I asked on anther forum about Dogs at Uluru and got a very catty response to which I added my own frank opinion, read on....
Hmmmmm by: Basil faulty
"It's a national park not a commercial enterprise. And it certainly is not a resource designed to please or make money of retirees. It's designed to protect native wildlife and the environment."
Maybe on the surface, but the extortionate fees would suggest otherwise. Made me laugh not one cent is actually spent on maintaining the rock, not one cent. In due course it will erode and become part of the desert.....It's visibly eroding as we speak, every night as the sun sets and the rock cools down it does what every other rock does: shed it's outer layers as the contraction from the heat does its thing. Where do all the fees go I hear you all ask.... Well there is maintenance on the vast machine set up to extract tourist dollars to support the rock and of course the pockets of the beaureaucrats in the NT government have to be lined. Just think what would happen to the NT coffers if Ularu was not there?
we're heading that way in a fortnight.what a helpful site that is . talking to friends that just returned i doubt we'll be paying to see ayres rock.apparently there are some parts they even stop you touching or taking photos of.so much for being a free country.maybe i'm just to stingy to spend money. there are other attractions out that way to see at nearly no cost. roy
Cruising Granny said
07:51 PM Sep 4, 2009
It all depends on who's the custodian of The Rock.
Take the dollars from the visitors but don't give them anything for their money, and don't put anything back into the infrastructure in the Uluru Park.
The NT administration is not the custodian of the rock. They may get some revenue from the custodians.
For some reason I have never had any desire to see this magnificent monolith, and now with the custodians holding the visitors to ransom I have even less desire to visit.
There's a similar rock in WA in the Great Sandy Desert which holds more appeal to me. I didn't get out there when I worked out there, but I know someone who knows someone, if you get my meaning. Enjoy your visit and I hope it doesn't cost you a fortune. Cheers Chris
Rolly said
07:54 PM Sep 4, 2009
Are you referring to Mt. Augustus, Chris ?
Vic41 said
03:26 AM Sep 5, 2009
Basil,
Dogs allowed at Yulara Caravan Park if you don't mind leaving your dog tethered or inside your caravan while you visit the rock.
See Badgers Report here, NT then Yulara at the bottom of the NT list.
Badger is a member/admin/moderator on the CF Forum.
Vic
-- Edited by Vic41 on Saturday 5th of September 2009 03:28:18 AM
Cruising Granny said
11:06 PM Sep 5, 2009
No it's not Mt. Augustus. It's almost due east of Anna Plains homestead, NE of Sandfire. All the gates are locked as it's at the eastern extreme of Anna's leasehold.
I was told it's local name, but I've forgotten and would have to do some searching to find it again. The old telegraph road goes out that way but not close enough.
Just another mystery destination to pursue. Cheers Chris
Basil Faulty said
04:50 PM Sep 6, 2009
Vic41 wrote:
Basil,
Dogs allowed at Yulara Caravan Park if you don't mind leaving your dog tethered or inside your caravan while you visit the rock.
See Badgers Report here, NT then Yulara at the bottom of the NT list.
Badger is a member/admin/moderator on the CF Forum.
Vic
-- Edited by Vic41 on Saturday 5th of September 2009 03:28:18 AM
I eventually got that out of them.... LOL. I guess I could leave Gracie chained and padlocked to the van, maybe we can dogsit while someone else does the rock and vice versa.... I have a sneaking suspicion that there is a pet care thing attached to the Erldunda road house....
dave06 said
05:21 PM Sep 6, 2009
well Basil we are here now (35 of us) and I wouldnt miss it for quids, the internet is absolutely ****house but the majesty of the rock is beyond compare
japs everywhere and tour buses coming and going all night and all day, costing us a squillion, and I DONT CARE!!!!
no you are not allowed to touch certain parts of the rock and you are not allowed to photograph some of it but there is so much of it that those little bits doesnt bother us
I am chewing up my 2 dollar coins at a rapid rate of knots here so I've got to keep it short
dogs in the park are not a problem, leash at all times, plenty here that would baby sit your doggy, we only stayed in yulara 1 night, the group outgrew the place so we had to make tracks
one word to the knockers of the rock and that involves a big raspberry, you never know anything about the place until you feel the majesty and touch the history and mystique, there is nothing, I repeat NOTHING to compare with it anywhere in the world!!!!
I will be back again and again!!
we have met quite a few grey nomads up here and they are all great folks, we've had and are having and will have an absolute ball!!
alice springs here we come!!! so look out!!!
xina said
05:27 PM Sep 6, 2009
Another bit of useless info. Did you know that Ayers Rock is UPSIDE DOWN? It was scientifically proved quite a few years ago.
Cheers,
xina.
Firefly said
06:15 PM Sep 6, 2009
You go Dave, pleased to hear you are having a ball.
My partner tried to get me there but part of me just says no, stay clear, its quite bizzare a feeling to be honest.
dave06 said
06:54 PM Sep 6, 2009
fly I would be honored and proud to hold your hand as we walked around the monolith, absolutely magical mystical "spirit of place", felt by all and sundry, white black and yellow, yanks dont show much respect though, pulled one up for throwing a chip packet out, he got a bit grumpy till I stood up, he very quickly cowered and found a bin
caught the last dying rays lighting up the boulder last night whilst enjoying a whiskey, nothing can describe the colors, i swear I could hear it "sigh" as the last of the light faded
if you or anyone gets a chance to get here then do it, the rest of the world knows about the joint and they are taking no prisoners, they willingly part with their hard earned as I am doing, this is my third visit and we are planning the next as we pack up to leave
good to see you all playing nice with each other and placing plenty of posts for me to catch up on upon my return
and a quick welcome to all the newbies from me as well, I hope you get as much out of the site as we enjoy putting it in!!
oh well the last of my 2 dollar coins has just been swallowed and I am getting big red writing flashing across the screen so i gotta go
Basil Faulty said
07:13 PM Sep 6, 2009
xina wrote:
Another bit of useless info. Did you know that Ayers Rock is UPSIDE DOWN? It was scientifically proved quite a few years ago. Cheers, xina.
Last time I was there, back in the dreamtime, we were told that the rock and the olgas were actually the same formations "ends sticking out of the ground like a giant U in the sands of the desert....
BarbandDaz said
09:00 PM Sep 6, 2009
Hello Dave, So good to hear that you are having a great time. We were last at the rock in 1989 - and yes most people DO feel some sort of deep 'spirit' whilst they are there. Great place - want to go back soon. You say that you stayed at Yulara for 1 night - where did the group stay after that? Barb
Bridgee said
09:51 PM Sep 8, 2009
We spent a few days at Ularu / Yulara in July and we must say after hearing all the rumours before we got there from fellow nomads about how expensive it was, we were pleasantly surprised.
FIRST RUMOUR: The caravan park charges $42.00 per PERSON a night for a powered site. WRONG - the fee was $38.00 a night for 2 adults.
SECOND RUMOUR: The fee to enter Ulara National Park was $50..00 per person per day. WRONG - the fee was $50.00 per CAR for a THREE day pass!
THIRD RUMOUR: Bring your own food, the Ulara supermarket is expensive. WRONG - porterhouse steak $12.95 a kilo, brocolli $2.99 a kilo just to name a few.
FOURTH RUMOUR: Don't buy fuel at the resort, get it from Erldunda Roadhouse. WRONG - it was 3c a litre cheaper than Erldunda.
And as for The Rock itself, as Dave says "the majesty of the rock is beyond compare". Watching it change colour in the sunset is such a moving experience, one we'll never forget. We will remember our stay there as one of the highlights of our around Australia trip and excellent value for money.
dave06 said
10:02 AM Sep 9, 2009
spot on Bridgee, lot of rot going about surrounding the rock, we loved it although it can be a wee bit expensive
however when I talk to people about their daily expenses and how often they dine out then the price of admission and any stays at the rock pale into insignificance
these people will willingly and regularly spend $60 on a meal for two and $30 on a bottle of wine (as we have done on many occasions) and yet grizzle about the price of admission or the park stay to a tottaly magical place
I will not put any prices up here as they can all be easily found on the web, suffice to say if all prices were double I and the crew would still go back
lot of dribble surrounding the rocks prices, mainly from those that have not been, we have and we will be back again!!
darrell said
04:33 PM Sep 9, 2009
Hello to everyone on GN site
I've been looking at your site since we knew we were going to retire & go forth
We are going to Yeppoon from the Central Coast NSW to pick up a van we bought
We are looking at a 4 day trip to do this early October
The problem is we have 2 dogs 1 Weimarana & 1 Viszla ( big dogs )( well behaved gun dogs almost pussy cats )
They are both 9 yrs old & have never been away from us
I will not put them into a kennel & I cant take them with me on the trip up to the van
I did find a site called Home Minders where someone comes into the home & looks after house & dogs , but 4 days is all I need & these people like to stay longer than that
Do any of you have any suggestions of what I can do ?
Have you been through this dilemma & found a solution ?
All said this my introdction to The Grey Nomads Site
My name is Lee & other halves name is Darrell
Firefly said
04:37 PM Sep 9, 2009
Hi Lee and Daryl and welcome to the site. I am sure the travellers with dogs will answer your question without a worry. There is a section "Travelling With Pets" on the front page. This section may be of help to you.
Hmmmmm
by: Basil faulty
"It's a national park not a commercial enterprise. And it certainly is not a resource designed to please or make money of retirees. It's designed to protect native wildlife and the environment."
Maybe on the surface, but the extortionate fees would suggest otherwise. Made me laugh not one cent is actually spent on maintaining the rock, not one cent. In due course it will erode and become part of the desert.....It's visibly eroding as we speak, every night as the sun sets and the rock cools down it does what every other rock does: shed it's outer layers as the contraction from the heat does its thing.
Where do all the fees go I hear you all ask....
Well there is maintenance on the vast machine set up to extract tourist dollars to support the rock and of course the pockets of the beaureaucrats in the NT government have to be lined.
Just think what would happen to the NT coffers if Ularu was not there?
Read more: http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/pets-at-uluru.html#ixzz0Q6zT5wHh
talking to friends that just returned i doubt we'll be paying to see ayres rock.apparently there are some parts they even stop you touching or taking photos of.so much for being a free country.maybe i'm just to stingy to spend money.
there are other attractions out that way to see at nearly no cost.
roy
Dogs allowed at Yulara Caravan Park if you don't mind leaving your dog tethered or inside your caravan while you visit the rock.
See Badgers Report here, NT then Yulara at the bottom of the NT list.
http://caravanersforum.com/badger.php
Badger is a member/admin/moderator on the CF Forum.
Vic
-- Edited by Vic41 on Saturday 5th of September 2009 03:28:18 AM
My partner tried to get me there but part of me just says no, stay clear, its quite bizzare a feeling to be honest.
Hello Dave,
So good to hear that you are having a great time.
We were last at the rock in 1989 - and yes most people DO feel some sort of deep 'spirit' whilst they are there.
Great place - want to go back soon.
You say that you stayed at Yulara for 1 night - where did the group stay after that?
Barb
FIRST RUMOUR: The caravan park charges $42.00 per PERSON a night for a powered site. WRONG - the fee was $38.00 a night for 2 adults.
SECOND RUMOUR: The fee to enter Ulara National Park was $50..00 per person per day. WRONG - the fee was $50.00 per CAR for a THREE day pass!
THIRD RUMOUR: Bring your own food, the Ulara supermarket is expensive.
WRONG - porterhouse steak $12.95 a kilo, brocolli $2.99 a kilo just to name a few.
FOURTH RUMOUR: Don't buy fuel at the resort, get it from Erldunda Roadhouse.
WRONG - it was 3c a litre cheaper than Erldunda.
And as for The Rock itself, as Dave says "the majesty of the rock is beyond compare". Watching it change colour in the sunset is such a moving experience, one we'll never forget. We will remember our stay there as one of the highlights of our around Australia trip and excellent value for money.