Heard that in February that the area was so infested with swarms of insects that travelers literally couldn't get out of their bus (They were not on a Tauck tour). Is this a frequent occurrence, and what was/is the remedy?
Yes that is an issue unfortunatley. Tauck gives you nets to put on under a hat to keep the flies out of your face. Saw a video of locals and for some reason they are not bothered at all. On my trip a few years ago in November they were not that bad and some of the tour did not need the net.
Yes Gary, that is normal for that time of year in Australia, high temperatures and lots of insects. We went in August and there were no insects, nice cool early morning walk where you needed a light jacket and then as it got later you could take your coat off but it was never tooo hot.
We were there in late February, and, yes, we did use bug nets. However, I do not recall "swarms" of flies. It, ironically, (not planned and a change of itinerary by Tauck at the last minute) resulted in our time at Uluru falling on our 38th anniversary!! At that time the "sunset cocktail party" was a Tauck "surprise" (are there not so many of those nowadays, veteran Tauck travelers???), and we felt very special that this surprise party at a spectacular place fell on our anniversary! We even have photos of us, bug nets off our faces, champagne in hand, celebrating this day as the sun set behind us!! Talk about a wonderful memory! I cannot imagine the flies being so horrible that one would not be able to enjoy this very special spot! And, yes, I do also have photos of me lounging around the pool with bathing suit, straw hat, and bug net!! Lovely! But, such a great memory! BTW, at that time we had to buy the nets ourselves when we landed at Ayers Rock!
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Cheers,
Jan