No sun? No worries!
18 days in the land down under.
18 days in the land down under.
The Red Center
Our three-hour Qantas flight from Cairns to Ayers Rock (AYQ) started off
over lush green forests and farm land—looking down on some of the
towns we had just driven through a few days before. But, it wasn't long
before the outback unfolded beneath us, and then miles and miles of
barren landscape of the Northern Territory. After awhile, you will certainly
know why they call it the “Red Center.” It’s fascinating terrain to fly over,
really—for the first time, anyway.
Visiting the Red Center was a dilemma for us for quite awhile and probably
the last major part of the trip to be put in place.
First, we struggled with whether to include this area or the Darwin/Kakadu
area. Both were of interest, and we’d heard some great things about both
spots, Kakadu in particular. The decision came down to two things, really:
we felt we would need more days for Darwin/Kakadu (but available days
were running short at this point), and the flight times out of Darwin seemed
inconvenient (i.e., leaving at 1am). As an aside, once in Australia, we heard
that the Darwin area was having an unusually wet and cool June, as well.
Originally, we thought one of the camping trips (e.g., Connections Safaris)
might be a fun and unique way to see the area, but we wondered about
logistics and sleeping in the chilly night air. We also debated about
whether to include Kings Canyon and Alice Springs or just to focus on
Uluru and Kata-Tjuta. Again, with just a couple of days at our disposal, we
decided just to visit the Uluru area. As appealing as Kings Canyon was,
the prospect of a 400km drive between the two was not.
We then moved on to looking at conventional hotel options. As everyone
knows, Voyages has the market cornered here, and it ain't cheap. In
addition to the lack of competition, though, is the need to bring in and
house all of the staff, and that also drives up the prices. More on that later.
We reviewed the key options, and although we’re usually not ones to pick
the top-of-the-line resort, we found a winter special for Sails in the Desert
that seemed pretty good. For about the same price (around $285, or close
to half the rack rate) we could have a standard room there or a deluxe room
at Desert Gardens. Lost Camel looked interesting, as well, but we would
have had to book two rooms.
So, Sails in the Desert it was. We didn't read too many favorable
comments about this resort before our visit, so our expectations were
pretty low. The accommodation turned out to be just fine—our room was
spacious, with two queen beds and a sofabed, a private patio, and a large
bath with Kohler fixtures. Most of the furnishings appeared to be newer. All
in all, it was very quiet and comfortable. The hotel grounds are spacious,
so it never appears all that busy, even when full (apparently Qantas
canceled a flight one of the days we were there, sending more than 100
people back to the resort to be accommodated). The pool area is nice,
although there really aren't enough chairs. We enjoyed a soak in the pool
to reward ourselves after hiking more than 18km in less than 24 hours.
The real issue here is service. The whole place seems to be run by a
handful of people in their early 20s—pleasant, well-intentioned and trying
hard, but not very well trained and far too few of them. Restaurant service:
slow. Poolside service: slower (actually, we had to go get it ourselves).
Housekeeping: we found the previous guests’ trash behind the curtains.
Reception: can’t answer a few basic questions correctly. That’s the part
that makes the high cost hard to stomach. By the way, this is not just a
knock on Sails, but the whole resort. But, we do understand the challenge
here.
Finally, we had decisions to make re: how to see the area. We downloaded
all of the package information, but it wasn't until about a month before the
trip that we decided to just rent a car and do most of it on our own. Sure, we
might miss out on some interesting information, but we would be able to
do everything on our own schedule—at a far lower cost.
We rented a Camry from Hertz and were off and running before most of the
people on our flight from Cairns, including a large contingent of teenage
People-to-People Ambassadors from Illinois and Indiana, even had their
luggage. (As an aside, we ran into groups of P2P Ambassadors all over
Australia, and they seemed like nice kids and really well-run groups).
We spent our 48 hours in the area as follows:
Valley of the Winds walk at Kata-Tjuta. This was our favorite. Allie said
she was “giddy” with excitement. It’s a little over 7km and has some
challenging parts—a reasonable fitness level and good footwear are
required.
Uluru base walk. We started around 10:30am and finished in about three
hours. The walk is a bit over 9kms, more when you add several diversions.
It’s one thing to see the rock from a distance; it’s quite another to see it up
close. The walk is relatively flat, but in some areas you are in the sun for
quite a while. We were of the belief that there are no flies in the winter. Not
true. Some people were walking around with the bug-net hats on. Some
people were climbing; we did not. We considered joining the Anangu tour
for part of the base walk, but the timing just did not fit with our schedule.
Cultural center. This is a must for learning about the area and its
indigenous people. And, it is helpful to do so early in your visit.
Sunset and sunrise viewing. We went to the sunset viewing area (Uluru)
both nights...the second night officially joining the “party” with our cheese,
crackers and wine. We were especially fortunate to have an almost full
moon hovering right over Uluru. We also made a quick drive out for the
sunrise one morning. Both viewing areas are only about 15 minutes from
the resort.
The one “tour” we booked for the area was for the evening night sky
session at the Observatory. We figured it would be interesting to learn a
little something about the stars of the southern hemisphere. I should
mention that, during the previous day and a half in the area, we’d had the
most amazing clear blue skies for our hikes. But wouldn't you know it—the
few little clouds we’d noticed on the horizon at sunset erupted into full-
blown cloud cover by the time 8:30pm rolled around (and were
miraculously gone the next morning). Our “tour” was canceled.
Dining at Yulara is about on the same level as the accommodations—
price wise.
The big dining experience for the area is the Sounds of Silence dinner. We
thought about it and decided not to. Sara and Francesco, whom we met on
our snorkeling trip, said the setting was lovely but that the food was just
okay. As it turns out, had we done it, it would have been on the night that
became cloudy, and that would have been a real disappointment.
We did try the buffet dinner at Winkiku (Sails) on our first evening. We were
tired and it was convenient. Although it was $58 per person, Allie ate free—
luckily, it was the last night before the “free with paying adult” age dropped
from 15 to 12. There is a huge selection—as expected, some things were
pretty good and some are so-so. We did not go to bed hungry.
Otherwise, we tried to eat moderately:
It cost us about $500 each to fly to/from the Red Center—one of the factors
that contributed to our hemming and hawing about whether to include it in
our itinerary. Was it worth it? Yes, we think so. It’s an iconic part of Australia
(at least, it's one of those things that everyone at home asks about) and an
important cultural center. We learned a lot and felt the commitment to
preserving the area’s heritage. It was definitely the right time of year to be
visiting there. Two full days felt just about right. We have no regrets.
Next: Yarra Valley
See all of our photos on Webshots
our travels
home
contact us
Our three-hour Qantas flight from Cairns to Ayers Rock (AYQ) started off
over lush green forests and farm land—looking down on some of the
towns we had just driven through a few days before. But, it wasn't long
before the outback unfolded beneath us, and then miles and miles of
barren landscape of the Northern Territory. After awhile, you will certainly
know why they call it the “Red Center.” It’s fascinating terrain to fly over,
really—for the first time, anyway.
Visiting the Red Center was a dilemma for us for quite awhile and probably
the last major part of the trip to be put in place.
First, we struggled with whether to include this area or the Darwin/Kakadu
area. Both were of interest, and we’d heard some great things about both
spots, Kakadu in particular. The decision came down to two things, really:
we felt we would need more days for Darwin/Kakadu (but available days
were running short at this point), and the flight times out of Darwin seemed
inconvenient (i.e., leaving at 1am). As an aside, once in Australia, we heard
that the Darwin area was having an unusually wet and cool June, as well.
Originally, we thought one of the camping trips (e.g., Connections Safaris)
might be a fun and unique way to see the area, but we wondered about
logistics and sleeping in the chilly night air. We also debated about
whether to include Kings Canyon and Alice Springs or just to focus on
Uluru and Kata-Tjuta. Again, with just a couple of days at our disposal, we
decided just to visit the Uluru area. As appealing as Kings Canyon was,
the prospect of a 400km drive between the two was not.
We then moved on to looking at conventional hotel options. As everyone
knows, Voyages has the market cornered here, and it ain't cheap. In
addition to the lack of competition, though, is the need to bring in and
house all of the staff, and that also drives up the prices. More on that later.
We reviewed the key options, and although we’re usually not ones to pick
the top-of-the-line resort, we found a winter special for Sails in the Desert
that seemed pretty good. For about the same price (around $285, or close
to half the rack rate) we could have a standard room there or a deluxe room
at Desert Gardens. Lost Camel looked interesting, as well, but we would
have had to book two rooms.
So, Sails in the Desert it was. We didn't read too many favorable
comments about this resort before our visit, so our expectations were
pretty low. The accommodation turned out to be just fine—our room was
spacious, with two queen beds and a sofabed, a private patio, and a large
bath with Kohler fixtures. Most of the furnishings appeared to be newer. All
in all, it was very quiet and comfortable. The hotel grounds are spacious,
so it never appears all that busy, even when full (apparently Qantas
canceled a flight one of the days we were there, sending more than 100
people back to the resort to be accommodated). The pool area is nice,
although there really aren't enough chairs. We enjoyed a soak in the pool
to reward ourselves after hiking more than 18km in less than 24 hours.
The real issue here is service. The whole place seems to be run by a
handful of people in their early 20s—pleasant, well-intentioned and trying
hard, but not very well trained and far too few of them. Restaurant service:
slow. Poolside service: slower (actually, we had to go get it ourselves).
Housekeeping: we found the previous guests’ trash behind the curtains.
Reception: can’t answer a few basic questions correctly. That’s the part
that makes the high cost hard to stomach. By the way, this is not just a
knock on Sails, but the whole resort. But, we do understand the challenge
here.
Finally, we had decisions to make re: how to see the area. We downloaded
all of the package information, but it wasn't until about a month before the
trip that we decided to just rent a car and do most of it on our own. Sure, we
might miss out on some interesting information, but we would be able to
do everything on our own schedule—at a far lower cost.
We rented a Camry from Hertz and were off and running before most of the
people on our flight from Cairns, including a large contingent of teenage
People-to-People Ambassadors from Illinois and Indiana, even had their
luggage. (As an aside, we ran into groups of P2P Ambassadors all over
Australia, and they seemed like nice kids and really well-run groups).
We spent our 48 hours in the area as follows:
Valley of the Winds walk at Kata-Tjuta. This was our favorite. Allie said
she was “giddy” with excitement. It’s a little over 7km and has some
challenging parts—a reasonable fitness level and good footwear are
required.
Uluru base walk. We started around 10:30am and finished in about three
hours. The walk is a bit over 9kms, more when you add several diversions.
It’s one thing to see the rock from a distance; it’s quite another to see it up
close. The walk is relatively flat, but in some areas you are in the sun for
quite a while. We were of the belief that there are no flies in the winter. Not
true. Some people were walking around with the bug-net hats on. Some
people were climbing; we did not. We considered joining the Anangu tour
for part of the base walk, but the timing just did not fit with our schedule.
Cultural center. This is a must for learning about the area and its
indigenous people. And, it is helpful to do so early in your visit.
Sunset and sunrise viewing. We went to the sunset viewing area (Uluru)
both nights...the second night officially joining the “party” with our cheese,
crackers and wine. We were especially fortunate to have an almost full
moon hovering right over Uluru. We also made a quick drive out for the
sunrise one morning. Both viewing areas are only about 15 minutes from
the resort.
The one “tour” we booked for the area was for the evening night sky
session at the Observatory. We figured it would be interesting to learn a
little something about the stars of the southern hemisphere. I should
mention that, during the previous day and a half in the area, we’d had the
most amazing clear blue skies for our hikes. But wouldn't you know it—the
few little clouds we’d noticed on the horizon at sunset erupted into full-
blown cloud cover by the time 8:30pm rolled around (and were
miraculously gone the next morning). Our “tour” was canceled.
Dining at Yulara is about on the same level as the accommodations—
price wise.
The big dining experience for the area is the Sounds of Silence dinner. We
thought about it and decided not to. Sara and Francesco, whom we met on
our snorkeling trip, said the setting was lovely but that the food was just
okay. As it turns out, had we done it, it would have been on the night that
became cloudy, and that would have been a real disappointment.
We did try the buffet dinner at Winkiku (Sails) on our first evening. We were
tired and it was convenient. Although it was $58 per person, Allie ate free—
luckily, it was the last night before the “free with paying adult” age dropped
from 15 to 12. There is a huge selection—as expected, some things were
pretty good and some are so-so. We did not go to bed hungry.
Otherwise, we tried to eat moderately:
- Breakfasts (particularly the toasted egg/cheese/bacon muffins)
from the take-away place in the shopping center; get your specialty
coffees at the bar at Lost Camel - Take out pizza from Gekko’s in the shopping center, enjoyed on our
patio with the cheapest ($30) bottle of wine available from the
bottleshop at Outback Pioneer (note: same wine that we can buy at
home for $5.99 at Trader Joe's) - Lunch at the cultural center café; a filling meal at a reasonable
price, compared to the resort restaurants
It cost us about $500 each to fly to/from the Red Center—one of the factors
that contributed to our hemming and hawing about whether to include it in
our itinerary. Was it worth it? Yes, we think so. It’s an iconic part of Australia
(at least, it's one of those things that everyone at home asks about) and an
important cultural center. We learned a lot and felt the commitment to
preserving the area’s heritage. It was definitely the right time of year to be
visiting there. Two full days felt just about right. We have no regrets.
Next: Yarra Valley
See all of our photos on Webshots
our travels
home
contact us
Sunset on Uluru
Australia home
Planning considerations
Sydney
Queensland, part 1
Queensland, part 2
Queensland, part 3
Red Center
Yarra Valley
Melbourne
Getting there and getting around
Planning considerations
Sydney
Queensland, part 1
Queensland, part 2
Queensland, part 3
Red Center
Yarra Valley
Melbourne
Getting there and getting around
Valley of the Winds, Kata-Tjuta
Kata-Tjuta in the rear-view mirror
The "Red Center" from the air
People climbing Uluru
Resting on the Uluru base walk
Resting again on the Uluru base walk
Uluru
