July 27, 2025 – Ayers Rock Resort (Author: J)
On our first full day at Ayers Rock Resort, we were up before sunrise for the Uluru Sunrise and Segway Tour. We booked this and all our other activities through Sails in the Desert. The tour comes with a light breakfast, so we just got dressed, packed our day bag, and headed to the bus stop in front of the hotel. We arrived 10 minutes before our 6:30 am pickup time as instructed in our reservation. 20 minutes later, a small coach arrived. The driver then slowly verified that everyone had purchased a parks pass for Uluru/Kata Tjuta. We waited as folks scrambled to find their passes or pull them up on their phone. Finally, we were on the road.
As we made the 20 minute drive to the park, the sky began to lighten and change colors. By the time we arrived at the parking area for our breakfast, it was after 7 am and the sky was more or less a solid shade of blue. However, my research indicates that sunrise was at 7:10 am that day, so technically we saw sunrise over Uluru. Was it worth getting up early to be at Uluru technically at sunrise? No.
While we were watching the sky make its final transition from bright to slightly brighter, our driver set up a light picnic breakfast of muffins, granola, fruit, coffee, and juice. We ate while milling about admiring Uluru.
If you are unfamiliar with Uluru, it is the world’s largest sandstone monolith. In other words, it is a really big rock. (This distinguishes Uluru from nearby Kata Tjuta, which is several really big rocks). The description doesn’t make it sound that interesting, but somehow it is. You probably need to go to understand why. There’s something about the feeling of the place that makes it special – and you can only experience that feeling by going.
After breakfast, there was a bathroom break. Then, we were driven to the staging area for the Segway tour. Once there, we were divided into two groups. Our group was assigned Segway practice, then short hike. The other group would hike, then Segway.
We received helmets, knee pads, and elbow pads. Then, we were each assigned a Segway. Segways are two-wheeled people transporters commonly used by mall cops in the United States and by groups of tourists worldwide. This was our first experience with them. I selected a Segway tour because I wanted to circumnavigate Uluru, and I thought that doing so on foot would prompt whining from my child.
As with any new activity potentially involving athleticism, I was worried that I might not be able to master Segway riding. Fortunately, there’s not much of a learning curve. You lean forward to move forward, backward to go backwards, and so on. For the first minute or so, I lurched along the practiced course. But once I got the hang of body positioning, the ride smoothed out. After two laps around the practice course, I was feeling confident. (P and D were satisfied with one lap each).
Once everyone in our group had proven themselves proficient in scooting along, we were assigned numbers and glided off in single file for our tour. The tour takes you around the base of Uluru, with some stops to learn about sites of religious significance to the Anangu people. These stories are shared by a 20-year-old white woman who, in fairness, had permission to share the level of lore that is considered appropriate for people who are not part of the Anangu culture. Because of their religious significance, there are certain portions of Uluru that visitors are asked not to photograph. The guide was careful to point those out, so my photos were all taken from approved locations.
We really enjoyed Segway-ing around Uluru. Zipping along while admiring the rock was a lot of fun. As we approached the end of our route, I noticed a low hanging branch to my right. To my left, were a few small puddles. (Although our trip was during the dry season, there had been an unusual burst of rain the day before.) I made the snap decision to veer left to avoid the branch. That is how I learned that Segways wobble on wet sand. I held on for dear life and engaged my core to keep the Segway from tipping; I managed to avoid a wipe out. Behind me, P struggled; he put his foot down to stabilize himself and all was well. D stopped to aid P, thereby avoiding the struggle altogether.
Unfortunately, the woman behind D was far enough back that she didn’t see what had prompted D to stop. When P, D, and I were back in scooting formation, she also veered left into the treacherous wet sand. She could not keep her Segway steady, and it fell, pinning her leg. She ultimately got back on the Segway and scooted the short distance to the staging area. But we saw her in a wheelchair later in the trip.
After we turned in our Segways, we took a short walk to the Mutitjulu Waterhole. This is another site of spiritual significance to the Anangu. Unfortunately, due to pollution, it is no longer a good water source for wildlife. According to our guide, that explains the relative lack of kangaroo and emu near Uluru. Also unfortunately, the caves near the waterhole, which contain rock paintings, were closed to visitors. Apparently, a modern-day artist had decided to improve upon the paintings, and his additions were being removed. After the walk to the waterhole, we boarded our coach for the short return trip to Ayers Rock Resort.
Would we recommend the Segway tour? Yes. It was a lot of fun. And it accomplished my goal of making it all the way around Uluru without so much as a dissatisfied snort from P. I would not, however, recommend the sunrise tour. The shuttle simply does not leave early enough to provide the sunrise experience that you would expect – i.e., watching the sky turn pink and yellow behind Uluru. Sleep in and take the regular morning or afternoon tour instead.
By the time we arrived back at the resort, it was lunchtime. So, we got off in Town Center and went to Geckos Café for lunch. Geckos Café has Italian fare. We ordered arancini, salad, and pizza to share. I was not too impressed by the food, but it was edible.
After lunch, we returned to our room. It had not yet been made up, so I called down to the front desk to request housekeeping. Then, we packed all our dirty laundry into a single suitcase and wheeled it to the laundry room. On longer trips, we usually pack enough undergarments for the entire trip and wash our pants and shirts in the sink. However, because I knew we would have access to laundry facilities at Sails in the Desert, we were able to pack fewer undergarments and minimize sink laundry. As a bonus, the laundry room at Sails is free to guests; laundry soap is even provided.
After starting our laundry, I set a timer on my phone. Then, we went to the lobby bar for coffee – mainly because we were stalling our return to the room to allow housekeeping time to do their work. When the timer went off, we made our return to the laundry room to move our wash into the dryer. Then, at long last, it was back to the room to rest. D and I returned to collect the laundry when it was dry (which took 2 cycles in the dryer).
For dinner that evening, we took the shuttle to the Outback Hotel to eat at Outback BBQ. This is an outdoor restaurant and bar where you grill your own protein and then pair it with sides from a salad bar. Surprisingly, they have plant-based schnitzel (a breaded chicken-less cutlet) as one of their mains. The schnitzel is cooked in the kitchen and brought out to you, so we missed out on the grilling experience. But we still enjoyed our meal and thought it was good value. After dinner, we went back to the room. D and I shared a beer on the patio while we looked at the stars. P briefly joined us before retreating to his bed to tap on his phone. Then, it was early to bed to prepare for another sunrise tour.
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