Kangaroo Under the Outback Stars: Southern Sky BBQ at Uluru

Hi! It's Yoko, who loves traveling abroad.

The night after I climbed Ayers Rock, I joined a tour called the Southern Sky BBQ Dinner!

Southern Sky BBQ Dinner

We waited for the bus in front of the reception of the Outback Pioneer Lodge, where we were staying.

I'd forgotten a jacket, and it felt like about 13°C (55°F). The difference from the daytime was crazy...

The bus took us to the sunset viewing site at Ayers Rock.
Almost everyone was a couple or married pair, and on the older side. Maybe because we chose the English tour, we were the only Japanese people.

We arrived about an hour before sunset. It's a great spot, quite close to Uluru!

The tour staff had drinks and nibbles ready for us.

Drinks were a choice of four: sparkling wine, white wine, red wine or orange juice. Sorry, beer lovers.

The snacks, from front left, were salsa, Aurora sauce and guacamole.
At the back, from the left, cheese, potato chips, crackers, and bell pepper and cucumber.

Honestly it was pretty basic, but I hadn't eaten since breakfast, so I couldn't stop reaching for the chips!!
My throat was crying out for sparkling wine, and I was tipsy in no time.
The bell pepper was sweet and delicious too.

Sunset at Ayers Rock

I tried taking some photos that look great.
Sipping wine while watching Ayers Rock lit by the setting sun is the best.

A blue and yellow gradient.

Gradually it shifts to purple, pink and blue.

The first day of our stay had the best weather, so it was a perfect Uluru sunset!

My first kangaroo at the BBQ dinner

After the sunset, the bus took us to the dinner venue, the Cultural Centre.

Uluru is very close here too, but 20 minutes after sunset it was already pitch dark!

There were several long tables, split into a Japanese-language tour (only Japanese guests) and an English tour.

Red and white wine or water were unlimited. (I didn't see any beer.)

The food was a BBQ buffet, and you could choose how you wanted your beef steak cooked.

Salad, bread, pasta, something like coleslaw, grilled onions, chicken skewers, lamb, beef steak, shrimp and kangaroo.

A couple in their sixties sat across from us, and I chatted a little with the wife, Rosemary.

Me: "Do Australians eat kangaroo regularly?"

Rosemary: "No, not really. Kangaroo is lean, so it's healthy."

When I nervously tried my first kangaroo, it really was lean. No strong taste at all, a bit like chicken tenderloin.

Dessert was a "lamington," a cake from Queensland, Australia: sponge cake soaked in chocolate sauce and rolled in coconut.

It's brown and looks very sweet, but it isn't that sweet. I wanted a bit more, so I piled on whipped cream and berry sauce and wolfed it down.

By then it felt like 10°C (50°F).
I was warming my chilled, lightly dressed body with tea when the woman at the next seat (I forgot her name) started saying something at me very fast in English.

Me: "Sorry, could you speak more slowly?"

Woman: "Oh sorry, was my Australian accent too strong for you? Ha-hee-hee-hee!!"

Me: "No, it's not that..."

Woman: "I'm a nurse, you know, and the kids who come in as patients are on their phones all the time! What do you think? Don't you think that's unhealthy?"

Me: "Yeah. It's similar in Japan. Kids need exercise too, I think."

Woman: "Exactly! Ha-hee-hee-hee!"

I enjoyed dinner with this big-laughing woman chatting me up the whole time.

I hope I'm that energetic when I'm a grandma.

Star talk (stargazing)

Around when everyone had finished eating, the lights were turned off and we moved to an open area beside the venue. The stargazing began.

When I looked up at the pitch-black sky, it was full of stars!!
You could see the Milky Way and the Southern Cross.

The explanation was in English, so I couldn't catch much.
But it was only about 10 minutes, I think, and not very detailed.

They tell you not to use anything bright like a phone, so if your English isn't strong, you might check a stargazing app during dinner.

Also, if your eyesight is poor, the stars look blurry.
I have astigmatism, and since I'd changed my contact lens brand, I couldn't see them very sharply, lol.

Common questions about the Southern Sky BBQ tour

Finally, here's some information for anyone considering a tour at Ayers Rock!

What's the difference between Sounds of Silence and Southern Sky BBQ?

The two major dinner tours at Ayers Rock are "Sounds of Silence" and the "Southern Sky BBQ" I joined.

The prices are about the same, and the differences are like this.

*Details may change, so check with the tour company for the latest information!

Can you eat while looking at Uluru or the stars? Isn't it pitch dark?

There are lights over the buffet and on the tables, but it's so dark around you that you can't see the food well.
You can make out the outline of Uluru (Ayers Rock) for about five minutes after you arrive at the dinner site, then it merges with the sky and disappears.
While the dinner lights are on, the stars are too faint to see.

Do flies get on the food?

It was too dark to see, but I felt there were none at all! Maybe there aren't any at night? It may depend on the season.

Does wind blow sand into the food?

That also depends on the season, but when I went (end of September) there was no wind!

Are there toilets?

You can use the toilets inside the Cultural Centre.

Can I stop at the supermarket on the way back to buy food for the next day?

No.
The only supermarket in Ayers Rock Resort is open from 8:00 to 21:00.
Dessert finishes at about 8 pm, then there's the star talk before you head back.

I want to do something similar with a rental car. How?

You can reproduce about 90% of it!

Drinking while watching the sunset:
The supermarket at Ayers Rock Resort doesn't sell alcohol, so bring snacks and drinks from Japan and you can do it!
Australia is said to have some of the strictest rules in the world on what you can't bring in (such as fruit). Choose your snacks carefully!

BBQ:
The Outback Pioneer Resort Hotel has a BBQ corner, so use that. Or just eat food from the supermarket.

Stargazing:
Step outside the hotel and it's pitch black! Look at the stars with an app as long as you like.

Drinking while watching the sunset was the highlight of Uluru for me.
There are lots of tours, so find the one you like!

See you next time!