I am at Ayers Rock Resort now, and it is driving me crazy.
The resort has about 3500 people, although it may not be at capacity while I’m there. Still it feels crowded.
The natural rock Uluru– the English later named it Ayers Rock– itself is impressive. It juts out from a fairly flat landscape, which makes one look at it in awe. It is no wonder the aborigines felt it was sacred.
But like Yosemite in the U.S., the tourist industry has built a resort about 12 miles away from the rock. People can fly in to a nearby airport and enjoy luxury tourism; one of the hotels runs as high as $900 a night. One can enjoy gourmet dining under the stars while looking at the rock. All well and good. It was just that the day before I was camping with NOBODY around, cooking dehydrated food on a mini-stove!
Most people come in from the east. If coming from the west, one has to come through the Great Central Road, which hardly any tourist does. As I approach the national park from the west, I first see Kata Tjuta, the sister rock formations to Uluru.
Upon recommendation from my warmshowers host, I find a solitary campsite from which I can sit and enjoy Kata Tjuta from my tent. No one is around. It is delightful. A peaceful evening.
The next day, I jarringly encounter numerous cars per hour, traveling back and forth between Kata Tjuta, Uluru and the Ayres Rock Resort (the entire resort is the town called Yulara). There is no place to wild camp to enjoy the sunset over Uluru. I must go join all the hordes of people at Ayres Rock Resort. I preferred the silence I found at Kata Tjuta.
Thus ends my ride through Western Australia. I am now in Central Australia. It is different.
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The video speaks a thousand words….the stark contrast between the serenity and isolation of the natural world to the craziness and commercialism of tourism….it’s hard to comprehend….especially in the Outback where the contrast is to the absolute extreme!!!
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I like being with people, like on a one to one basis or a few. Mass crowds drive me nuts. Luckily I was able to hang with a few people in Yulara, two of them bikers from around Melbourne.
Congratulations Thuan on a major milestone. I always seam to enjoy areas that are close to National Parks . They are nice to visit but then retreat outside to realy soak it in. You do have some incredble pictures of you and the rock..Looking forward for more of your adventure .
Congratulations on completing the Western section of your trip! It must be jolting to go from silent, people-less expanse to a busy, touristy resort.
Well done Mate, commendable effort. That roads a tough gig, even for a seasoned remote area tourer. I read the entries from LA to the rock. I’ll read the earlier ones later. Just a heads up , the track down through Oodnadatta and on to Blinnman is a bit of a tough gig as well. However, Lake Eyre is filling at the moment, which it hasn’t done, to this extent, for about 50 years so if you can afford it, it would be worth doing a light plane flight over it. The publican at William Creek has a plane. Enjoy the ride into Alice. Are you heading there via Kings Canyon, Glen Helen Gorge etc? Take care. Al.
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I did go thru King’s Canyon. Due to my interests, I am going thru Hermannsburg. But I did go to Palm Valley to savor a bit of Fink Gorge as you suggested.
Hi Thuan! This is Seth from old World Impact days. Just had the Szalay’s up visiting and told us about your adventure. My wife and I were in Australia with Szalay’s a year ago and we are awed by your adventure there. Blessings to you, congrats for making it to the Rock, and we look forward to following along as you head towards the east coast!
Seth
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Nice to hear from you, Seth. And blessings to you too. Nice to know the Szalays and you are still in touch.
Hi Thuan. Lori and I have been tracking your journey all along the way thus far. Thank you for the thoughts, images and videos that you have shared along the way. Inspiring and insightful. Personally, having had times of marvelous solitude sprinkled throughout my life via backpacking and motorcycle trips, I have always found quietness to be restful, peaceful, refreshing. I recall the one trip that you and I took out to the Anza-Borrego desert. Camping there was so awesomely deserted! I’m way overdue for times like this, and look forward to my summer break where I can get myself away to a quiet place.
–In quietness and trust is your strength…Isaiah 30.
Richard