Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Water, Water . . .
Water taps are scarce and kiosks nonexistent in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National
Park. Always carry your own drinking water when sightseeing.
Tips
2:30pm March through October, 3:30pm November through February. With
hotel pickup, the tour costs A$84 (US$55) for adults and A$58 (US$38) for chil-
dren. Self-drive and it costs A$52 (US$34) for adults and A$27 (US$18) for kids.
For an Aboriginal insight into the Rock without paying for a tour, join the
free
Mala Walk
(see “Walking, Driving, or Busing Around It,” below); it dis-
cusses Aboriginal culture and is often led by an Aboriginal park ranger.
DISCOVERING AYERS ROCK/ULURU
AT SUNRISE & SUNSET
Sunset is the peak time to catch the Rock's beauty,
when oranges, peaches, pinks, reds, and then indigo and deep violet creep across
its face as if it were a giant opal. Some days it's fiery, other days the colors are
muted. A sunset-viewing car park is located on the Rock's western side. Plenty
of sunset and sunrise tours operate from the resort. A typical sunset tour is that
offered by
AAT Kings
(
&
08/8956 2171
), which departs 90 minutes before
sunset, includes a free glass of wine with which to watch the “show,” and returns
20 minutes after sundown; the cost is A$29 (US$19) for adults, A$15 (US$9.75)
for children 4 to 14.
At sunrise the colors are less dramatic, but many folks enjoy the spectacle of
the Rock unveiled by the dawn to bird song. You'll need an early start—most
tours leave about 75 minutes before sunup.
CLIMBING IT
Aborigines refer to tourists as
minga
—little ants—because
that's what we look like crawling up Uluru. Climbing this thing is no picnic—
there's sometimes a ferociously strong wind that can blow you right off, the walls
are almost vertical in places so you have to hold onto a chain, and it can be freez-
ing cold or insanely hot. Quite a few people have died climbing the rock from
heart attacks, heat stress, or simply falling off, so if you're not in good shape;
have breathing difficulties, heart trouble, or high or low blood pressure; or are
just plain scared of heights, don't do it. The Rock is closed to climbers during
bad weather; when temperatures exceed 97°F (36°C) (which they often do from
Nov-Mar); and when wind speed exceeds 25 knots, so climb in the stillness of
early morning.
Warning:
Wherever you go at Uluru and Kata Tjuta/the Olgas,
bring lots of drinking water with you from the resort.
If that doesn't put you off, you'll be rewarded with views of the plain, Kata
Tjuta/the Olgas, and Mt. Conner. The surface is rutted with ravines about 2.5m
(8
1
⁄
4
ft.) deep, which demand scrambling. The climb takes at least 1 hour up for
the fit, and 1 hour down. The less sure-footed should allow 3 to 4 hours all told.
Note:
The Anangu do not like people climbing Uluru, because the climb fol-
lows the trail their ancestral Dreamtime Mala men took when they first came to
Uluru. They allow people to climb but strongly prefer that they don't.
WALKING, DRIVING, OR BUSING AROUND IT
The easy 9.4km
(6-mile)
Base Walk
circumnavigating Uluru takes about 2 hours, but allow time
to linger around the water holes, caves, folds, and overhangs that make up its
walls. A shorter walk is the easy 1km (just over
1
⁄
2
mile) round-trip trail from the
Mutitjulu
parking lot to the pretty water hole near the Rock's base, where there
