Day 17: Welcome to the Outback!

July 8, 2018

When the alarm sounds, it's just starting to dawn outside. Another new cruise ship has docked overnight.

Our reserved taxi arrives at 7:30 a.m. sharp. We're off to the airport - Flight No. 4 is waiting for us! Today, we're flying with Jetstar to Yulara, near Uluru. I compared flight prices for quite some time in advance. I originally wanted to book the Virgin Australia flight, but it was much more expensive, so we opted for Jetstar instead.

We weigh our suitcases at the airport before printing our boarding pass. I paid for 25 kg of luggage in advance, which should be sufficient. However, it turns out that we didn't pack well. Our largest suitcase weighs almost 30 kg, while the two smaller suitcases weigh only 15 kg. So, it's time to repack. We've had that misfortune before, having to repack our suitcases in front of waiting tourists - we don't want that to happen again. Quick as a flash, we've packed the heavier items into the small suitcase and we can check in. No complaints, we're allowed to proceed to the gate.

At 10:40 a.m. sharp, we leave Sydney Airport and head towards Uluru!

I'm lucky that my daughter lets me sit by the window so that I can take some snapshots with my phone. We can even see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Very cool!!

We gain 1 hour today as we fly across time zones.

At 2 p.m., we arrive in Yulara and collect our suitcases at the small, well-organized airport.

I had reserved a 4x4 Jeep from AVIS 9 months in advance - after all, we plan to drive the Mereenie Loop in a few days. Some tourists who are also waiting at the Avis counter and haven't reserved a car won't be able to get a rental car today. All the rental cars at Avis have been reserved, and the staff recommend that the tourists take the official tourist bus.
Phew, we've been lucky.

The weather is great - plenty of sunshine with a mild temperature of +19 degrees Celsius. I expected cooler temperatures, but let's wait and see...
Booking a hotel in the Outback was quite a challenge... We realized almost a year in advance that it was going to be expensive! Just like everything else in Australia. After careful consideration (since we'll only be sleeping in the hotel), we opted for the budget option and booked a family room at the 2** Outback Pioneer Lodge.
We quickly find our Jeep in the parking lot, a Toyota Fortuner with plenty of dents. The AVIS staff already laughed while handing us the sheet with the car's 'pre-existing' damages and drawing the car completely red. But that's fine - we still plan to go off-road, so a brand new car might not be so practical. The Fortuner has dents and scratches all around, has just under 30,000 km on the clock, and looks good otherwise. We're satisfied.

Off we go to the lodge. At the entrance, we're greeted by the "Sunrise / Sunset Uluru" sign. Ok, tomorrow we'll have to get up early!

At 7:20 a.m., sunrise is expected. We are advised to leave at least 1 hour in advance as it'll be very crowded. Oh well, we'll have breakfast later.

Before continuing to Uluru, we visit the local supermarket to buy snacks, drinks, and breakfast for the next few days in the Outback. We have breakfast included at Outback Pioneer Lodge, but we'll have to manage without meals until we reach Alice Springs.
We quickly find crapes, tacos, and dips. For tomorrow's lunch (when we'll go to the Olgas), we grab sandwiches and grissini. A bottle of wine, canned beer, and drinks are added, and of course, we can't forget the sweets (including several packs of different types of TimTams) - yum!
The nice salesman gives us a large banana box to store our purchases in the Jeep. Then, off we go to Uluru!

The mountain in the middle of the Outback is extremely fascinating.

We visit several photo spots, including the spot where the highly controversial climbing path starts (closed today due to strong winds).

Afterwards, we find a nice spot in the sunset car park, which is already quite crowded.

Unfortunately, the sunset isn't as spectacular as we had hoped, as the sun is in a different position in winter than in summer. The intense red colors are missing today. Nevertheless, it's a great experience to be at Uluru amidst the many tourists and locals, some of whom are sitting on the roofs of their cars with beer and chairs. The only really annoying thing is that those stupid drones are buzzing around everywhere!!! And this won't be the last time I'll complain about it!!

With the sunset comes the cold! The car thermometer drops to a chilly +5 degrees Celsius. Brrr. Luckily, we have thin fleece blankets with us (thanks to Singapore Airlines).
In total darkness, we drive in a convoy back to Yulara Village. Tonight, we decide to have dinner outside in the BBQ area.

Yes, outside... at temperatures just above 0 degrees Celsius, we make ourselves comfortable in the hall under the heat lamps. The kids get a burger and fries, while we opt for a wrap. The hall is packed, there's live music with the brilliant singer Stu Harcourt, who is also playing 3 didgeridoos in addition to singing and playing the guitar.

While I go to the room with the kids, my husband pays a visit to the reception. Tomorrow is a special day: our son is turning 10 years old!

My idea was that the hotel might have something for children's birthdays - a small cake with a candle or something like that. Since we've celebrated birthdays on vacation before, we know the procedure from other hotels. It was a chance worth taking! The hotel tells us to be back in the BBQ hall for dinner as they have something small planned. Sounds promising!
We're quite exhausted and fall into bed around 9:30 p.m.

The air conditioner is set to heating mode today - it's freezing, but it's doing its job with a low hum.
Since the alarm will go off very early tomorrow morning (for sunrise), we all fall asleep immediately (for safety, all shoes are placed in tied plastic bags - you never know what might crawl around here....).



For the statistics:
Hotel: Outback Pioneer Lodge
Cost: 241 € / night in a family room with breakfast
Distance driven: 98 km
Distance flown: Jetstar 2,178 km / 3h30
Wildlife sightings: Mini parrots
Weather: Sunny with temperatures up to 18 degrees Celsius
Conclusion: Welcome to the Outback!