I spent a few days exploring Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in 2022 and fell in love with everything about the wonderful centre of Australia. This year I wanted to take my mum to experience this very special place. But would it be ok for an 80-year-old?
The answer is yes. Uluru is actually the perfect place to travel with family of all ages. Here’s why…
It’s easy…
Getting around at Uluru is super simple. As soon as you arrive at Ayers Rock airport, there is a bus waiting to whisk you away to the wonderful Ayers Rock Resort, and buses can drive you to most attractions and events, which makes everything super convenient for all ages.
The bus drops you right outside the hotel, so there’s no need to walk too far or struggle with luggage. The Resort also has a range of accommodation to suit all needs. We opted for rooms at the Desert Gardens Hotel, and the ground floor rooms were easily accessible, comfortable and had outdoor areas where we could relax.
Plus, the resort shuttle runs every 20 minutes and means that you never have to walk too far – hop on for a brief trip to the town square, where you can buy souvenirs and art works, plus any other must-haves in the handy IGA.
Another plus? The resort can also book your tours and activities for you, so everything is super easy and well-organised.
It’s all about connection to Country
Seeing Uluru up close is such an amazing and moving experience – we headed to the Cultural Centre, where we learned some of the history of the area and a little about Tjukurpa – the traditional law and creation stories of Anangu, the traditional owners.
Next we did the short Kuniya Walk to Mutitjulu Waterhole – a lush and shady area with a lot of cultural significance to Anangu. This was such a breathtaking place to visit – we were shown fascinating rock art and heard about Kuniya, the woma python woman.
Both of us loved hearing these incredible stories and felt privileged to have been welcomed there.
There’s so much to see and do
We were super excited for the Wintjuri Wiru drone show over Uluru. As night approached, we hopped on a bus from our hotel for the short drive to the Wintjuri Wiru site.
Cocktails and canapes were waiting as we made the short walk along a well-lit and easy to navigate boardwalk, then as dusk settled we moved down to bleacher style seating, with our own gourmet picnic hamper filled with delicious food, native flavours at the fore.
As it got colder, mum was able to wrap up with the complimentary blankets – and we sat in awe as the drone show began, telling the Mala story of Anangu in lights, lasers, music and video.
It was truly amazing storytelling, spine-tinglingly emotional and well worth the money. I would say it’s a must-see if you’re visiting Uluru.
The next day we enjoyed some of the free activities at the resort – starting with an easy guided garden walk.
Our guide highlighted some of the local flora, bush foods and more on a short walk around the grounds, and it was fascinating.
Another free activity was The Gallery of Central Australia (GoCA) tour – where we learned about the paintings in the gallery as well as what each symbol means in the indigenous artworks on display.
The sky’s the limit…
Dinner on our second night was at Sails in the Desert hotel – this buffet style food fest is great if you want a taste of everything.
Mum and I loaded up on Indian dishes and delicious seafood before we headed to our next destination – the Field Of Light.
This major artwork by Bruce Monro covers more than seven football fields, has 50,000 spindles of light in different colours, and is accessible to most – though be aware you do have to walk in darkness some of the time.
We booked General Admission tickets ($48 each) and again hopped on the bus to take us there. We walked around in awe, while also looking up at the sky where we could see stars that stretched on forever – the effect of both is breathtaking.
Mum particularly loved the night sky here – we spotted the Milky Way and several constellations we knew as we gazed across this astonishing installation.
Uluru really is somewhere every Australian should try to experience – regardless of age!
The great thing is that you can be as active or as relaxed as you like – you can take the bus like we did, or you can hike, bike, ride camels (yes, camels!) and more.
The bottom line is that the Anangu really want you to get the most of your visit and to connect to Country and their culture – and that is something anyone can do, from 8 to 80 and beyond!
If you want to explore Uluru yourself, and stay at the wonderful Desert Gardens Hotel, you can book at Ayers Rock Resort or Booking.com here.
