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| Uluru-Kata Tjuta Airport Welcome Sign Dingoes Anyone? |
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| Sails in the Desert Patio |
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| Sails in the Desert Pool Area |
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| Byproduct of the rainy season the desert was experiencing. |
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| Uluru at Sunset |
Upon arriving at the Uluru airport, we were greeted by the lovely sign pictured above warning us about the dingoes. This would be the first of a few warnings we would receive on our first day. The thing to know about the Uluru area is that there are very few hotels or places to stay. There is a cluster of hotels all owned by the same company called Voyages. We chose to stay at the nicest of the hotels they had to offer according to the website, Sails in the Desert.
The reviews of Sails in the Desert are very mixed on places like TripAdvisor, but I have to say that we had a pretty good experience. The lobby and outer areas were very nice and the spa room we had with the hot tub and extra large patio would have been appreciated if we were there to relax. However, if we had been there in summer, I am not sure we would have even stepped outside because we heard the flies are really quite horrible. The pool area was very clean and colorful with all the vegetation. The desert was experiencing one of its wettest winters in years, so, there were flowers blooming everywhere, some that hadn't been seen ever before by the locals according to our guides.
At the hotel, we received a warning letter in our welcome packet about rodents. Thankfully, we saw none. Then in the hotel room on the side table by the bed was a warning about centipedes and how to contact the front office if we saw one. Again, we were lucky not to see any of these creatures as well. However, the warnings were a bit unsettling. One of the families we ate with at the Sounds of Silence dinner told us they hid the warnings from their children so they wouldn't panic.
There were plenty of restaurants to choose from at the resort. There is a small shopping area within the resort area with a few restaurants and shops including a grocery store. We enjoyed a small cafe (Red Rock Deli) that had panini like sandwiches, pastries, ice cream, etc.. for a quick lunch. This was the best value for food. One day we tried Geckos's Cafe and that was not nearly as good. The Tali Bar in the hotel had pretty decent food. We had to eat there one night as nothing else was open as we got back from another tour.
The Sounds of Silence dinner was very nice with plenty of wine, champagne, beer, and sodas to enjoy prior to getting to the actual dinner site. Unfortunately, the night we had the dinner the sky wasn't as clear as usual, so, the star gazing was pretty limited. Dinner was decent and my husband along with the little boy at our table really enjoyed the kangaroo. This was an expensive option to add ($150 per person I think), but it was worth it. The sunset spot was great and it was nice to meet travelers from other parts of the world.
The next morning we were up very early to do a day tour including watching the sunrise over Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Sunrise was more spectacular than the sunset because the monolith turned so many colors within such a short period of time. Pictures coming soon..
In addition to the sunrise, we also toured around the base of Uluru a little bit and visited the cultural center. This was a pretty long tour as we had another tour scheduled shortly after, so, there was little break time. This was not a relaxing few days. I am just so glad we were there in winter as I could not even begin to imagine being there while having to wear fly nets and it being extremely hot. Our weather was comfortable, but we still needed so much water on our tours because of the desert. I just can't imagine that a visit in summer would be remotely pleasant.
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