Jan 10th, 2010
mytravelbackpack @ Lost Camel Hotel, Yulara, Australia
For some of you, it’s probably “just a big red rock” but that sandstone rock formation is the most visited site in Australia and one of its most famous landmarks. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is a World Heritage listed area.
Right in the middle of the country, you can get to Uluru by car (a bit less than 20 hours from Adelaide) or by plane (from Sydney, Cairns or Perth).
The closest place to stay for your trip at Uluru is Yulara located at 9km north. Voyages Ayers Rock Resort offers you 7 different places to stay from the welcoming campground to the luxurious (could it be more than that) Longitude 131°.
Voyages kindly invited us to enjoy a night at one of their hotels : The Lost Camel Hotel.
Warning : There is almost no cheap ways to visit Uluru if it’s your main concern. The cheapest would be : Go there by car, stay at the campground (site from 16.50$ + 16$ additional person, 150$/cabin + 16$ additional person) and visit the park by yourself. Well actually, do not visit the park by itself, a great guide is so important to enjoy this place. I’ll post another article regarding the tours we took.
The Lost Camel is one of the their not-cheap cheaper options. At 280$/night, it is overpriced in any ordinary Australian City but Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park has nothing to do with ordinary. Is the park worth this price? Definitely.
The Hotel is really well located within the resort. It’s 100m from the souvenir shops, the grocery store and the pretty nice and cheap Red Rock Deli (which offers great salads by the way). The room is a bit small but clean and well designed. The highlight of this hotel is probably the great pool that helped us surviving under the outback sun and cold 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).
There is a rumor over the web about a walk-in rate at Lost Came which would be a 100$ discount by night. Is it true ? Good question. It’s up to you if you want to verify this info by going to Lost Camel without a booking, but I wouldn’t try this in the high season for sure. But if you feel excited about this, go for it! (and let us know the result afterwards.)
My tip for Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park goes like this : You MUST be there for a sunset and a sunrise. One night is a bit short but it’s ok. Two nights would be better, you could see both sunset and sunrise at Uluru and Kata Tjuta (the other and less known big red rock).
More pictures : Lost Camel Hotel and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Pictures
Website : Lost Camel Hotel