Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon via Alice Springs [© 14/12/09]
In October, Sue and I decided to see the big rock in Australia's red centre.
We've both seen a lot of the outback, but neither of us had ever taken
the 461 km [286 mile] journey west of Alice Springs to see this great
Australian icon.
For over 10,000 years the rock was known as Uluru. In 1873, William
Gosse named it Ayers Rock in honour of the then Chief Secretary of
South Australia.
In 1985 the land around the rock was returned to the Anangu Tjuta
people, on condition it be leased back to the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service for 99 years. The Anangu Tjuta and the ANPWS are currently joint caretakers, and the name Uluru was quite rightly restored in 1993.
Although Uluru is often described as the world's largest monolith, the largest is actually Mt Augustus in Western Australia. Just the same, from a distance, Uluru certainly looks impressive. With it's grey sandstone rusting at the surface, it provides an amazing canvas for displaying each of the colours of the rainbow as the sun rises/sets.
Camping at Uluru
From some time around 1920 onwards, Uluru became a popular tourist attraction of sorts, though not many people would have seen it back in those days. Cars and trucks were rare, and the roads were little more than bush tracks.
It was also, quite literally, in the middle of nowhere. [The geographical centre of Australia, known as Lambert Springs, is about 200 km or 120 miles south of Alice Springs. As Australia has a land mass totalling roughly 7.7 million square kilometres, this is close enough to the middle of nowhere for me!]
In the early years, tin sheds and lean-to's were erected and visitors tended to camp out at the base of the rock itself. This messy hodge-podge was ironic, given white Australia's tendency to turn its collective nose up at the humpies and shanties Aboriginal fringe dwellers have been forced to live in for far too many years.
It was in one of the original camping grounds close to the rock that a dingo snatched Azaria, the baby daughter of Lindy and Michael Chamberlain, in 1980.[a]
All of the original camping grounds and shacks have since been bulldozed for an area of 20km [12 miles] around the rock, and a new village, Yulara, has been built to accommodate visitors, in either camping grounds or hotel units.
The Yulara resort
If you have ever been to Disney World in Florida [USA] you will have some idea of the set up at Yulara. There are themed hotel clusters, with a regular shuttle bus service connecting each. Each cluster has its own selection of eating places, with a range of prices to suit all budgets. There is also a small shopping mall, and a medical centre run by the Royal Flying Doctor Service. On day two at Yulara we had lunch at a deli in the mall, with the freshest, healthiest food at the best price we’d found so far.
For a map of the resort go to www.ayersrockresort.com.au/resort-map/ - check out the rest of the resort site for photos of the different eateries, types of accommodation and so on which are available.
The service at Yulara rated 8 out of 10 with us - which is pretty high by Australian standards, and a lot better than many European cities. [Disney World gets 11 out of 10 because, lets face it, nobody does service like Disney World.]
We stayed in the Outback Pioneer Lodge hotel, and had a room in a nice bush setting, complete with bath. The BBQ bar was a great place to eat dinner, with prices ranging from $20-$30 Australian: The idea there is to choose from a range of meats including ordinary beef sausages, emu, kangaroo steaks and so on, then take your meat to one of the many hot barbecues waiting for you to cook it to your own taste. I noticed that most of the overseas visitors were keen to try kangaroo or emu steaks, but, neither of these being to my own taste, I simply opted for beef sausages as an excuse to sample the large range of salads included in the price.
All of this was in an outdoor area under a large roof, which included
a bar so you could complement your meal with some wine or beer if
you wished. When you buy alcohol at the bar you are required to
provide your room number or other evidence that you are staying
at the resort.[b]
Unless you go to nightclubs, most bars in Australia will provide water
free of charge if you make a point of asking for "tap water". [Naturally
it costs something if the water is bottled]. Lots of people, like me,
actually prefer water to alcohol, so no one will think you are cheap
if you ask for water. Bars also tend to have good espresso machines,
so I rounded off my barbecue evening with a latte. [Unless you are
in a major city it's a good idea to ask for a "double shot" of coffee if
you want it reasonably strong.]
The only complaint I could honestly make about the rooms was a very, very faint odour of septic tank, which is probably to be expected in the middle of nowhere. While waiting for a shuttle bus one day, we got to chatting with a nice young lady who supervises the room-cleaning staff, and she said the last job she does each day is to go from room to room and run taps for a few minutes to freshen the water sitting in the bathroom drains.
The bus trip from Alice to Yulara
Several bus companies operate tours to Uluru, Kata Tjuta [for a while known as The Olgas] and Kings Canyon from Yulara each day. Because we booked our holiday by phone and internet from Melbourne, without doing a lot of research first, the whole process was a bit hit and miss, even though the people at the AAT Kings office were endlessly friendly, helpful and patient.
We decided to fly to Alice Springs [the Northern Territory capital], spend a day in Alice to recover, then take a 3 day "old fossil's" bus tour to Uluru, Kata Kitju and King's Canyon, then return to Alice and spend another full day there before flying home.
Once we got to Yulara we were disappointed we had not booked extra nights there, because the grounds, the pools, the weather and the atmosphere were so relaxing. Having seen the sunset at Uluru on the first night, the last thing we wanted to do was get up the next morning in time for a 5 am bus back to the rock for a sunrise, so we chose to sleep in, instead. This meant we also missed taking one of the walks around the base of the rock. I guess the reason most tours try to cram everything into 3 days is because a National Parks entry pass is a 3 day pass.
If you are keen to get up for a 5 am bus trip, it is quite easy to book an early morning reminder call from the hotel reception, and it's also possible to order a breakfast. The breakfasts themselves were ridiculously priced, and consisted of foods I would never eat, so, after checking out the breakfast contents and price, consider buying a sandwich or wrap the day before and keeping it to eat the next morning. Alternatively, buy yourself a small serve of cereal [which comes in a bowl] from a supermarket before you leave Alice Springs/home, and buy a tub of yoghurt or some milk at the resort - refrigerators are standard in Australian hotels and motels.
As the Connellan [c] airport is only 6km from Yulara, it is possible to fly straight to Yulara and choose your bus trips from there. Other options you might consider include tours conducted by local Aboriginals themselves [you'll find some links to websites with other options at the end of this article].
On the plus side, the bus trip had its advantages over flying directly to Yulara. The road trip from Alice provides an opportunity to see and hear things you might otherwise miss, such as Mt Conner. Uluru and the other interesting sites were quite a distance from Alice and each other, and while the bitumen road is in excellent condition, we didn't have to stress about driving, flat tyres, mechanical problems, or the location and cost of petrol. Tour operators are also very good at reminding people to drink plenty of water, and, so long as you have a bottle with you, you can get refills of cold water from the bus any time they stop along the way.
The countryside looked much as it usually does "out there" and, being on a bus, we were able to read or chat quietly, confident that our driver would make an announcement if there was anything to look at, pointing out feral camels, wedge-tailed eagles and so on along the way. His commentary revealed that the area and both its white and Indigenous history fascinated him. He also played some interesting DVDs of the history of white exploration, and about local bush tucker.
One of the highlights of the onboard entertainment was Len Beadell's address to the 1991 Rotary convention in Shepparton, in 1991. An engineer, Len was sent out to establish a network of roads and open up a million square miles of Australia on behalf of the government. Len was a product of his time and made some politically incorrect statements [e.g.this was land which "hadn't been touched by anybody since the world began"], but his address was hilarious in a very typically laconic, if white, Australian style.[d]
On the down side, we were required to wear seat belts on the bus, which ruled out the possibility of any kind of singing, joke telling or so on to develop a bit of atmosphere. I suspect the seat belt rule is a combination of state law and bus company insurance requirements, as there are plenty of trains and buses in major cities where people have no choice but to stand.
For people whose English is not the best, the trip might also have been rather tedious, as they missed some interesting information, and were also asked not to speak too loudly, so the English speakers could hear what was going on.
One of the stops along the way was at a camel farm - Sue and I have already taken camel rides before, but if this is your only chance, make the most of it! I felt infinitely safer on a camel than I ever have when seated on a horse.
Alternatively, consider booking a camel tour, by checking out some of the sites listed at the end of this article's footnotes.
Taking photos of Aboriginals
Personally, the very idea seems just plain rude to me. Aboriginals are not freaks, they are people. Just because they might be too polite to say they are hurt or offended by this rudeness does not mean they have no feelings.
Our bus driver made several requests for people not to take photos of Aboriginals when we stopped for a break at the Mt Ebenezer Station roadhouse. In fact, he stressed that it was also not okay to take wide angle shots of the station cafe and "accidentally" include Aboriginals.
Sure enough, the first thing several people did was go straight
up and ask some Aboriginals if they could take photos. The first
time we stopped at the station, joy of joys, a four wheel drive
arrived at a great clip, and out jumped half a dozen Aboriginal
men, probably in their late 20s. They leapt forward at every photo
opportunity, charging $20 a shot and then, as soon as the bus was
loading again, went on their way. Sue and I roared laughing to our-
selves, wondering if they had a spreadsheet with bus timetables on it.
There is an art gallery and gift shop within the roadhouse and a postcard costing about $1 might have been much better value than $20, far less offensive and would help the local community. [Footnote [f] to this article provides a link to plenty of respectful photos and videos of Western Desert people.]
The roadhouse and gallery are owned by and directly benefit the Imanpa people, who also own the Angus Downs station where the roadhouse is located. For many years the station has been a nature reserve, but the community hopes to re-establish cattle operations in the near future. [e]
Climbing Uluru
In 1964 a series of hand grips and chains was installed on the rock to help climbers. The bus driver advised people that the chap who installed these was quite short, so tall folks might need to bend a little on the way up.
Unless you are a seasoned climber, make sure you have a physical check up before attempting the climb.
35 people have died climbing the rock, many from heart attacks.
Four Italians on our tour were devastated the morning they arrived to find the climb was closed due to the risk of climbing in high winds, so make allowances for that possibility if the climb is your primary purpose in visiting, and try to build some flexibility into your plans. [f]
The Anangu Tjuta people hold Uluru to be sacred, and so respectfully request that visitors not make the climb, but the climb is not forbidden. In addition to the sacred nature of the rock, the Anangu also feel personally responsible, and that it is a sorry [ grieving] business when someone is hurt climbing Uluru. Traditional Aboriginals don't like to say NO in the outright and forthright way westerners do - and even when they do speak English, it's often not their first language.[g]
It is unfair to criticise the Anangu Tjuta for charging entry to the National Park if they don't want people to climb Uluru - they do not have sole authority in the Park as it is jointly administered with the ANPWS. Further, most of
the money collected is spent on maintenance, highways, providing and cleaning toilets, park rangers, preservation and so on. I might add that plenty of tourist agencies, airlines and hotels also make a profit from people visiting Uluru. The resort itself is privately owned and operated.
Personally, I only get out of bed in the morning because after a while it's just too tiring to stay there, and the last thing I would want to do is climb a huge and challenging monolith. On the other hand, were I a climber, I would probably try to honour the wishes of the Anangu Tjuta. Why?
Mainly because I can remember standing inside St Peter's Basilica in Rome, surrounded by thousands of tourists gawking and taking snaps of what is to me, as a Catholic, my spiritual home. Although I'm not sure I even believe in the idea of God, Catholicism and its tenets define a great deal of who I am, and I do feel a sense of peace and belonging when I walk into a Catholic church. In St Peter's, I felt a deep sense of sadness that something so sacred and meaningful to so many for so long had been reduced to a photo opportunity. Mind you... I did get some great snaps while I was there...
Kata Tjuta [the Olgas]
Kata Tjuta is a local Aboriginal name meaning "many heads", and so is an apt name for the 36 domes that make up this amazing landscape. Mt Olga is the tallest of the domes, and at 1066 metres is 198 metres taller than Uluru.
Deep under the earth, Uluru and Kata Tjuta are both part of one continuous seam of rock.
The first shot above shows Kata Tjuta from a distance. The second shot is of some delicate wildflowers near the carefully constructed walkway to the dunes viewing area. Although the area looks desolate, it's amazing what you find if you look closely enough. Some thoughtful person has even placed a cigarette butt right near the flowers to help you gauge their true size. The third shot is of people heading out on the Valley of the Winds walk.
One of the distinct disadvantages of bus trips is that they are required to run to timetables. Stage 1 of the Valley of the Winds Walk is only 1.1 kilometres, but I'm not an athlete and had no desire to kill myself trying the distance in the allotted time. Sue did it of course: Despite being 62, she has always been a full-tilt hiker and bushwalker, and is extremely fit. I decided to sit and enjoy the surroundings at the base of the walk. Sue managed the course in the allotted time [just] but I would never have been able to keep up with her.
Kings Canyon
The next stage of our trip required a transfer to the Kings Canyon Resort where the rooms were a little more basic, and the resort far smaller than Uluru. The septic tank odour in our room was quite overpowering, and the only way to make our room liveable was run half a tub full of hot water down the drain and leave the bathroom fan on the whole time we were there.
We arrived too late to get sandwiches or something similar from the general store, and found the alternative dinner options obscenely overpriced. Call me mean, but I refuse to pay more than $35 for a piece of steak, and I really don't see the need for any sane but sedentary person to consume a whole pound of meat in one sitting.
We compromised by buying a couple of small, take-away pizzas, and scraped the topping off those. The doughy bases went straight into the bin where they belonged.
On the other hand, Kings Canyon itself was the highlight of the whole trip.
The first photo below shows a Kings Canyon Sunset as seen from a viewing platform at the resort. [More spectacular than Uluru, I thought]. The next two were also taken at the resort: firstly a Sturt's Desert Rose as it looks at a glance, and then a close up of the rose itself.
There are several walks available at Kings Canyon, with two options offered to those on our bus tour. These are described by several Northern Territory websites with the same wording as below:
- The Canyon Walk (6 km loop Approx. 3-4 hrs duration) This walk begins with a steep climb to the top of the Canyon, then follows the Canyon rim around before descending to the carpark. Approximately half way along the walk is the 'Garden of Eden', a delightful area of cool waterholes and riverine vegetation communities. This walk requires a medium to high level of fitness with some strenuous sections. Extreme care should be taken in the hotter months (Sept - May) when walkers should consider other shorter walks as alternatives during the middle of the day.
- The Kings Creek Walk (2.6 km return Approx. 1 hour duration) This walk meanders along Kings Creek ending at a lookout point, then returns by the same route. It can be rough underfoot, so sturdy footwear is essential. Information signs on the Aboriginal cultural uses of the area are located at several points along the route. This walk has assisted wheelchair access for approxmately half the walk and the remainder is suitable for walkers of all ages.
We took the shorter walk and, although it was a pity not to see "The Garden of Eden", we were not disappointed by our experience of the Canyon floor. The bus driver who took us on this walk had a great personality, and a wealth of information about the landscape and all the plant life we passed through. Everything is very well signposted with advice about local birds, Aboriginal significances and more.
Photo 1 above shows potential spears growing, 2 is just a sample of some of the amazing rock formations in the canyon wall, and 3 is the plant from which twine is obtained for a number of purposes, including attaching spearheads to shafts.
Below, photo 1 shows ghost gums in the canyon floor, 2 shows a fern [in the centre] which must be just a hint of what rimwalkers see in The Graden of Eden. Photo 3 shows a section of the rim walk - in the top left hand corner is a platform to help walkers cross from one peak to another. The Garden of Eden is on the other side of the rim.
Alice Springs
For the history of Alice Springs, you might like to visit the local Council website. [h]
The population of the area covered by the City Council is about 27,000, of whom some 17% are Aboriginal, compared to about 29% altogether in the Northern Territory.
Alice is host to several interesting annual events, including a Camel Cup and, every year in August/September there is a regatta on the dry river bed. If you can be flexible about the timing of your trip to Alice, check out the council website to find out what's on and when.
The regatta started in 1962 as a send up of the British Henley Royal Regatta. As the only dry river regatta in the world, it is the only regatta ever known to have been cancelled because there was actually water in the river, which happened as a result of flooding in 1993. There is a special website dedicated to this event run by the local Rotary organisation, and well worth a visit. [i]
It is commonly said the Todd River runs "upside down", because in truth, although the riverbed is almost perpetually dry, there is groundwater underneath the dry bed, and at several points bores have been sunk to access it.
Alice Springs is such a small place that a cab from one place to another around town won't break the bank.
We found a great place to eat was the Memorial Club [or "Memo" Club] at 127 Todd St, not far from the mall. While the decor in the bistro was a bit basic, the club was clean, the menu was great, the prices were great, what I ate was great, and the service was excellent. Lunch is not in the Bistro itself and was not, on the day we were there, so great an experience, but an evening meal there is highly recommended.
One of the best things about visiting places far from home, for me, is finding a bookshop full of titles I can't find anywhere else. The Red Kangaroo Bookshop in Todd Mall was chock a block with books I wanted to take home, but I eventually settled for half a dozen.
Accommodation in Alice
While in Alice we stayed at the All Seasons Oasis, and the accommodation was fine. [If you prefer, you might like to look on the internet for serviced apartments which would include a kitchen. They seemed to be plentiful in the town.]
Breakfast was included with our room, and it was jolly good as motel breakfasts go. The staff were always pleasant.
There is also a restaurant in the complex - the only night I ate there it was extremely busy because a private function was happening in an adjacent dining room. This created a little chaos and confusion when I ordered a meal and I waited forever to get what I ultimately ordered.
The Manager stepped in to help me as soon as he was aware of the problem, promptly delivered what I had originally hoped to order but had been told was not available, and, although it cost more than the second option I had paid for, he did not ask for the price difference. What I had originally chosen was a spinach and ricotta pasta with betroot jus and it was well worth the wait. 10/10 for service and taste after all!
I would recommend that if you are booking accommodation in Australia yourself [and not through an agent] you either book directly with the hotel/motel you want, or use wotif.com as we have sometimes found discounts at that site, and have NEVER had any problems with our bookings.
On the other hand, we did once use a different site and when we arrived at our then destination the motel manager threw a tantrum, saying this was the third time in a week he had people turn up with bookings through the site which he had never heard of. Although he honoured the booking - and regardless of whether there was simply a communication problem in his own business or he really was being scammed - the whole experience was most unpleasant.
FOOTNOTES
[a] The sensationalist rubbish, which followed when Lindy was charged with murder, was an embarrassment to Australia. Lindy and her family suffered an abominable miscarriage of justice and it is no surprise to me that she now chooses to live in the USA. - return to story
[b] Asking for evidence of where you are staying does not mean the bar operators are worried you won't pay, rather, it is an extension of rules designed to ascertain who will be drinking the alcohol purchased. For example, under a rule introduced by the previous federal government, anyone who spends more than $100 on takeaway alcohol in the NT must have their ID recorded and say where they plan to drink it. This sometimes takes overseas tourists by surprise, as it even applies in, say, a supermarket bottleshop.
There are also many agreements, registered with the liquor licensing commision, between specific communities and local alcohol outlets.
This sign appears above the door at the Mt Ebenezer station - return to story
[c] Known as the Ayers Rock airport, in Qantas speak - return to story
[d] You can find information about Len Beadell, and his talks, books and DVDs at http://www.beadell.com.au/ . -
return to story
[e] you can read about the Imanpa community at http://www.waru.org/communities/imanpa/ -
return to story
[f] Anangu Tjuta, of the many Western Desert [Anangu] Peoples, are the people who help care for the environmental and cultural heritage of Uluru and Kata Tjuta. You'll find lots of fascinating information, videos, and downloadable fact sheets on a range of topics if you visit http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/uluru/culture-history/culture/index.html and then take a good look around the rest of the website.
If you are interested in the question of whether to climb, Anangu feelings about this and when you definitely cannot climb, look for the downloadable sheet titled Please Don't Climb [it's quite revealing].
This is probably an important site to scour for info if you are planning a trip to the red centre and want the ins and outs of opening and closing times, when the Uluru climb is definitely closed, and more along a similar vein.
return to story
[g] If you would like even more insight into the difference between western and some Aboriginal manners and language than at the website link in footnote [f], you can download a booklet called Aboriginal English in the Courts, published by the Queensland Department of Justice. You can find it at www.justice.qld.gov.au/files/Services/Aboriginal_language_in_the_courts_handbook.pdf -
return to story
[h] For the history of the area, and information about special events in Alice Springs, you can go to http://www.alicesprings.nt.gov.au/ - return to story
[i] http://www.henleyontodd.com.au/ . - return to story
There are oodles of websites offering all sorts of tours and activities in the red centre, from helicopter flights to station-stays, 4WD escorted trips and so on.
For tours run specifically by the Anangu, you might start by visiting http://www.ananguwaai.com.au/ or http://www.aboriginalaustralia.com.au/tour_info.cfm?id=68
- camel trips are among their options.
I hope you found something useful or interesting in this article. Thanks for visiting.
If you have any questions I might be able to help you with, please email me!
regards,
Jane
Jane's mog - Travel 
Email jane's mog