Thinking about a trip to Ayers Rock including hot air balloon ride. Any advice on better times of the year to go................and any advice on the trip generally? We live in Sydney and considering just a few days trip.

Thank yoy

You have to try the "Sounds of Silence" dinner - it was an absolutely amazing experience. We were lucky enough to have a totally clear night with no moon, and the milky way was spectacular. The view of Staurn's rings through the telescope was superb, aboriginal music great and the talks really interesting. One benefit of an outdoor dinner at night is that the flies disappear like magic.

Ayers Rock is great there are 3 types of accommodation with different prices. The climb up it is hazardous, it's best to go when it's dry and cool because even then it can get hot. The tour around the base is good. We went with kings on the coach from Alice. We couldn't get a direct flight in unfortunately they didn't do them from Sydney.

Have fun

Some points:

• Go when its cool, because when its hot, it's ****ing hot.
• The climb is a hellish 45deg slope crawl up 1000feet - worth doing, but only if you are fit, fit, fit. You will be passed by little japanese grannies.
• Flies. No joke, you will need a mesh hat/facemask. Again, try and avoid the summer months.

Since when ???

Which is the first issue.
They have you captive and prices are eye watering for what you get but don't be put off its worth it.
When there you must do Katajuta, the walk of e winds is brilliant and it's a far more spooky spiritual place than Uluru.
Agree on the outdoor dinner-a must do.

Also we didn't feel the need to join he flashy trips. We got the shuttle bus at a fraction f the cost and chatted up the driver who was immensely knowledgeable.

Enjoy

Yup, be prepared for flies.

Not just a few hundred thousand either.

All very atmospheric, I didn't do the climb (call me old fashioned but if someone asks me not to climb it then I'll respect that, each to their own) but I did the walk around it and a helicopter trip over the rock and Kata Tjuta.

Kata Tjuta has some good walks if you have the time.

Sunrise/Sunset in view of the Big Rock is very fine ...

Caroline, can you tell us a bit more about this? Where did you stay, how did you get there?

Thanks
Andrew

We flew in from Perth, before heading over to Sydney. Stayed at the top of the price list Sails in the Desert hotel, which was ok and had a pool. It was hot when we went, and we spent quite a long time in the pool up to our noses, as it was the only place the flies didn't bother you. We had prebooked our Sounds of Silence dinner, and by mistake the next morning a breakfast in the desert, so were pretty tired! (We did it as part of a get to know Australia holiday about 8 years ago, flying from the UK, as a reccie prior to applying for a visa.)

Go during winter so the temperature is tolerable.

Consider going to King's Canyon to do the 3 hour canyon rim walk (taking the detour during the walk to get to the Garden of Eden). Many I know consider King's Canyon to be the highlight of a trip to the Red Centre. If you do consider it, be mindful it is three hours drive to and from Ayer's Rock - a long way by normal standards, but 'in the region' by the standards of a Red Centre trip.

Quick point of reference......Ayers Rock is now referred to as Uluru (or in my Dad's case 'Ulara'.. God help him.)

This is v interesting ...............

Why was Uluru ever called Ayers Rock?
Uluru was first named ‘Ayers Rock’ by Ernest Giles, a European explorer who first sighted the rock in 1872. The name Ayers Rock was chosen by Giles who named it after the South Australian Premier at the time, Sir Henry Ayers.
However, Uluru is the traditional and cultural land of the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara people (also collectively known as the Anangu people). In the Uluru area, many carvings and paintings created by these people can be found, and a number of special sites of sacred significance to these indigenous people — which are, appropriately, closed to the public — are also located in this area.
It is believed that the first tourists arrived in the Uluru area in 1936. Prior to this, communities of Aboriginal people, the indigenous people of Australia, lived in and were sustained by the area. In 1940, permanent European settlement of the Uluru area began as a result of the Aboriginal welfare policy of the time and in an effort to encourage tourism to Uluru. Increased tourism resulted in the first vehicular tracks being created in 1948 and tour bus services started to frequent the area in the 1950s.
In 1958 the Kata Tjuta National Park was separated from the Petermann Reserve — this area would become Uluru. At this time, the name Ayers Rock–Mount Olga National Park was given to Uluru and it became managed by the Northern Territory Reserves Board.
From Ayers Rock to Uluru…
October 26, 1985 signified an important date in the history of Uluru. On this day, the government of Australia officially returned the ownership of Uluru to the Pitjantjatjara Aboriginal people, the group of people who are the traditional custodians of the land. This action occurred under the condition that it would be leased back to the National Parks and Wildlife agency for 99 years and that joint management of the site would occur.
1995 marked the changing of the name of the national park from Ayers Rock–Mount Olga National Park to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. This change in name was to acknowledge and show respect for the Anangu people and, particularly, their ownership of and relationship to the area.
On the October 26, 2010, the 25th anniversary of the handback of title in relation to Uluru was celebrated.

Gets me every time, much the same as Mumbai/Bombay

Yulara is the town next to Ulhuru...so your dad is mostly right. (we used to supply the airport there)

haha - he is a commercial flight instructor/pilot so may have confused the two