It was wonderful getting to explore the key sites in the uluru/a
It was wonderful getting to explore the key sites in the uluru/alice springs area; in terms of logistics and value for money in that regard it was perfect, there would have been no better way to see it.
I did find the food was a very poor offering, I think mainly for me as a vegetarian. In this day and age it's a common preference, but all of the food for me was just the vegetables and carbs minus the protein. Not a huge deal but when we are doing 6-7km hikes i would have preferred more nutrition. On top of that, the snacks we were offered during and post hike were a box of pizza shapes and some sugary biscuits - again offering nothing in terms of nutrition. Didn't have a massive impact on my experience given it was just a few days, and I know you're constrained by budget, but there are many inexpensive options for protein for us vegetarians :)
Unfortunately the thing that had a massive impact on the tour was the guide. I know that he meant well and social skills obviously didn't come very naturally to him, but he spent majority of the time talking about the rules, all the ways we would potentially injure ourselves or die, over explaining and reiterating, continually drilling into us how we had to pick up firewood and work hard. The cumulative effect was a very negative atmosphere; most of us felt condescended to. We didn't even know some of each others name by the end, (don't get me wrong i was happy not to have to play icebreakers) but a simple asking of our name and where we are from so we could have introduced ourselves to each other at the start would have made such a huge difference! Instead all we received was the first of many lectures on water (important, but so is welcoming us to the tour).
