rock base tour

My husband and I visited Australia on an around the world trip in January 2014 after arriving from South America. We had driven along the east coast and not been blown away with what we'd seen or learnt about Australian history apart from the Great Barrier Reef. However, the Rock Tour with Matt as our guide changed all that. We had booked the tour not knowing much about it and were initially a bit disappointed to see what seemed to be a party bus turn up with a cooler full of beers on board and the average age being around 20, where we were slightly maturer. However, after that things just got better and better. Matt was a hilarious guide, constantly winding us up and poking fun at stuff but he also had a serious side and a real passion and respect for Uluru, Kings Canyon, aborigine people and the culture- this is was the first time on our trip that we'd seen this from an Australian and we were elated. Sleeping under the stars was an amazing experience, and mucking in with the chores seemed arduous to begin with but was part of the fun and gave our group real team spirit. Matt also had brilliant taste in music and I seemed to be the only person on the tour to appreciate it as the others were German and Korean, so I got to make lots of requests! I would definitely recommend this tour and Matt as a guide, thanks to him we had a brilliant time and the tour changed our perception of Australia and Australians. Be prepared to help out with housekeeping and rough it a little, but who wants to be driven around in a posh van, stay in ac rooms and look at the rock upside down through a champagne glass anyway? That's so far from the aborigine way and not getting to know the sacred land as one should. I hope you're reading this Matt, I'm sorry it took so long but it was always on my to do list and the trip was a true experience- thank you so much. From those British Pakistanis that were always last to roll up their sleeping bags and get ready and put to shame by our efficient German and Korean counterparts!

Itinerary was good; there was enough time to explore, but it was still efficient. It was good that people were able to choose longer or shorter treks, so it didn't get too physical to anyone. It also made the tour more personal cause we were split to smaller groups. Our tour guide Phill was informative, friendly and very helpful. He cooked dinners quickly and was efficient all the time. He did not patronize us too much, but he still took all the safety issues seriously. He also seemed to enjoy his job, which made us all feel really cozy and welcome. The atmosphere was awesome thanks to Phill! If you want to have fun and meet other easy going travellers Rock Tour is definitively for you, but if you want a high end tour with champagne, choose something else. Rock Tour could pay a bit more attention to the vegetarian food, otherwise, food was tasteful.

I'm not one for camping & hiking, but this was a genuinely great experience and I recommend it.Our tour guide was Nick, who was really friendly & funny. I was one of many solo travellers on the trip so was brilliant for meeting people. The tour takes you to kings canyon (we weren't able to do the whole walk because of the heat) on day one, kata tjuta, the Uluru cultural centre & cave walks on day two & then on the third day a base walk of the rock. Only criticisms - not really enough time for taking photos on the walks & there wasn't a lot of information shared with us about the relationship between the aboriginals & the rock. Given this - there was definitely not enough time allocated at the cultural centre. It was really cool getting to sleep & cook outside. The food Nick made was nice & the breakfast/ lunches were enough to keep you going. There was snacks given on the walls too. Watching the rock change colour at sunset was great, we saw a kangaroo sleeping behind a rock at kata tjuta & we were taken back to the sunset spot to watch the sunrise from behind the rock. There is a swimming pool at the Uluru campsite - just big enough to cool off, but kept you going on the long walks! The showering facilities at the campsite are great too. And after the tour there was a nice night organised at the rock bar back in Alice. This trip was an unexpected highlight of my time in Australia & I would recommend it.

Please be aware that you are not booking a "normal" tour but bush camping. If you are prepared for that and more importantly if you are willing to embrace what that means you will have an awesome time. Nick did a great job setting up the camp during a thunderstorm. Sunrise and Sunset were just stunning. Even though there were some tough moments were the heat was almost unberable or the rain did not seem to stop, I had an overall awesome experience. You should consider flying back from Ayers Rock in order to avoid the very long busride home (but then you will miss the nice dinner and drinks at the rock bar....). Give it a go.

Had A great time on the 3 day 2 might trio with the rock tour the company does a very nice job and the itinerary is perfect.

Having been on the 3 day 2 night tour I came away disappointed with the company, but I suppose you get what you pay for when it comes to tours in Australia. My advice would be to spend a little more and go with another company.

We had Josh as our guide on The Rock Tour and he definitely showed us a genuine outback adventure. The sites were amazing! We did run into a few unforeseen sticky situations (ie. lightening/sand storm in the middle of our bush camp night) but when in the outback, you can't very well run and hide in a cozy hotel. Josh dealt with these situations accordingly and we never felt unsafe or compromised. We will be telling the stories from this trip for years to come. Thanks Josh!

I went on a 2night/3day tour with a company called "The Rock Tour" our tour guide matt was great. It was such an amazing experience. Be prepared for lots of hiking in the hot weather. You need to be reasonably fit for this tour. We spent two nights camping outside, hiked Kings Canyon and Kata Tjuta, done a base walk of the rock and watched the sunrise and sunset. Cooked on the campfire and slept under the stars. It was one of the hardest but most amazing things I have done. If you don't feel up to the camping experience then book a day trip and do a base walk as the ground is flat so it is easier. If you are going in January make sure you wear a fly net as there are flies everywhere!

I went on this tour and was really disapointed about the general atmosphere among other things...It was not fun and friendly as it was claimed to be.The guide didn't seem to be happy to be here with us and was in a hurry all the time : only 5 minutes to eat in the sun, to go to the restrooms etc...The dinner was great but the lunch was not really good, one wrapp per person and some rest from the day before and didn't seem really yummy... For the amount of money we give we could expect a better food for the lunch, the sandwiches were in the water of the freezer...As the guide wasn't joyfull, the general atmosphere was the same.His driving wasn't really safe ( really fast all the time, he even fell asleep while he was driving and did unsafe overtaking) and the bus does not have seat belt !When people are in holidays they don't want to be in a hurry all the time and wants to feel safe.I'm sad to say that but I wouldn't recommend this agency for some conditions of the journey however the tour we made and the things we saw was reallly nice.

Before i join the tour, All I know about this place is a rock that change color. But the cultural tour give me a lot of history and information about the place and now I see it as a sacred place. Definitely coming back for longer stay and to everyone who planning to go there, please don't climb the rock! Respect their culture.

The last trip we did since we are leaving oz I. 2 weeks to fly home after a year here. Absolutely amazing. Very informative, cultural, and experience you can it miss if you are fortunate enough to have the cash!! We had the best tour guide. His name was killian. Honestly don't listen to anyone who winges about it.. ( there's always one) I wouldn't take the experience back for the world. Learnt and saw so much and it really did make for the best end to our trip.

When first booking the trip I didn't expect too much other than going to Uluru and obviously seeing a big red rock. Oh how wrong I was, out your guide (Andrew) was the sickest tour guide ever! The guy knows all his facts and has learnt all the tricks of the outback, and not a bad cook either! If your traveling Australia or a local just coming to Alice Springs as a holiday make sure you take this trip and get Andrew! You won't regret it :)

I can't say enough good things not just about the actual tour but also about the company. When researching which company to go through, I bothered the staff a lot of times ringing them up, asking questions, getting quotes, getting them to email me stuff and they were always so happy and helpful over email and phone. Then when I did book through them they sorted everything out for me, a greyhound bus up to coober pedy, accommodation and tour there, then another greyhound bus up to Alice Springs and accommodation there. On arrival into Alice Springs, Liam from the tour office was waiting for me and took me into the office just to explain a bit more about the itinerary and exactly what would be happening and what I needed to bring. We also spoke about my travel afterwards from there to Darwin and he gave me different ideas of how to get there, prices and what to do in Darwin as well as in Alice Springs.As for the tour itself, well I can't say enough good things about it. In my opinion a tour is only as good as the people you meet and the tour guide you have. Sometimes you can be unlucky with the people you have on your tour which is why it is so important that the tour guide be a good one. My tour guide was an Irish guy called Killian, which amused me at great length in the beginning. An Irish guy doing a tour on the centre of Australia and teaching us about the aborigines and their culture? Really? But he was an awesome tour guide. He taught us so much about the aboriginals and the geology of the places we were visiting, how they came to be etc. He used visual aids sometimes which made the learning process varied and a little easier. His passion and respect for the aboriginals and their way of life rolled off of him in waves and it was clear to see how much he cared. He could come across as maybe a bit firm and strict, however he had 21 peoples safety in his hands and he was trying to keep everybody safe from harm which he managed to do very well! His tutorial on how to do our swag and how to avoid snakes, spiders etc coming too near was funny and insightful and more importantly worked! Lol. Killian was a funny, helpful, informative tour guide who was a great laugh to be around, he took a lot of abuse and piss take from me and my friends for him being Irish and just generally anything he did! He took it lightly and took the piss out of us too so it was all good!As for the tour itself, it is action packed. You definitely get a lot for your money. Day 1 we climbed Kings Canyon which the first part of the climb is pretty hard going for anyone whether you are fit or not but definitely worth the hard work once you get to the top. Day 2 on to Kata Tjuta which is another 3-4 hour hike and then onto the aboriginal centre at Uluru and watching the sun set there and back to camp. Day 3 back to Uluru to do the base walk which is a 2 hour walk. It is a lot of walking and hiking, climbing steep slopes and uneven rocky surfaces for long periods of time so if you are not very fit or don't like walking or exercising or camping then this tour is definitely not for you. The only negative thing I could say about it is because it is so action packed it did feel quite rushed a lot of the time and like there wasn't enough time to really appreciate the views or take photo's, although I didn't mind too much as I was a fairly quick walker and could keep up with the group but I could imagine if I was one of the slower walkers that we were often waiting for that they might have felt it was a bit rushed.Overall out of 10 I would give this 15! I absolutely loved it. I previously knew nothing about the aboriginal people and their customs and now I can walk away from this tour knowing a heck of a lot more than i did before. Considering that all of your food and swag is included in the price, you get a really good frickin deal. During my time researching companies, I found this to be the cheapest and originally thought it might not be as good because it was cheaper but boy was I mistaken. Loved the tour and the guide and if I had enough money I would totally pay to do it all over again, but only if it was with Killian! I urge anybody who is heading in that direction during their time in Australia to definitely look these guys up, The Rock Tour in Alice Springs.To The Rock Tour team and to Killian in particular, thank you for giving me my best memory of Australia...... so far! ;)

I booked the wrong day, got an email from staff to verify and they changed my booking to the right day. I was with a friend, they went out of their way to change bookings to be on the same bus.I booked through a company not realizing another company had a $40 discount. When I asked about this in the office, they happily refunded the money.Lots of snacks, great experience. Tours met up at different places and the guides were entertaining and educational. When we were faced with a tragedy (Kings Canyon death) our tour guides connected us in a way that I'll remember forever.When we got back to Alice Springs we were treated with sensitivity, kindness and free drinks at a bar since our tour had befriended the young lady who died.Do your research about the weather and pack warm clothes for night-desert-weather. Go on tours like this if you like to be a little rugged.Thank you, thank you thank you Rock Tour and Toddy's.

The base walk around Ayers Rock was something really worth the effort. While a reasonable level of fitness is needed, only the distance should be any worry for the average walker. The paths are good and well signed to tell of any prominent features and some of the stories attached to those features. Bring water, sunscreen and insect repellent. Also note that the base walk start point is 2.2 km from the visitor centre and back again so perhaps you can arrange to be dropped at the Mala car park instead, finishing at the centre for bus pick up.