Australia 8/19/2022 - 9/6/2022 |
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Saturday 8/27/2022 - Uluru Camel ToursBecause it was off-season (winter), there were no direct flights from Perth to Uluru. So we had to fly east across Australia to Melbourne, and then back west to Uluru. It made for a long night of flying, but it was worth it to be able to take the Sonams to Uluru.Our flight to Melbourne took off at 1:40 a.m. Sonam Choki found a row to herself and was able to spread out and sleep. There was a screaming kid in front of us who thankfully quieted down after a while. Otherwise it would have been a VERY long night. We landed in Melbourne at 9:10 a.m. We had to exit the secure area in order to check in for our Uluru flight, then go through security again. It was very confusing, and luckily we found someone who could explain what we had to do. We got coffee, Gatorade, and banana bread before boarding our Uluru flight. Sonam Choki and Sonam Tshering managed to snag seats on the left side of the plane at our urging, so they were able to have a view of Uluru as we were landing. We landed at noon, had no baggage checked, and went immediately to the buses. Having been here before, we knew how the place worked. The airport is about a 10 minute drive from Yulara, the town where visitors to Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park find accommodation. In the past, there were motels and campgrounds very close to the base of Uluru. This had a negative impact on the environment, so in 1976, Australia's Governor General established the township of Yulara outside the boundaries of the national park, and plans were made to relocate all accommodation there, 18 kilometres (11 miles) by road from Uluru and 55 kilometres (34 miles) from Kata Tjuta. The first phase of development of Yulara completed and became operational in 1984. At that time, ownership of the national park was transferred to the local indigenous people, who leased it back to Parks Australia for 99 years. Originally, the various hotels and restaurants in Yulara were individually owned, but this ultimately failed and the businesses were consolidated into a single resort and operated by the government and a venture capital firm. In 2011, Ayers Rock Resort was sold to the Indigenous Land Corporation which operates the resort under its subsidiary, Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia. They provide a range of accommodation ranging from campgrounds to 5 star hotels. Yulara has a population of just over a thousand residents. The Resort offers complimentary shuttle buses between the airport and Yulara. We found the bus which went to Desert Gardens Resort, where we would be staying. We were the first to board, while others waited for their checked luggage. The bus driver was very funny and engaging. We took the short drive to the ring road which connects all of the Resort properties. Yulara also has a "town square" which contains a post office, some restaurants, shops, a grocery store, and a theatre. Guests are free to eat at any of the resorts, and a complimentary shuttle bus makes the rounds of the ring road. We got to the hotel and checked in at around 12:30 p.m., but our rooms weren't ready yet. We were free until 4:50 p.m., when we would be picked up for our sunset camel tour. We were hungry and knew that we would have to buy plenty of bottled water for our Uluru base hike tomorrow. So we checked our bags at the hotel and walked the short distance to town square and found the IGA supermarket. The small grocery store was packed with locals and tourists alike. We bought pre-packaged sandwiches for lunch, as well as some supplies for our hike tomorrow: water, muffins, fruit, juice, cookies, nut bars, and potato chips. We were trying to decide where best to eat our lunch (maybe in the shade somewhere in the town square?) when we received a call saying that our rooms were ready. What perfect timing! We picked up the keys at the front desk and then walked to our rooms, where our bags were waiting for us. We had the rooms that were pretty much the furthest from the front desk, so it was a bit of a hike in the midday sun. We were in rooms 431 and 432. We got settled in and then had a picnic outside on our patio, which we realized had a partial view of Uluru! Craig and I had club sandwiches and chips. The Sonams were just soaking it all in, not even really hungry, eating some chips and shortbread. It was so peaceful outside and we saw some birds. We chatted until around 3:30 p.m., then broke up so that we could get ready for our camel excursion. Craig made coffee, and Sonam Choki took a shower. At 4:30, we walked to the lobby and sat outside on a bench to await our pick-up. At 4:50 on the dot the Uluru Camel Tours bus came to pick us up. They drove us a short distance to their ranch, which is very cool and frontier-like. They gave us each a small pouch in which we could put our water bottles and mobile phones. Camels tend to chomp on things that they don't recognize, so we had to leave all bags and backpacks at the headquarters. The Sonams had never seen a camel before in real life, so they were quite excited to get to ride one. Craig and I were loaded up onto Rocky, 15 years old and the tallest camel in Oz at 29 hands high! The Sonams got onto Jed. There were two single file camel trains (the camels were roped together) each led by a mounted cameleer. A third cameleer accompanied us on foot. Sonam and Sonam were right in front of us, and our Rocky kept nuzzling and innocently nipping at the back of Sonam Tshering's shirt. The cameleers told many interesting facts about the camels, but it was a bit hard for Craig and me to hear since we were at the back of the camel train. The only camel behind us was one who is too fat and out-of-shape to have riders. He was along for the exercise alone. Camels are viewed as pests in Australia, and it is legal to wrangle a wild camel (if you can) and keep it as a pet. It takes from 6-12 months to train a camel. They race the camels here and said that Oprah did a show on the camel farm. Camels aren't afraid of snakes or lizards, but if a butterfly lands on their head they go ballistic. The camel farm was offered half a million dollars for one of their camels, and a visiting sheikh offered them one of his wives! Needless to say, they did not take him up on his offer! It was a peaceful ride as we slowly trekked into the hills from which we had a nice view of Uluru and Kata Tjuta rock formations as the sun set and the sky took on an orange glow. Our camels cast long shadows. The cameleer who was on foot took everyone's camera and got good photos of everyone on their camel with Uluru in the background. When the sun had set, we returned to headquarters. They got each camel to lie down (it took some coaxing for Rocky, who didn't seem ready to relax) and we dismounted once they had jerkily lowered themselves down (they first go down onto their front knees, then they bend their back knees, and you are buffeted fowards, backwards, and forwards again as they shift their weight and finally come to a stable, lying down position). We have ridden camels before, in both India and Mali, and we were used to this...although Rocky was larger than the other camels we had ridden. So we knew we had to hold on tight! It was amusing hearing the squeals of excitement as others who are not so used to camels were jerked back and forth before dismount. Once everyone had safely dismounted, we went inside for a cocktail reception. We enjoyed sparkling wine, Iron Jack beer, and wine, with their special beer bread damper and salsa, tortilla chips, etc. They played music and it was a fun time. The Sonams don't usually drink, and they were already a little giddy from riding a camel. They had a bit of alcohol and we were all giggling and just having a grand old time. At around 7:30, the festivities ended, and we were brought back to the hotel. We were full enough from the cocktail party that we didn't bother with dinner. We would have to wake up very early in the morning to catch sunrise at Uluru prior to our Uluru base hike. We took showers and went to bed at 9 o'clock. Desert Gardens Hotel Uluru Camel Tours |
 Lunch on our patio at the Desert Gardens Hotel, with a glimpse of Uluru  Camel shadows  Camel caravan  The Sonams riding Jed  Steph and Craig riding Rocky  Steph and Craig riding Rocky with Uluru in the background  Post-camel ride cocktail reception See all photos from August 27 |
 Sunset camel ride with Uluru and Kata Tjuta in the distance |
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