BDU: Uluru and Kata Tjuta

BDU: Birthday Down Under - Trip Planning
BDU: Flying to Sydney
BDU: Park Hyatt Sydney
BDU: Sydney Activities
BDU: Sydney Opera House
BDU: Flying to Uluru and Back
BDU: Uluru and Kata Tjuta
BDU: Park Hyatt Melbourne
BDU: Melbourne Activities
BDU: Flying to Fiji
BDU: Hilton Fiji
BDU: Snorkeling Trip
BDU: Flying to Los Angeles
BDU: Hyatt Regency DFW

When planning this trip I knew I wanted to re-visit Sydney (not to mention staying at the Park Hyatt there!) and one of my traveling companions had never been there so I always knew that was going to be an item on the itinerary.  But I wanted to do some new things too.  I'd already seen the Great Barrier Reef on my last trip so I decided on Oz's other great natural wonder, Uluru (OO-LOO-ROO). It wasn't until I started researching further that I learned there's another rock formation nearby, Kata Tjuta (KHAT-ah JU-tah).

We'd had lovely spring weather in Sydney but when our plane landed at they Ayers Rock airport, the weather was HOT.  It's a tiny little airport with only one luggage belt and two gates.  We were amused by the sign in the bathroom that asked people not to wash their feet in the sink.  You just know there had to be a number of incidents leading up to that situation!

Since Uluru is a national park, all the lodging is run by one company, similar to the way national parks here in the US are run.  While I couldn't use traditional hotel points for our room here, by using the ArrivalPlus card from Barclays we were able to use their points to offset the hotel and rental car charges.  It ended up costing us each about $100, which was not a bad deal at all.

And speaking of rental cars, this was my first opportunity to drive on the "wrong" side of the road.  Let's just say I was glad we were in the Outback and there wasn't much in the way of traffic.

The whole Ayers Rock area is fairly compact and our apartment was only about a 10-15 minute drive from the airport.  We got our bags unloaded, changed into weather-appropriate gear and set out for the park - which itself is only about 10-15 minutes away from the resort area.

After obtaining our park passes at the main gate, we headed into the park.  We could catch glimpses of Uluru here and there but then finally we rounded a bend in the road and there it was.  I wanted to stop the car and take pictures but there were "No Stopping" signs all over the place - so apparently I was not alone with that idea!

Hello Uluru!

As it was still full daylight, we passed the sunset viewing areas (separate ones for cars and buses, a great idea) and drove right up to the base for a closer look.  As you can see from our photos, the light can make all the difference in the color of the rock.  Up close it was more orange, while further away (and in lower light) it looks more red.

It is really, really red up close!

There is a path to walk all around the base. It's about 6.5 miles and takes about 3.5 hours to walk.  Since this is the desert there are signs all around warning of the risk of dehydration and heat exhaustion.  The signs also warn people to start the walk early in the morning so they can be done by 11 AM.

We also saw several short posts in the rock with a wire stretching between them.  A sign indicated this was a handrail of sorts for those who wanted to climb the rock - but the same sign requested for people NOT to climb the rock.  To the Aboriginal owers of the land, Uluru is sacred and their men only climb at certain times of the year for ceremonial reasons.  Climbing the rock is not illegal just disrespectful.  And it's quite strenuous. Thirty-five people have died while making the climb.  Uluru is about the height of a 95-story building and the path is very steep.  The days we were there were probably some of the last days of the season there would be an option to make the climb as once the temperature gets too warm (mid-90s) the climb is shut down.

If you want to read more about the reason to climb (or not), check out this post from Outback Australia Travel Secrets.

After seeing Uluru up close, we drove back to the Cultural Centre to learn a bit more about the area and the Aboriginal people.  Of course there was a gift shop and café there - the coolest place nearby, for sure!

We then drove out to the sunset viewing area and camped out for awhile to see the change in the colors.  It's really quite remarkable and it's gorgeous in all light.  Here's your reminder that you can click on any of these photos to enlarge them.

Uluru at sunset

Now if you think you might be interested in visiting Uluru, let me give you a warning that I never saw in all my research.  There. Are. Flies. Lots. Of. Flies. They don't bite, thank goodness, but during the warmest hours they are everywhere.  We ended up wearing long pants just to combat them. Had I been aware of them, I'd have brought a very lightweight long-sleeved shirt just so I wouldn't have to feel them landing on my arms!  The town center near our apartment had a store that sold fly net hats. It's definitely among the best $11 I have ever spent as it kept them off my face and neck.

Too sexy, right?

Fortunately, once the sun went down the flies were much fewer and farther between.  That was good because most (all?) the dining we saw was open air or outside.

Even though we were on vacation, we got up in time for sunrise the next morning, wanting to catch the light from a different angle.  It's just as beautiful in the morning.

Uluru at sunrise

We returned to the condo for breakfast then went back to Uluru for a free ranger-guided tour.  We learned about the culture of the Anangu people and he pointed out some things we might have otherwise missed, like spots where waterfalls are created during the few days a year that it rains, and some cave drawings.

The dark swaths are dried waterfalls

Cave drawings

By the time the tour was over it was starting to get quite hot so we went back to the apartment for some lunch and some R&R.  We did go out to Kata Tjuta later in the afternoon, but in retrospect we should have waited a bit longer and watched the sunset there.  But we ended up with an early dinner before repacking for our flight the next day.

Kata Tjuta

Our flight was at 10:30 and we knew we wanted to arrive at the airport before the shuttle buses from the resort area, so we arrived around 8:50 AM.  Little did we know that the airport didn't even open its doors until 9 AM!  Ours was actually the first flight of the day.  While waiting for the airport to open we wished we hadn't packed our fly net hats because there they were, buzzing around us and being totally annoying.

But soon enough we got checked in and through security to our gate.  We were off to Melbourne!