29 Jun 2022
Unfortunately left high & dry by AAT Kings. We'd booked transfers from Yulara Resort to Kings Canyon Resort and further transfer 2 days later from Kings Canyon Resort to Alice Springs.
A month away from travelling, AAT sent an email saying they had cancelled our transfer from Kings Canyon to Alice. They suggested we leave Kings Canyon a day early. We had no alternative. There is no alternative. So we scrambled to cancel accommodation at Kings Canyon, extend accommodation at Alice, and cancel tours.
A couple of days away from travel we received another email saying our transfer from Yulara to Kings Canyon Resort had been changed from the afternoon of 24/6/22 to 4:45am that morning. Again, we had no alternative but to change our plans & drag ourselves out of bed at 4am.
We made it to Kings Canyon & stayed at Kings Canyon Resort overnight. Our AAT Kings transfer was due to pick us up at 11:45am and take us to Alice Springs. AAT Kings DID NOT SHOW UP. We called them from the Resort landline because Kings Canyon is very remote. We were told a bus would be there in 2 days & we could catch that! The resort manager said that would be impossible as they were fully booked out. We were told by AAT Kings to "get a lift to The Corner" and we could rendezvous with a bus going to Alice. The Corner is a 2 hour drive from Kings Canyon Resort.
I suspect we'd still be waiting for a bus if it weren't for the life saving kindness of the Kings Canyon Resort manager who organised one of her wonderful staff members to drive us for 2 hours then wait with us in the middle of nowhere for a bus that may or may not come.
Let me say that the AAT Kings drivers & tour guides that we met were lovely, knowledgable people let down by abysmal management practices. AAT Kings seem to have Central Australia transport completely stitched up. We could not find any alternative bus companies to provide transport between these remote areas. Next time, we'll hire a car for the duration.