Northern Territory part 3 - The Red Centre

The centre of Australia is pretty red. That is all.

Friday 11th April: West MacDonnell Ranges

Today we headed out to explore the West MacDonnell ranges: an epic range of craggy orange hills and mountains. Our plan was to drive out to the Glen Helen Gorge and work out way back towards Alice Spring so that we had a shorter drive to Ghan at the end of the day.

After a lovely drive through the ranges, we arrived at the Glen Helen gorge. The walk was a bit of a bush whack, but we eventually found the river and some fishes amongst the reeds (finally out of Croc country!). Our second stop was Ormiston Gorge. This spectacular gorge featured a cool lookout platform and a chilly swimming river that we spent a good bit of time in.

After the two gorges we made our way to the Ochre Pits: a sacred aboriginal area where men retrieved the ochre used throughout their culture. Some very pretty rocks but lots of annoying bush flies too! Time flies when you’re having fun and the walk at our next stop, the Serpentine Gorge, was too long for us to do and still make it to Ghan before bed. We did however have time to have a quick dip in the Ellery Creek big hole, which was another cool swimming gorge, but a tad crowded as there was a camping area nearby. We planned on visiting Standley Chasm, but this was closed due to “sorry business”, otherwise known as an Aboriginal funeral. Instead, we visited the Simpsons Gap where we managed to spot some elusive black-footed rock wallabies in amongst the scree and boulders!

Time certainly had flown and so we rushed back to Alice Springs for some fuel and food and then hit the Stuart highway to finally arrive at the Ghan roundhouse for bedtime!

Saturday 12th: Kings Canyon

After a lazy morning, we made our way to Kings Canyon. What seemed very close as the bird flies was actually a 3.5-hour drive still! There was nothing to report on the drive, but we definitely can tell we have hit the desert due to the big expanse of not very much turning red! We arrived and checked in around 1.30pm so after some lunch we had a lovely swim to cool down before a short walk in the Canyon.

We did the Kings Canyon creek walk which is flat and cool for the 35C weather. We were definitely grateful for the shade and even saw 2 little wallabies, but they hopped away too quickly for a picture. We (read Mike!) did manage to get some good pictures of the birdies though.

We got back to camp around 4.30pm which just happened to coincide with happy hour, so we trotted to the bar to cool down with an alcoholic lemonade and an Alice Springs Brewing Co pale ale. A lovely way to cool down.

We had seen the light towers advertised as a thing to do at Kings Canyon, we had been planning to go and visit them, but we didn’t need to pay because our site looked perfectly into them. A chilled evening watching the lights and listening to the background music from them - bliss!

Sunday 13th: Kings Canyon to Yulara

A bright and early start to do the Kings Canyon Rim Walk at sunrise meant we were out of the campground by 6am! The walk was stunning, but the starting climb was pretty brutal even with the cool pre-dawn breeze.

The walk takes you up and around the north and south side of the Canyon with some incredible views and crazy bridges over BIG cracks. We saw heaps of bird life but the Spinifex pigeons at the start were very charming. The sunrise gave magnificent colours in all directions, and we even spotted a Black Footed Rock Wallaby! The skittish little things are super cute, and this one stopped hopping just further from the path so we could get a cracking photo. The rocks at the top were phenomenal and the mounds due to erosion went on for miles and miles. An awesome walk and would definitely recommend, could possibly challenge Mount Amos!

We had agreed on a late checkout so back to camp for a shower and some food we headed out on our way to the main reason we have headed down the middle - ULURU!

On the drive we spotted a couple of thorny devils on the road but when you’re doing 110 kph it’s rather hard to slow down and get a picture so you’ll just have to believe us. Unless you have a 4WD, the only stop on route is Curtin Springs but being cheapskates, we ate leftovers in the back of the van. We had been warned about ‘fooluru’ by the guidebooks and about 20 minutes away from Curtin springs we thought we had our first viewing of the famous rock but alas it was just Mount Connor, that being said it was still a pretty epic view!

Eventually the real Uluru, and the impressive Kata Tjuta/Olga’s, loomed on the horizon as we arrived at Yulara. After checking into the campsite, we made our plan for the next few days and headed into the main complex bit to watch a free film called “In my blood it runs”. It was a pretty moving documentary about a young aboriginal boy being brought up in Alice Springs but struggling to fit in with the western way of life. Definitely worth a watch if you ever get a chance.

After the film we made our way back to the campsite and then headed up to a nearby dune hill to view Uluru at sunset. It was pretty busy, but it didn’t detract from how cool it was to see Uluru. Little did we know quite how fantastic it would be when we got closer later in the week! Next to our camp slot was a family who had been travelling outback for the past few months, and we spent the night chatting with them around their firepit. Uluru here we are!

Monday 14th: Kata Tjuta

We found out that we got tickets to the Tokyo Sumo Wrestling competition, so we finally have a firm date and destination for travelling to Japan. Planning aside, our agenda for the day was Kata Tjuta - the “sister” formation to Uluru and about 100km further west.

We had a lie in after our early start yesterday and then drove out to Kata Tjuta, getting a cracking view of Uluru on the way too. Boy are they all huge! They loomed on the horizon for nearly an hour, growing in size until they dominate the sky. Photos don’t quite do them justice! We stopped off at the Kata Tjuta sand dune viewing platform to take them in and saw our first of many little skinks basking in the desert sun.

We walked through the Valley of the Winds (what a phrase to say!) in amongst the Kata Tjuta’s and finally saw the rock composition up close. From a distance they look smooth, but they are actually made up of clumpy granite rocks and sandstone conglomerate giving them a lumpy scaley texture as they have eroded away. We did the full loop of the walk, which includes around 1h30 without shade walking around, but the valley itself was simply stunning - two large cliff faces either side and a lush steep climb up the inside with gorgeous views in both directions. Unfortunately for you lot, photos aren’t allowed as the area is a sacred cultural site - they also believe it should be viewed in person so get yourselves there, trust us!

After the Valley of the Winds, we headed into the Walpa gorge for a different perspective in Kata Tjuta. By now the sun was pumping but the gorge brought some shady relief as you walked into it and viewed the native flora. Well worth the drive out to them. We headed back to the campsite and had a quick dip in the chilly pool to cool off for the evening. Tomorrow is the main event - Uluru.

Tuesday 15th: Uluru

A lovely early morning gave us a beautiful sunrise over Uluru. It really put on a show with the changing colours and although slightly cloudy they just added to the colours on the rock.

A walk I had been really looking forwards to was next on the agenda which was the Uluru base walk. It’s about a 10 km walk and takes around 2-3 hours because there is heaps of information and things to see. We couldn’t believe how much the rock changed as you walked round from water holes (I know right, we are in a desert!!) to caves - you can see so much. There are heaps of information signs as you go round explaining some of the stories that the local Anangu people have passed down through the generations, but it also points out all the culturally sensitive spots where you’re not allowed to take photos. The base walk joins up with the Mala Walk which is the busiest walk in the park, it takes you to a second water hole but along the way there are a number of caves which you can go in and see some of the rock art. All in all, a fabulous morning, I love Uluru even more than expected!

The afternoon was more chilled out and we went into the cultural centre to learn more. The buildings were shaped like the rainbow serpent which is part of the creation story for the Aboriginal peoples. They shared the stories in more detail along with paintings and photos to go with them. There was a really lovely sentence across the top which was in both the native language and also English, which was all about sharing culture, sharing land, and sharing life for the betterment of everyone and it reminded us so much of the Māori culture in Aotearoa. Photos were banned within the cultural centre due to faces of elders and the being shared. We were so close to buying another painting because they were lovely and super colourful, very different to the one we have and showing a different story. It was exactly what we had been looking for to learn about the culture.

We chilled back at camp for a couple of hours and booked our flight to Perth before heading back into the park for sunset. Thankfully, sunset was much quieter than sunrise! We set up the camera on a time lapse and then sat in the back of the van with the doors wide open watching it for ourselves. The orange glow is phenomenal, it honestly looks like someone is illuminating the rock with colour filter. As the sun dipped below the horizon we saw deep reds, burnt orange and even a splash of blue/purple hues.

Uluru is stunning and no words or pictures can put that into perspective!

Wednesday 16th: Yulara

I think this might be the first campground where we have had more than 2 nights so today felt like a bonus day and we could finally do some washing without being in a rush. It’s even better because it dries within 40 minutes when you hang it on the line here - desert weather is <3

We had our eyes on 2 of the free activities in the Ayers Rock Resort. The first was a Bush Tucker Talk about the local bush fruit and also the animals. Our host Mack was very funny but also insightful telling us how they catch perentie/monitor lizards by clonking them on the head with their digging sticks. She also spoke about Honey Ants which are in our painting. These ants have a massive sack at the end of their body which is filled with a honey tasting, maple syrup texture fluid. They eat them by popping the sack over their mouths and then they put the ant back into the next for the generations to come as the sack will regrow. Not sure I’d be brave enough to try them though because if they bite you, you’re left with a lisp for just over month!! We learned about the desert fig, Davidson Plum, and also Quandong which is known as the desert peach/apricot. The flowers of the Quandong tell the mob what the weather will be like in winter, if it’s a good yield it will be rainy, bad yield not so rainy! We also got to try some Quandong and Ginger Jam at the end. So yummy we hoped to buy some but the 800g jar was slightly too large for us!

After a stroll around the shops, we found our Uluru and Kata Tjuta magnet to add to the collection and then headed to bush yarns in the sand circle. We had 2 talks over a 45-minute period. The first was all about the women’s tools and roles within the mob and the second about the men’s. It was nice to get deeper information and to be able to touch and feel the tools. We also found out a lot about the day-to-day activities which was nice as lots of this is missing from galleries. The 2 presenters (Mack and Mike) were great and super knowledgeable. It was interesting to learn about the variety of uses of each tool in order to have as smaller impact on the environment as possible. It was a bit sad to hear that the local tribe are putting in a claim to get back a huge part of their culture which is around Mt Connor, but the private owner is having none of this and so at the moment they can’t even visit this impressive rock formations as it is on private land.

We headed back to camp for a shower and to dress up for the evening to go to the Field of Light Dinner - thanks mum/dad/grandma for this wonderful treat. It was maybe only 15 minutes from the campground, but you really felt like you were further away due to the lack of light pollution. We started at the top of the hill with stunning views of both Uluru and Kata Tjuta along with a (few!) glasses of bubbles and canapes. We will attach a picture of the menu because we can’t describe them as well but trust us when we say they were delicious!!

As the sun began to set, we headed down to our table for dinner. We started with a creamy pumpkin soup and bread roll as an entree, and you had a choice of red or white wine, and they attentively filled your glass regularly! We were on a table of 10 in total and everyone was really lovely and gave us hints and tips on things to do as we head on our journey south/back to Melbourne. Once again, the food was phenomenal, and the pictures don’t do it justice, but the Kangaroo was so soft and delicious, and the lamb cutlet was cooked perfectly. The bush tucker salads were yum and had a slightly nutty flavour due to the local herb. By this point we felt quite full but we both love a pudding, so we tried all of them. Mike loved the chocolate mud cake pudding, but my favourite was the pear and ginger tea cake. While we ate dinner, we were treated to a fabulous digeridoo performance and after the dinner we had a lovely talk by a local guide about the stars and how they use them for navigation and to know when/what to harvest. Along with some cool facts about the brightness and age of the stars.

After dark/dinner had settled we went into the Field of Light a really impressive piece of artwork by Bruce Munro, it was initially planned to be installed for 6 months but due to popularity it has now been in for 9 years! It was so cool to see the 1000s of lights which took 36 flights to make it from the UK to central Australia! The colours changed slowly in a wave to imitate the wind, and it was a lovely end to a luxurious evening. Happy hearts and happy minds after a lovely few days in the National Park.

Goodbye Uluru, we’ll miss you! Next up: we leave the Northern Territory and drive into South Australia… shortly before driving a third of it in one day! SA is pretty big and barren too, but listen out for the fun stuff we found along the way.