A Week in the Red Centre

I happened to be keeping a close eye on flight deals, and suddenly one popped up for a $40 flight to Uluru! I had never been to Australia’s Red Centre or to Uluru, so the opportunity was seized! I originally thought I would just go for a weekend, but after recruiting some friends to jump on the same deal, we decided to make a whole week out of it!

Out of all road trips I have done, this was one of the most special. I like to think it was due to the company, I have completed so many solo trips up until this point that experiencing travel with friends (which is something I had not done much of) was very special. Couple that with one of the most beautiful and unique parts of Australia and you have yourself a great recipe for a good adventure.

Where we went:

Uluru Base Walk
Kata Tjuta
Walpa Gorge
Kings Canyon
Redbank Gorge and Canyon
Glen Helen Gorge
Ormiston Gorge
Ochre Pits
Serpentine Gorge
Ellery Creek Big Hole
Standley Chasm
Simpsons Gap
Alice Springs

Uluru Base Walk

Uluru feels like the crown jewel perched on the very top and centre of Australia. A powerful monolith, a queen, a UNESCO World Heritage site, with a staggering 348m in height, estimated to have formed over 500 million years ago! Most importantly, Uluru represents a sacred, living cultural landscape for the Anangu traditional owners who have lived in the region for over 30,000 years.

Uluru is the heart of their culture, filled with sacred sites, caves and ancient rock art. Be sure to be respectful when you visit, learn as much as you can about the Anangu culture and listen to their captivating creation stories.

One of the best ways to experience the magnitude and aura of Uluru is via the Uluru base walk, a 10km looped circuit that takes you around the entire circumference of this epic site.

Along the way there are some beautiful caves to check out.

Mutitjulu Waterhole and Kantju Gorge are some key highlights along the Uluru Base Walk.

Fun Fact about Uluru 1!

Uluru has a 9.4km circumference and is 348m high (which is taller than the Eiffel Tower, WILD).

Fun Fact about Uluru 2!

The vast majority of its mass is located underground, extending over 2.5km down! Apparently it often gets described as a “land iceberg”.

Fun Fact about Uluru 3!

The red colour is caused by iron oxidation (rusting) on its surface.

During a period of heavy rain there are numerous thundering waterfalls that flow off Uluru, on many sides you can see the erosion and effect of the water fun off, creating repetitive series of shallow pools.

Experiencing Uluru after intense rainfall is such a wonderful and unique experience, certainly one for the bucket list!

Kata Tjuta

Our first experience of Kata Tjuta was visiting the sunset viewing area for a picnic. The red glow of the sunset hitting the already warm and red backdrop is extremely beautiful.

It wasn’t long before we were back the very next day to tackle the Valley of the Winds walk!

Ready yourself for spectacular scenery! Awe-inspiring views and the feeling of being little ants exploring a monolithic, ancient rocky city.

Walpa Gorge

Another spectacular walk at Kata Tjuta is through Walpa Gorge.

The 2.6km out and back trail through the gorge takes you to a beautiful watery oasis at the end. It was quite dry when we visited, so there wasn’t too much water there for us (or I didn’t walk far enough?? Who knows!).

Kings Canyon

The next day we set off to explore the West MacDonnell Ranges! Our plan was to drive all the way to Alice Springs and back. Eager and ready for the spectacular desert gorges, swimming holes and sites along the way.

Our first stop was Kings Canyon! We opted for the scenic 6km Kings Canyon rim walk.

As you can see we had a clear blue sky day! Which also meant it was very hot, with very limited, if any at all, shade along the rim walk.

There is a beautiful creek that runs through Kings Canyon, with towering 300m sandstone cliffs above. The creek eventually ends at a spectacular waterfall flowing into the gorge, but unfortunately it was very dry when we visited.

You feel like you are in a completely different world, kinda like a mad max movie.

The tiny pools of water we did manage to find along the way were extremely refreshing in the heat! The little oasis above is called the Garden of Eden.

An epic site to visit. That night we camped near Patermann and enjoyed beautiful live music with epic food trucks.

Redbank Gorge and Canyon

Of all the sites we visited in the West MacDonnell Ranges Redbank Gorge was one of my favourites.

The beautifully refreshing swimming hole not only has the most fascinating jaggered red and pink rock, but it is also the start of an epic slot canyon.

It was quite a hot day, but due to the shade and protection the water was quite cold! It was also not the most clear or refreshing looking water, most likely due to the sediment in the rock and the local environment. We also came across a few dead frogs, which then encouraged us to call the water dead frog soup.

But, it was easy to ignore when this was the scenery before you!

The water was so cold in fact, that this was the furthest Ethan ventured into the canyon. Now, that is saying A LOT, considering Ethan has canyoned in the Blue Mountains at night time without a wetsuit.

Look at the colour of that rock! The narrow slot lasted the whole way through the canyon, eventually opening up. It was glorious sitting on the warm rock heating up in the sun, before the swim back through to the main swimming hole.

Serpentine Gorge

Next stop on our trip was Serpentine Gorge, a spectacular Gorge and waterhole. I believe there is a much larger hike you can do from here, but we had a few stops on our list for the day, so we only quickly visited the main gorge site in the morning.

Ellery Creek Big Hole

Ellery Creek Big Hole is a huge swimming oasis! There are plenty of trees along the sides where you can safely climb up and jump into the water below. Perfect spot for an end of the day or afternoon picnic.

Standley Chasm

A big one on the list to visit was Standley Chasm. It is a site which is very important and sacred to the Arrernte people, and is uniquely 100% privately owned and operated by the Aboriginal Arnernte people themselves. The traditional custodians welcome all respectful visitors to explore this beautiful and sacred piece of their culture.

Traditionally the site is called Angkerle Atwatye, which means ‘Gap of Water’.

It is a short 1.2km walk to the chasm on a well maintained and beautiful path.

The beautiful walls of the chasm reach 80m high!

Simpsons Gap

The last stop on the way to Alice Springs is Simpsons Gap, one I was also very excited to visit.

It is a super easy and well formed path from the carpark, and a very short walk (I think less than 1km).

The waterhole here is permanent and dreamy, making such a beautiful contrast to the dry hot desert surroundings.

Just look at that water!

Alice Springs

Finally, we reached Alice Springs. I was a little underwhelmed during this first visit, but I think i’ll need to go back again to re-assess. After all, the scenery the week before was out of this world, so it had a lot to compete with.

We ended our time in Alice Springs watching the sunset from the top of Spencer Hill.