Camping tour includes Uluru (Ayers Rock) in our 21 day outback tour.

Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock or “The Rock”) is one of the most recognisable natural attractions in Australia.

You would have seen photos, read or heard about Uluru, but nothing can prepare you for the visual impact it will have on you once you see it. It is such a unique rock the sun has a dramatic effect on its colour ranging from brown to oranges and reds or greys. Many keen photographers set up for days on end to record the varying colours at different times of the day and certain atmospheric conditions. We will try to visit it either at sunrise or sunset during our tour.

Uluru is the largest monolith in the world being 348 metres above the surrounding plain and 863 metres above sea level. It is 3.6km long and 2.4km wide and extends 5km below the desert surface with a total circumference of 9.4kms.

In 1872 William Giles (better known as Ernest Giles) and William Gosse were the first white explorers in this region. Giles was the first to see Kata Tjuta from Kings Canyon and called it Mount Olga after the then Queen Olga of Wurttemburg. The following year William Gosse was the first to reach Uluru and named it Ayers Rock after his superior, Sir Henry Ayers, the Chief Secretary of South Australia. (There is a story that Ernest Giles actually discovered Uluru as well, but William Gosse beat him to the claim).

Uluru means “great pebble” in the Aboriginal language and has immense spiritual importance. The Anangu people are the traditional tribe owners and custodians of this site, with some caves still off-limits to the uninitiated people.

The Anangu people prefer visitors not to climb Uluru. The path to the top is important with Mala ceremonies where they believe that during the time the world was being formed, the Uluru climb was the traditional route taken by Mala men when they arrived at Uluru. Also, the Anangu have a duty to safeguard visitors to their land. They feel responsible and great sadness if visitors are injured or killed – there has been several deaths as a direct result of climbing Uluru albeit mostly from heart failure. Many people choose not to climb to the top out of respect for the Anunga Law and culture; however the climb is still very popular for many tourists. A rope handhold makes the climb easier, but it is still quite a long and steep climb with many people giving up halfway. If you choose not to climb Uluru, you can always climb Mt Augustus or Mt Bruce which are both included on our 21 day all inclusive camping tour. Mt Augustus is actually twice the size of Uluru and Mt Bruce is the second highest mountain in Western Australia at 1235 metres.

Have a look at where Uluru is included as part of our 21 Day Tour.

Have a look at where Our other tours go in Western Australia.

Other places of interest we visit on this tour located in this area are -