep costs just a bit reasonable might be not to fly right to Uluru, but to get one of the periodic cheap flights to Alice Springs, hire a Campervan (or similar), and then drive yourself. It may not be necessary to sleep at Uluru at all (but I bet they charge you more just to park than if you drove into New York!) I know we drive on the wrong side, but I can't imagine that you'd be daunted by the "traffic" out in Australia's centre!

I can't tell you any more about the Qantas Airpasses than you have read while lurking on this forum... the general opinion seems to be that you are not saving any money by using one, although there is a certain convenience attached to the security of knowing that you have a flight when you need it. Australia's internal airfares are laughably volatile -- a trip from Sydney to Perth, for example, can occasionally be snapped up for around $AUD40, whereas at other times you might pay around $AUD400. Thanks to a price war between Virginblue and Jetstar, the general trend lately has been downwards. By next June... who can tell? But I think that if I were you I'd forego the airpass and keep lurking at the Virgin and Jetstar sites, and grab a cheapie as it comes up (not as easy as it sounds.... you almost have to be AT the site at the very moment the specials are released, they go so fast).

I hope your plans work out well, that you have a wonderful time in Australia, and that you don't run into any chipped desks!

We actually took a Qantas package to Uluru - airfares and 3 nights at Outback Pioneer Hotel for less than $600 each, last month, out of Sydney, and there were cheaper hotel options.

In future, I'd pick up a car at the airport (although check out the prices on Thrifty Car Rental at the hotel). Having a car beats waiting around for buses and tours. Be aware that just about everything there is expensive. The snack bar at the Outback Pioneer is not too bad a deal.

Only Qantas flies into the Rock at present, so you don't have much choice. Get the email Qantas newsletter, which will alert you to special prices, and see what's on offer. You can fly there from Cairns, as well as Melbourne and Sydney, so perhaps in from out and out to the other.

And yes, it is worth visiting, even for a short time. I am a bit wary though - a couple of years ago, a Californian contacted me and asked my opinion of going there. His other option was a visit to the Barossa Valley in South Australia. I felt that the Barossa probably wasn't TOO different from other wine regions, in comparison to the Red Centre, as the heart and spirit of Australia. When he got back to Sydney, he said it was OK, but there was too much nature. I couldn't find an appropriate answer to that.

I'm sure a Connecticut native is much better informed!