Decline in Uluru visitors

Agree.Camp with tent - unpowered $38, powered $48 ($10 electricity for ONE night) and god forbid if you want just a basic cabin for the night - $138. And the cabins even allow you to share amenities. Wow!!

No wonder visitor numbers are dropping.

We only camped for one nigh so that the grand daughter could see Ayers Rock.

Phil

I've seen the rock twice, and it really takes your breath away when you 1st see it in the flesh, but to think that by putting some sort of business in place ( to fleece even more hard earned dollars ) is the solution, is just typical government ideology..

I've only seen the sunset views as it was too early to get there from Curtain Springs for the sunrise......and we weren't staying at Ayres Rock...too dear for the campground.

Honky was right, what else would you do there apart from seeing Ayres Rock and the Olgas.....even if it didn't cost you an arm and a leg ??

I'm sure a lot of people would stay at least 2 nights in the campground if they charged "normal" prices, but $38 for an unpowered site ( for 2 people ) is hwy robbery.....even the ripoff nat parks elsewhere "only" charge $28.

And on top of that you have to pay to get into the "park" to see the rock as well ..

The ONLY reason they want numbers to increase is to regain the profits they have lost....but the pen pushers at nat parks can't and won't listen to sensible suggestions.

Yalara (including the camp ground) is not inside the National Park, but it is a monopoly business and it is operated on that basis.
That monopoly should cease.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

I suspect for many it is a long way in and a long way out to see one feature. Once those visiting have seen the sunrise and sunset over the Rock and a visit to the Olga’s, it is 1-2 days at best. I don’t think many would see it as a destination in its own right.

On price, I don’t know that the actual price is the problem, but perceived value for time and money expended versus the alternatives available. Many travellers are time poor these days and if the value equation doesn’t stack up it runs the risk of being dropped from the itinerary. This is not dissimilar to anywhere else on the tourism circuit…

I’ve never visited despite travelling extensively in Central Australia, but will be there in a couple of weeks as part of a broader trip being undertaken – and looking forward to the experience.

Cheers, Baz – The Landy

No one has mentioned that when you have arrived and paid the money to enter the Park you find that you can't climb the rock. Big sign $5000 fine if you do. This has happened the last 2 times we have been there. The only alternative is to walk 11Kms around the base in the sand and when you get to something worth a photo your asked not to as it is a sacred site.

I'm sorry but I wont be back.

Lloyd Mac

We were there in 2010.
-Yes it was expensive for a caravan site.
-Yes I had to pay $50 for a 3 day pass.
-Yes Fuel and food supplies was expensive too.
-It was also very busy and the caravan park/campground was full.

We weren't surprised at the costs. Its in the middle of nowhere so it is basically a dead end trip unless you plan to go to Docker River and further West. The crux of the matter is really whether you see it as a place worth visiting ?

We felt Uluru was worth a look and so was Kata Tjuta which did surprise us. We found the latter more interesting. We didn't climb Uluru as we weren't convinced we'd make it without a big struggle. The request of the custodians not to climb the rock also had an influence. For me it was enough to walk around it.

We certainly won't be visiting there again as I can't see much changing there in our lifetimes.
WBS

We went, we stayed at Yalara, we paid to go into the park and we chose not to climb. I would do it all again.

I remember travelling in from the west and seeing Kata Tjuta rise and fall on the horizon. A truly amazing experience. But as I travelled further eastward, I caught my first glimpse of Uluru.

I remember everything in such detail. I was making our regular call into the VKS sched as we approached and as I told the operator that we had just caught our first glimpse of "the Rock", I was truly choked with emotion and he had to ask me to repeat myself. Later my wife asked me "what was with the 'blubbing'?"

I had been there previously with my parents as a child. We climbed because at the time it is "what you did!". I remember it being a fantastic experience and was looking forward to doing it with my children on this trip.

Our first trip into the park was to climb "the Rock". We had our cameras charged, day packs full of water and snacks and were standing in the car park of the climbing face. Then I read the signs "asking" us not to climb.

I have travelled extensively through out both Australia and the world and I can never remember being "asked" not to do something. I am so used to being told I can't do something - signs saying "no entry" "prohibited this" and "prohibited that" etc etc. I had to take pause to think about this.

We went off and did a self guided tour - I read the interpretive panels. I was starting to understand that this was a "special" place. I then we went on a guided tour with one of the traditional owners and an interpreter - I started to get it. I went back to the climbing face and sat on the bench and watching,looking and listening to my thoughts.

It was then I realised that I didn't need to climb.

In Hannah Hueneke thesis, (posted by The Landy), there is the following quote. This is what sums it up for me...

"Someone asks why people are allowed to climb if it is so important. Michael translates Hezekiel’s answer: ‘It’s a spiritual belief, they are not forcing that on you. Anangu understand you come a long way, and pay a lot to get here’."

Honestly, how many of you would think of going to Stonehenge to scale the structures? Who would go to Westminster Abbey to stand on top of the High Altar? Which ones of you walk through a cemetery and walk over the tops of the graves. Why because they are sacred to you and your spiritual beliefs, and if someone chose to do so - many would be affronted by such sacrilege.

I have forgotten how much it cost in dollars. What I will never forget is how much I got from this place. It is not just a sacred place to the Anangu, it is equally significant to followers of the Judeo-Christian faiths as it shows the majesty and might of "the creator God". The Buddhists will see it as a place of peace, tranquillity and meditation. I am sure the examples of its significance for other faiths are never ending.

Is there more to Uluru than just the climb? While we had our 3 day pass we did:

- a tour with a parks ranger looking at the geology and geography of the area (2 hours. Cost - free).
- a tour with traditional owner/ranger that looked at the "bush pantry (1 1/2 hours Cost - free).
- a tour with a parks ranger looking at the wild flowers that were out at the time (1 hour Cost - Free).
- a tour around the north-western face of the base (approx 1 1/2 hours Cost - free)
- a tour of the traditional owner and an interpreter (1 1/2 hours Cost - free)
- Self guided walk around the base (too long - cost free)
- 3 sunsets and 3 sunrises (took as long as we wanted Cost - free)
- 3 days unlimited entry to the Cultural Centre and Galleries. Including sitting with on of the local artists (Happy Reid) and having her tell us her Tjukurpa - drawing each part it in the sand and then painting it on a canvas (memories - endless. Cost - priceless)
- I forget the countless hours we spent just wandering around.

There were other things we could have done which we would have had to pay for, we chose not to. I did splurge and spent heaps on a helicopter charter for my wife and kids. Best $600 bucks I ever spent - tour around Uluru and Kata Tjuta - supposed to be an hour but we went over a bit (nearly 1 1/2 hours total) not bad for just having the four of us on board with a super informative pilot.

For me and my family, we had a ball. We learnt something of an ancient culture, as well as the significance in modern day culture. We made geological links to our own landscape in Western Australia. Mostly, I learnt something deeper about respect and tolerance.

Cheers

Anthony

hi Honky
well thank goodness for the good old days
i went there in October 1980 with caravan and stayed in original park and again in July 1987 when we camped at the uluru hotel/motel site camp ground
i have climbed the rock twice and the Olga's cost b/all to stay in those days and wasn't packed out with tourists although there were t/buses there was only restrictions on climbing second trip if it was too windy a huge number of tourist have died during climbing due to falls but that was kept hush in later years
camps were dirt based and no power at Uluru site but we accepted that after all it is the centre of Aus
i feel blessed for the experience when i had the chance and found it inspiring both visits but everyone is different i don't feel a need to return
it's difficult to keep everyone happy these days when fee's are applied
i guess they might sort it out one day?? i'm happy with no regrets from my visits
cheers

My only reason for not having visited Uluru yet is all the rumours about not allowed to climb it or go near it by the time we get there. Perceptions of a place to tourists are important for an attraction fairly remote as it is. The original owners prefer to not have tourists trashing their place so I think they are not bothered by drop in numbers. They are not dependend on the income from tourists.

I think it's a special place and totally understand why it has spiritual significance for some people. I'm glad I climbed it back before it was frowned upon. I look back on it as a fantastic experience. I've been back a few times and always enjoy it even without the climb. You have to expect to pay a few bucks more when you are at the end of a 400 km cul de sac. I don't think a drop in visitor numbers is due to cost. I think it's just too far to drive for people that are getting more time poor. There are easier destinations.

Last year we spent four days at Yalara. We found plenty to see and do in the area and felt that the National Park was very well run. We did not think the charge for a powered site At Yalara was too exorbitant considering the remote location. Plenty of CPs charge more when they are much closer to cheaper utilities and transport.
The decline in tourist numbers this year is being noticed in many places which are expensive to visit because of distance or other costs. This year we have travelled in northern Queensland, to areas very appreciative of the annual "grey nomad" pilgrimage and the "rush to the Cape". We have heard many comments about the drop in visitor numbers and the late start to the tourist season.
It could all be as simple as people taking shorter holidays and trying to cut costs by visiting areas closer to home as they worry more about their financial circumstances, job security and superannuation etc. John and Lynne

It would be interesting to see a breakdown of the visitor numbers - domestic vs overseas, and retirees vs "holidayers". That may shed some light on the causes. Certainly a lot of retirees have income streams from investments which are feeling the pinch from the lower interest rates of the past few years, and that may be a factor in that group's deciding to visit a relatively remote location with monopoly pricing.

I'm not convinced that it is a more than once-only destination for many Aussies, and I don't see it as a particularly attractive destination for families with young tin-lids. In their younger years we took our three kids to many locations in Australia and overseas but Ayer's Rock/The Olgas weren't among them. We have ourselves been back there in 2014 and again in 2015, but more as a result of using the GCR as our preferred way out of WA to reach the rest of Oz.

Having recently experienced the Kakadu bit where NT-ites don't have to pay for a pass (yes, all Australians are equal, but apparently some are more equal than others), I'm glad that particular bias hasn't reached the rock (yet). If it does and we happen to be out that way again, I'd be sorely tempted to get a GCR east-west permit just to get from Yulara into the rock park.

Its become an increasing rip off over time Honky, espically since they built the resort so far away.

If it wasn't for the climb up it wouldn't be worth the petrol to drive there !

It seems to me that, should the Head Ranger break wind on wakening in the morning, the breeze is judged too fast and they decide that the climb should be closed.
With regard to the caravan park, it is a bit expensive and the facilities can be poorly maintained and inadequate for the number of people who show up in the winter.

There is a useable free camping area before you get to Yulara on the southern side of the highway with the turnoff marked by a water tank near -25.220159, 131.229938.
I would caution all readers against an apparently common habit of camping there but sneaking into Yulara after sundown to use the facilities without payment. Totally inappropriate.

Numbers declining or rip-off pass $$ declining ? Was - is a great little black market by back packers , stay at Coward Springs and your bound to be offered a pass with 2 days remaining for $10 or 1 day remaining for $5 ,,,,,,,,,