Uluru and Kata Tjuta | Northern Territory Australia

We had a wonderful winter break in Uluru staying in the Ayers Rock Resort which is in the Northern Territories of Australia. The Ayers Rock Resort is within the town of Yulara and there is a courtesy bus to allow you travel within the Resort. Our accommodation was fantastic and we had a view of the Uluru out the window. This allowed us to view Uluru at all times of the day.

Uluru is an amazing place that wows you with its size and wonderment of how it got there. It is also a very spiritual and cultural place which includes rock paintings that have been there for 5000 years.

As it was winter there were not many flies around the resort area and this was generally the case until we went to the Kata Tjuta or the Olgas. Then we wished we had followed other people’s example and worn a hat that was available from the Uluru Resort Shopping area, which you could attach fly netting to, that would keep the flies off your face.

The daytime weather was beautiful but being in the desert it gets very cold at night which we really noticed on the first night when we went to a bush dinner at the Field of Lights. I had been warned about how cold it would get but didn’t really understand how much the temperature would drop so didn’t have the layers of clothes I needed and instead kept warming up on the gas heaters and open fire.

The Field of Lights evening was fantastic and there was so much more to it than looking at Uluru at sunset. With the bush inspired menu and the entertainment which included an informative presentation section on the Uluru night sky which, with the lights turned off showed the night sky in such a clear way that you don’t normally see in the city.

The next morning, we went on a sunrise tour of Uluru which included a light breakfast. It was awesome seeing the sun and light rise over Uluru and getting a walking tour and the traditional stories of part of Uluru. Learning about the caves and how people have traditionally lived for many centuries added a new aspect to Uluru. We also learnt about the areas which are used as part of ceremonies for both men and women but which the other sex are not able to enter.

In the afternoon we went on a walking tour of the Walpa Gorge in Kata Tjuta (the Olgas). The Olgas is a stunningly  fantastic mix of shapes and formations. The tour guide encouraged us to take regular breaks and it was with a great feeling of achievement to reach the end of the trail but sadly we then had to walk back through the flies. We also stopped after the tour to take a toilet break and see the majesty of Kata Tjuta from a different angle.

When we got back to the resort we checked out the shops and restaurants. For dinner we eventually decided on pepper berry beef and rice from a shop in the resort which we took back to our room. It was absolutely delicious and something we would both have again when we go back. Afterwards we took the courtesy bus to explore the resort area a little bit.

There was so much to do and we wish we had stayed for longer than 2 nights as we could only pack so much into that time. We flew via Alice Springs losing half a day on Saturday and almost all of Monday on the return journey. There are also direct flights or the option to fly in Alice Springs and hire a car to visit Kings Canyon and walk around the rim.

Not having a car meant we were not able to visit sights when we wanted to but the cost of hiring a car was something we felt to be very expensive so if there is the opportunity to bring your own car or hire a car somewhere closer like Alice Springs or Adelaide maybe that would be a better option.

There is so much we didn’t have time to do – Segway’s, cycling around Uluru, tours to aboriginal caves with art paintings in the local area but not at Uluru, the cultural centres at both Uluru and the Ayers Rock Resort, a tour of Uluru at sunset, a tour of Kata Tjuta at sunrise and Kings Canyon which is said to be a must see among the many things to do. It would also have been good to stay longer and rest between excursions so do one excursion per day and then exploring on our own.

We had one of the most unusual experiences at the airport when we flew out as the crew to check us into the flight, arrived after the bus transfer dropped us off so we stood around waiting to check in which was a kind of eerie feeling. It did leave us plenty of time to check into what flights were arriving and from where and consider other route options to get to Uluru.

For more information on accommodation and things to do click here.