Ayres Rock, Australia is a popular tourist destination as it is really unique and such an unusual place to visit. There are thousands of tourists going there every year by car, bus and by plane. If you want to go take a plane because it is a long way from anywhere. Many tourists make the mistake of thinking that Ayres Rock is at Alice Springs and then find when they get there that they are still 500 Klms. away. They then have to hire a car or take a bus tour to get there.
Car travel is very dangerous in the area and many tourists have come to grief on the long drive. They have lost concentration because of the long, hot boring drive and ended up upside down in the scrub, sometimes dead. There is nothing to see for hour after hour except red sand which soon becomes boring. You should never drive at dusk or early morning there because that is when the wildlife are active. Thousands of kangaroos seem to adopt the road at night as do feral camels and wandering cattle from unfenced cattle ranches. Many a tourist has come unstuck hitting a beast with his car and always coming off second best.
So fly in to Ayres Rock and not Alice Springs. There is a very good airport there which takes all but the largest of planes. However, in the summer time when the heat on the tarmac gets up into the 50's sometimes a departing flight is unable to get started and a aircraft mechanic has to be flown in from Alice Springs causing a delay of several hours. Not much fun for the stranded passengers. And don't do what one young couple on their honeymoon from Europe did. They joked about a gun in their luggage and were refused a flight. As there is only one airline flying out of Ayres Rock they had to hire a car to get to Darwin and home again.
So there you go. The airport there is managed by the resort company as is the whole town. The town is called Yulara and was built by the government to structure the hotel industry into one place just out of the rock. The resort company bought the whole town off the government and now have about five hotels there in various star ratings. There is also a camping and caravan park which is always busy because there are many Australians holidaying in caravans. It is a long way to tow a caravan but some must enjoy it. Every afternoon there is a long queue at the park waiting to book in.
Once you are there safely there is only the rock to see so most people only stay the one day and are off again. Don't do what some tourists have done and wander off into the dessert to explore. Some of the sand hills are 30 feet high and once you are out there you loose all sense of direction. Every now and then someone does wander off with insufficient water or even a hat and are found the next day dead. Even the rock has had it's share of tragedies. There are many plaques at the bottom in memory of people who have died there. Some have fallen off just chasing a had that has blown off. Because the rock is round at the top you can be too far before you realize it and keep going to certain death. One tourist one day found things very hot as he was climbing so he took off his shoes and socks and climbed up in his bare feet. Well it is nice smooth rock so it is easy but because it is like ironstone and the temperature is about 45 degrees he got to the top and wondered why the soles of his feet were barbecued. They had to get a helicopter rescue team in to fly him off.
All in all, if you follow all the safety rules and don't feed the dingoes or wild dogs, watch out for snakes and scorpions you should have a fun trip. Hope your flight gets away on time. Just a note there. I remember one day it was so hot that a plane taking off from Alice Springs on route to Perth used too much fuel getting off the ground. Something about the heat and the air pressure to lift off. They had to land at Ayres Rock to refuel before continuing their journey. That is the outback for you. Always hot, always too many flies and always an adventure. Enjoy, Nick
Hi Guys,
Certainly can be an adventure out there. Plenty of tour companies doing fun stuff to entertain you. You can even ride a camel to a dessert breakfast. Enjoy, Nick
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