After a fairly unpleasant and emotional 11 months, Rosie’s immediate family had planned an epic weeklong adventure at Yulura, the small ‘resort town’ just north of Uluru in the Northern Territory. Given it would take 27 hours of solid driving to get there from Canberra, we decided to leave the van behind and fly there with the rest of them.
On a Sunday morning we woke up early. It was a special day, not just because we were starting our holiday. Ollie had lost his first tooth the day before, and this was the first time the Tooth Fairy had visited our house. For the record, in September 2024 the Tooth Fairy supplies AU$5, a special Pokemon toothbrush and a note for the first tooth. Each subsequent tooth will be $2 apparently. (He’s lucky he got anything at all – he lost the tooth overnight and we think he swallowed it, so the TF collected nothing that night.
We packed up 3 suitcases, repacked Rosie’s as it was over 23kgs, then hit the road for breakfast. We stopped in at Cafe Farrer for a lovely little breakfast before filling up and then heading north to Sydney. We’d restored an old phone for this trip so Ollie could play Pokemon Go if we were ever stuck in line or waiting for transport. We got to Sydney and made our way to Rydge’s Sydney Airport located next door to the airport international terminal. It took us 3 attempts to actually get onto the correct sliproad to go to the hotel – the airport could definitely use more signage around as it was very difficult to see what road you needed to be on.
Eventually we pulled up in front of the hotel and I dropped off Ollie and Rosie and our luggage, then headed back to the domestic terminals to park our car. We used Park on King because it was the cheapest long term parking option – they were okay, but they wouldn’t let me get the shuttle to the international terminal as my flights were domestic. I got an Uber instead of arguing. I bumped into Ollie and Rosie in the downstairs hotel cafe on my back and we stopped for a beer, then I took Ollie out for a wander around to pick up some Pokemon in the area.
After that we met Rosie up on the ‘rooftop bar’, which isn’t on the roof and is more like a small function room with a bar area. Still, they had a good view of the planes taking off and landing. We only had a few drinks there as the prices were a bit silly – $14.75 for a 330ml bottle of beer.
After that we cleaned up and met the rest of the family for dinner downstairs, sans my father-in-law (FIL). Unfortunately he was quite sick this trip and the rest of the family catching up for group activities was kind of a common theme throughout the week. Dinner was pretty decent, however my sister-in-law (SIL) had a couple of sips of a cocktail and immediately had an allergic reaction – she turned bright red. She immediately went upstairs to treat herself – one of the benefits of being a nurse I guess.
Me and Rosie picked up a final bottle of wine to take back to the room with us. Ollie slept most of the night on his trundle bed, but needed to hold Rosie’s hand for some of the night.
The next day we had an earlyish start – the flight was at 10.30, but Rosie’s mum has limited mobility and is in a wheelchair, so we were keen to get in early to make sure things went smoothly. We did have time for the hotel buffet breakfast – this was okay as well, but nothing special. Ollie discovered the juice station and would fetch glasses of juice for the family.
We packed up and checked out, walking down to the airport terminal transfer bus. Unfortunately it had moved down to the terminal so there was a bit more walking than expected, but we got on okay. I managed to lose my fitness band while storing or removing the suitcases due to some idiot Korean young chap not realising that there are other people on the bus that need to get off as well.
We got through security alright and hung out at the departure gate for a bit. Rosie’s dad was crook as a dog at this point. Me and Ollie caught a few Pokemon in the area as well while we waited.
We got onboard on time and the aircraft staff had sorted out early boarding for Rosie’s parents. The flight itself was fairly uneventful. Ollie doesn’t remember the last time he was on a plane, so he was a bit nervous through takeoff. He settled down fairly quickly though and buried himself in his Nintendo Switch. The whole family were told that we had $15 inflight food service vouchers, but no one really knows why. Still, it meant that Ollie could get some food (mostly Pringles) and I could get at least 1 beer in.
We landed and the flight attendant assured us over the intercom that the view of the desert and Uluru was just as good, if not better, once you left the airport. There is no need to stop and take pictures while disembarking the plane or walking on the tarmac to the terminal.
The coach transfer went fairly smoothly and we got checked into our rooms without much fuss. We stayed at Sails in the Desert, a self-described 5-star luxury hotel with rooms starting at about $400 a night. It was fine – I’ve travelled a bit for work and it’s interesting to see what 5-star means in various locations and countries. The rooms were big and spacious, so even if the amenities were a little light on or dated, we were very comfortable. Ollie got a big queen size bed to himself.
Once were checked in and settled in the rooms, we had a quick room service meal and then got ready for our afternoon activity. The MIL/FIL combo were a bit drained from the flights, so we headed out for a pre-organised sunset camel ride with Rosie’s brother and sister-in-law. I was a bit skeptical about the whole thing when I’d first heard we were doing a camel ride, but I ended up really enjoying it.
I was given the privilege of riding Australia’s tallest camel, known as ‘The Rock’. Most camels are apparently 2.3m in height on average – this one was around 3m tall. Sitting on top I towered over everyone else. Ollie originally didn’t enjoy the camel ride. He was screaming to get off as soon as it started moving to get up. But he was in good company as there was another family with a kid the same age who did the exact same thing. They both settled down once the camels started moving in a train down a well-travelled path. The gait of a camel is quite a bit different to a horse, but it’s quite smooth and not a bad way to see the scenery. You’re so high up that you get some lovely desert breezes as well to keep you cool.
We learnt a bunch of camel facts from a handler that walked alongside the camel train. Camel’s hate ants, so if they think there is an ant on their leg they freak out a little. When the tour concluded with a great sunset view, we went back to the main building for some damper, beers and a bit of a look around the gift shop. Quality products actually – probably the best souvenir place we went to all week.
We got back to the hotel a bit giggly from the post-camel drinks. We just made to the poolside restaurant for a late dinner. The menu was mostly share plates and other fancy meals, but we ordered a bunch of stuff and it was all pretty good. Rosie’s parents came down to join us. After a bunch more wine we all headed to bed after a long day.
The next day was a slow start. We headed down to the small ‘town’ area for breakfast at the Gecko Cafe with MIL. The food there was pretty good – me and Rosie shared a big breakfast. After breakfast had a short look around the 3 shops in the area.
Rosie and Ollie tried for a swim that morning, but it was a bit cold. The kids from the camel ride the night before were there as well, and they and Ollie were standing in the water with blue lips. The rest of the day was spent lazing around the resort in the room or by the pool. Ollie even managed a little nap, as did Rosie.
That night myself and Rosie headed off to a Field of Light dinner. Ollie was looked after by the rest of the family. We were supposed to be doing a ‘Sounds of Silence’ dinner, but were bumped to the (supposedly) more upmarket Field of Light package due to an overbooking of a conference of coroner’s that were staying at the hotel.
While waiting for the bus, a huge number of these conference folk were waiting as well. As we were getting on the bus, a tour guide for a small group attending our dinner pushed in front of us with her whole group. That’s what started the whole feud with ‘Linda’, a recurring joke throughout that night.
After a short trip we enjoyed some drinks on top of a dune while the sun set, then we were led down to the eating area close by. We were randomly seated at table 4 with two older couples and two girls in their twenties. We were the rowdy table – Rosie in particular was adopted by the loudest older lady and you could hear both of them cackling over the desert throughout the night.
The food included pumpkin soup, lamb cutlets, chicken, salads, kangaroo and many other buffet choices. A lot of the spices were Australian bush natives. All of the food was pretty good. We had an excellent waitress, Victoria, for the whole night. She kept us very well topped up with beer and wine and by the end of the dinner our table was definitely having the most fun.
Entertainment that night was a digeridoo performance and an astronomy/first nation story show with the lights all turned off and an epic laser pointer. Both were pretty good. After dinner we walked through the light show. It was very reminicent of Floriade, a Canberra flower show. Lots of lights, but not a lot of variety. This was supposed to have been a 6 month installation in 2017, but they’ve kept it around as a tourist attraction since then.
We got back to the hotel and tagged out our babysitters (thanks guys!). I ended up having a few more drinks with our friends at our hotel bar though – based on what I felt like the next morning, I probably should have skipped that part.
The next morning was another slow start. We got breakfast at the other cafe this time, an indigenous training academy initiative. We found they do some pretty good pies, but the coffee service was slow.
After that we went back to the hotel and had a sit around the pool. There were some issues with the intinery that needed to be fixed up and resolved, and the SIL was excellent at this. I reckon she was on the phone sorted stuff out for over 2 hours throughout the week, so a huge thank you to her. Brett, on the other hand, was the original travel agent that booked everything badly – he doesn’t get any thanks at all.
We wanted to do something that afternoon as the rest of the family were attending a dinner that night. Frustrated with the terrible website, we just asked the hotel concierge to book use a trip to the Olgas for that afternoon. We had a 3pm pickup for Kata Tjuana, which is the lesser known but official name for the Olga’s now. It means ‘many heads’. The trip was quite good, though Ollie didn’t think so. We first stopped at a viewing platform, then headed in for a 2.6 return walk in between two of the largest stones. It was hot and Ollie wasn’t impressed, so we had to stop just short of the end in order to get back on the bus on time. Give yourself 1.5 or 2 hours for that walk in order to appreciate it if you’re ever down that way.
After the walk we headed to the viewing area for the sunset. It was great to see the rocks change colour. On the way back to the resort Ollie fell asleep on me – about time my beer belly was put to good use. Room service for dinner then early night.
The next morning was pretty chill – it’s surprising what happens when you don’t drink alcohol, do exercise and go to sleep early. We headed down to the town centre for a coffee and chicken curry pie.
Later that morning we were picked up at 9.56am (on the dot, as specified) for a helicopter tour of the area. After a brief safety briefing, we headed to our helicopter. Ollie was scared at first by how loud they were, but we told him he’d get a helmet with built in microphone once he’s inside and that got him excited.
Rosie got the front seat with our pilot Chad, with me and Ollie in the back. The trip itself was great. It’s a great view from around 300m above ground, and while they’re not allowed to fly directly over the rocks we got fairly close to Kata Tjuta and Uluru. Towards the end of the 25 minute flight Ollie said it wasn’t very scary and the pilot took that as a challenge, taking the turns a lot harder than he had before and speeding down to lower altitudes. It was pretty great.
On the bus back to the hotel we were all asked what else we’ve got on for the rest of the day. I flippantly responded with ‘day drinking’, but it turned out that I was absolutely correct. We all stayed out near the pool drinking overpriced sparkling wine, and it even warmed up enough to play in the pool. We ended up with three Ollie’s all playing catch with a ball that one of them had brought – three kids with the same name really showed off our lack of originality when we named him.
More drinks, more lounging and then back to the room for naps. Rosie then accompanied her family on some other activities, so myself and Ollie headed out on the complementary shuttle bus to another hotel in the area called Outback Lodge. This was slightly cheaper accommodation and they had a much better bar area, much more typical for a Northern Territory bar. Me and Ollie got some food there, and Rosie joined us later that night after her family had finished up. On the way home Ollie once again fell asleep on me while we took the bus back to the hotel. I had to carry him the whole way back to the room where he immediately woke up and tried to stay up later.
The next morning was Friday, the last full day in the NT. We started the day with the buffet breakfast at the hotel. It was pretty good, but pricy. Strangely, Ollie was 4 years old when the hotel staff asked his age.
After breakfast we chilled out for a bit longer, then headed out for a tour of Uluru. Yes, it was strange that we waited until the last day to visit the rock that had been in the background the whole time, but that’s just how it worked out. Everything else was either for dawn start (not for us) or booked out. SIL stayed back at the hotel – she’d down the rock the day before. Rosie’s brother decided he was going to run around the entire rock, around 10.6km. It was mid-afternoon, around 3pm when we got dropped off. Max temp that day was 36 degrees Celcius.
Rosie’s parents stayed at the visitors centre and viewed the rock from the air conditioning there, while myself, Rosie and Ollie got dropped off at the Mala carpark. This is where they used to offer climbing the rock to tourists before it was closed down in 2019. I’d actually been fortunate enough to climb the Rock back in 2004, 20 years earlier. It was interesting to see the wear marks from where thousands of people had trekked was still etched into the rock. It looked a lot steeper from the last time I went there.
We had a bit of a wander down around the base of the rock, then set up for a walk to the visitors centre about 2.5km away. It was a hot day and Ollie was very slow, but we eventually got there. We hung out a bit there waiting for the bus.
As we moved to the carpark, Rosie’s brother came onto us. He’d managed to run around the entire site in around 2 hours in 35 degree weather. Great effort on his part, though I’m not sure it was the smartest idea. He’d even managed to check out some of the valleys and offshoots for various places of interest along the way.
As the sun started to set the bus dropped us off at the viewing area so we could watch the colours change and shadows deepen. We got a few photos and then headed back to the hotel. Rosie’s parents chose to have dinner in their room after a big day, so the rest of us headed to the buffet restaurant for dinner. It was very good, and we all ended up eating too much. I’m not sure we got our money’s worth, but it was a great way to end the trip.
The next day we got a final breakfast pie, headed to a little indigenous art gallery for a bit and then waited for the shuttle bus to take us back to the airport. Things went fairly smoothly with only a little delay taking off. We arrived back in Sydney, picked up the car from level 5, not level 4 like I thought (a little panic there), and then drove back to Canberra.
This was a fantastic trip and I’d highly recommend anyone go visit Uluru at least once in their lives. It really is an incredible sight. This time of year was pretty good as well. There wasn’t as many flies and the weather was warm, but the mornings were cool. A huge and massive thank you to Rosie’s family for organising and funding the accommodation and activities this trip – all of us had an outstanding time.
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