Our final free breakfast in the Marriott executive lounge and then we headed to the railway station to catch the train out to the airport - after the experience driving, this was definitely the safe choice for getting to the early flight on time. On top of that, it was cheap and easy.
We arrived at Uluru airport at lunch time (there was a half hour timezone change on the way), picked up a car and then headed to the hotel to check-in. Hotel is a bit grand - we were actually staying at the Outback Pioneer Lodge which is really a backpackers' place - very basic. We had 4 bunk beds, no carpet, no air con (thankfully this is winter time) and, shock horror, no TV! We did spring for the upgrade to have our own toilet & shower though. All the accommodation in the area is owned by a single company so that, plus the location, means that nothing is very cheap and in fact the room was more than adequate for 1 night. Just a bit of a change after Sydney.
Once settled we went out to Kata Tjuta which is a group of 35 rocks that emerge out of the desert not far from Uluru. In some ways, they are more impressive and you can get right into the rocks and gorges. We walked the Wolper Gorge and most of the Valley of the Winds before going out to a viewing point to watch the sunset. The whole area is stunning and the sunset very dramatic.
Back at the Outback, they had an outdoor (but under cover) BBQ area where you buy your meat and then cook it yourself on one of their BBQ grills. Long wooden tables & benches are shared by everyone and the place was full - probably a couple of hundred people in all. On top of that there was live music and a great atmosphere so a very good night was had by all even though we had an incredibly early start planned for the next day ...
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