Voyages Ayers Rock Resort – at Australia’s red heart

Unless you have been there, it is hard to explain why a simple rock would hold such magic, have such an effect on those who have seen it and why so many people would go there to see it. 

A speedy piece of research on the web, seeing the ochre images of the rock rising spectacularly out of the dry, brown desert, all help to begin your understanding that this is a must visit destination.

The spectacular arrival by plane in Ayers Rock and if you are lucky, flying right past the rock, followed by standing right alongside this amazing piece of geology, an extremely sacred site to the Aboriginal people and in particular the Anangu people and the nearby Mutitjulu settlement, help you realise that you have arrived somewhere very special indeed.

The contrast between today’s short Qantas air hop from Sydney of three hours and three month trek across the desert in 1873 from Alice Springs to Uluru, by Englishman William Gosse, the first European to climb Ayers Rock, is pretty hard to get your head around. 

What is even harder to fathom and what really sets the white settlement of Australia and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Australia’s Northern Territory into a comparable time context, is when the excellent Odyssey guides that took The Mole around the Uluru and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) tells you that there has been Aboriginal settlement in the area for between 40,000 and 50,000 years!  Going so far back it appears that they cannot be any more accurate!

The Mole tried to visualise what the original Aboriginal inhabitants or even William Gosse and his Afghan cameleers would have thought if they had seen Voyages Ayers Rock Resort on the horizon as is it today, a lush oasis in the middle of the desert – I imagine they would have thought it was a mirage.  The Mole soon gave up visualising and had another glass of wine and a dip in the pool – thank goodness for Voyages Ayers Rock Resort!

Voyages Ayers Rock Resort as we know it today is owned and operated in totality in terms of hotels and accommodation by Voyages Hotels and Resorts and consists of six properties, all offering accommodation across a very wide range of style and price.

There is no doubt that Longitude 131 is the flagship, not only of Voyages Ayers Rock operation, but also of all their properties spread throughout Australia and although geographically part of the Voyages Ayers Rock Resort development, in reality it is not.   Longitude 131 is exclusive to the guests who are staying there, not available at all to guests from other resorts or accommodation with access is positively discouraged – there aren’t even any signs! 

In fact there is very little or no reference to Longitude 131 anywhere in the other Voyages Ayers Rock Resort hotels, and who could blame Voyages, as in Longitude 131 they have what is without question, a unique property whose guests pay a premium price to be left alone to enjoy Longitude 131’s luxury, setting, quality and exclusiveness.   If you do not know Longitude 131, or have heard of it but do not know much about it, you must have a look at www.longitude131.com.   It is absolutely stunning and next week, The Mole will be telling you much more about it.

Next in the pecking order at Voyages Ayers Rock Resort and highest rated of the properties gathered around the central core of hotels is Sails in the Desert Resort (5*), which will be covered by The Mole week after next. 

Sails in the Desert is followed by Desert Gardens (4.5*), Lost Camel (3.5*), Outback Pioneer Hotel (3.5*), Outback Pioneer Lodge (2.5*), Emu Walks Apartments (4*) and Ayers Rock Resort Campground.  For somewhere right in the middle of a desert, 445 kms southwest of the nearest settlement Alice Springs, that is a lot of accommodation, at full capacity offering 4,500 beds, more than many much larger “destinations”.

What also struck The Mole about Voyages Ayers Rock Resort was the quality of the staff, irrespective of where they worked they were really excellent and good staff must surely be difficult to secure and keep in such a remote location.

What Voyages Ayers Rock Resort really offers very well is excellent accommodation and quality eating to suit nearly all budgets and aspirations, from 5* rooms and suites, eating by the pool in the seasonal Rockpool restaurant or even pushing the boat out at Sail’s Kuniya fine dining restaurant, where the quality of food and service rivals any city restaurant, to the rustic appeal of the Outback Pioneer and barbequing your own steak or kangaroo or camping and self catering from the supermarket in the shopping centre. 

This combination happens rarely and The Mole met visitors from all over the world, but particularly the UK, Germany and the USA, experiencing the rock in their very own way and to suit their very own budget.

The Mole did meet the classic US traveler on the flight out of Ayers Rock, who told The Mole that she had really enjoyed the trip and found it magical, but then said that she had arrived the previous afternoon and this was on the midday flight out the next day!  While the amount of time that can be spent at Ayers Rock is limited, probably two or three days, The Mole encouraged her to return to really experience and learn what this amazing place was all about.

There is also no doubt that the best way to make the most of an Ayers Rock experience is to take one of the extensive range of guided tours available and at least visit and walk around Uluru and Kata Tjuta.  Operators include the local aboriginal and award winning Anangu Tours, set up with the support and backing of Voyages, Odyssey Tours and Safaris who offer the fabulous Desert Awakenings tour, AAT Kings, who offer large group touring and several others. 

There are also helicopter and fixed wing flights over Uluru and the area generally.  All these can be booked at the tours centre in the Voyages Ayers Rock Resort Shopping Centre, through Voyages or on line at http://www.ayersrockresort.com.au.   

So what tips does The Mole have to pass on to any intending visitors to Uluru-Kata Tjuta and Voyages Ayers Rock Resort? 

§         If you can afford it, you have to stay at Longitude 131 – it is awesome and in addition to the unique setting and fabulous accommodation, all food and drinks are included;

§         Sails in the Desert is the next best thing and a property that offers great facilities with excellent rooms and restaurants;

§         Make sure you take the best guided tour you can afford, with the best and most knowledgeable guides and if possible the smallest groups – this will help you really appreciate Uluru-Kata Tjuta;

§         Make sure that you walk as much as you can around Uluru with a knowledgeable guide and do not forget to visit Kata Tjuta, which is equally amazing and spectacular, but in a very different way;

§         Visit the Cultural Centre at the Voyages Ayers Rock Resort at the beginning of your stay;

§         Make sure you visit the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Cultural Centre;

§         Make sure you have dinner in the desert, either if you are staying at Longitude, where it is called Table 131 or at the other resorts, where it is a little different but just as amazing and called Sounds of Silence.  You will never have seen a night sky like this – please make sure you book in advance; and finally

§         Please respect the traditional Aboriginal Anangu land owners by not climbing or walking up Uluru.

Further information on this spectacular, must stay location and Voyages Ayers Rock Resort can be obtained from http://www.ayersrockresort.com.au.

Next week – look out for Longitude 131!

A report by The Mole on location