Hotels in Australia’s Northern Territory

From my March 12-26, 2006, trip to AUSTRALIA, here are appraisals of hotels in the Northern Territory. (For others in New South Wales and South Australia, see the September and March articles)

• Before picking up my rental car in Alice Springs, I had lunch at the Royal Flying Doctor Service facility (8-10 Stuart Terrace, Alice Springs, N.T., Australia; phone 08 8952 1129 or visit www.rfds.org.au). A delicious bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich with iced tea was Aus$10 (US$7).

After lunch I walked to the Hertz office and picked up the car. All car rental arrangements were made over the Internet at the Hertz website, www.hertz.com. The total price for a one-week rental of a Toyota Corolla with a manual transmission, including 700 kilometers per day of free mileage, was Aus$388 (US$289).

• I drove south on the Stuart Highway 200 kilometers to Erldunda at the junction of the Stuart and Lasseter highways and checked into the Desert Oaks Resort (P.M.B. 25, Erldunda, N.T. 0872; phone +61 [0] 8 8956 0984, fax 0942 or visit www.desertoaksresort.com). The comfortable room was Aus$82 (US$61) per night.

That night I had pub food in their tavern with John and Marilyn, wheat farmers from Beacon, Western Australia. When they saw me eating alone, they asked me to join them! I was fortunate to meet many wonderful Australians on this trip.

• The next morning I was off early headed for Ayers Rock. The 250-kilometer trip took about three hours. It was 10:30 a.m. when I arrived at the Ayers Rock Resort (Yulara Drive, The Red Centre, Northern Territory; phone +61 7 412 49943, fax 56833 or visit www.ayersrockresort.com.au).

This resort is truly a 5-star oasis in the desert. Its expansive facilities cover many acres and include many accommodations (including the Sails in the Desert Hotel, the Desert Gardens Hotel, the Emu Walk Apartments, etc.). Most of the guests were wearing face nets to foil the flies. This gave the facility an otherworldly feeling, with Darth Vader-like characters scurrying to and fro.

• I wasn’t staying at the resort, but I decided to have an early lunch at their Gecko’s Restaurant before entering the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. The spaghetti Bolognese, green salad and iced tea were much better than I had expected. The cost was Aus$36 (US$27) with gratuities.

It was noon when I entered the park. The entry fee of Aus$25 (US$19) per person allows three consecutive days of access, though I’m not sure why anyone would need that much time. One would be bored to death and consumed by flies after three days.

Be sure to write your name on your park ticket in order to make it valid, and keep it with you at all times.

This area is a harsh environment and can be very hot. Be sure to drink plenty of water during your visit. Although a climbing trail to the top of Ayers Rock is available, the Aboriginal Ariangu people request that visitors not use it, as it has spiritual significance to them. I spent an hour exploring the area around the base of the rock. Out of respect, I did not climb, although many other visitors were doing so.

I then drove to the Olgas, a series of massive rock formations about 50 kilometers distant from Ayers Rock. The Olgas were not nearly as interesting as Ayers Rock, and I would not make the trip to them again.

ROGER HEWITT

San Jose, CA