5 Day Red Centre Camping Tour (Yulara to Alice Springs)

Fly in and start from Yulara, where your Australian Outback adventure begins. A small town at the southern end of the Northern Territory, Yulara is your gateway to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

Make tracks across sunburnt plains to the captivating domes of Kata Tjuta, large red rock formations believed to be about 500 million years old. Continue to Australia’s most iconic landmark – Uluru. Arrive in time to witness a magical sunset. Watch Uluru change colours as the sun sets below the horizon, then continue to your camp where a hearty dinner awaits. Choose to bunker down Aussie-style and sleep in a cosy swag (bedroll) beneath the star-studded sky, or catch some shut-eye in a permanent tent.

Accommodation – Permanent tented camp (with shared facilities)

Included Activities: Uluru & Kata Tjuta National Park Entrance
Meals Included:  Dinner

Wake early to catch an unforgettable Uluru sunrise, then get a closer look at this massive sandstone monolith on an unguided walk around its base. After your stroll, walk to the cave paintings near Mutitjulu Waterhole, where you will be met by an Anangu guide. Your guide will shed insight into the ancient rock etchings and the stories they tell, as well as the traditions of the land’s Traditional Owners.

Next, visit the nearby Cultural Central to browse its extensive collection of Aboriginal arts and crafts. After a local lunch, set off on a three-hour drive to your exclusive campsite within Watarrka National Park. (Kings Canyon). Get acquainted with your surroundings, enjoy an on-site dinner and settle in for the night.

Today’s driving time: about 3.5 hours
Today’s walking time: about 2 hours (or up to 4 hours if you do the full 8.5km / 5.3mi base walk.)

Accommodation: Permanent Tented Camp (with shared facilities including hot showers and flushing toilets)

Included Activities: Uluru Cultural Centre & Maruku Arts cultural experience

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, pull on your hiking shoes and set off to explore Kings Canyon. Plunging 270 metres/885 feet to the canyon floor, walking its rim reveals incredibly beautiful sandstone formations carved by wind and water. Discover its Amphitheatre, Lost City, North and South Walls and the surprisingly lush Garden of Eden, which owes its cycads and plant life to a permanent waterhole down in the canyon. After lunch, there’s time to relax for a bit before heading along an iconic Red Centre dirt track to the Western McDonnell Ranges.

Today’s driving time: about 5 hours
Today’s walking time: about 3 hours

Accommodation: Bush Swag Camp (basic facilities)

Included Activities: Kings Canyon Rim Walk

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Spend the afternoon exploring the Outback scenery of the Western Macdonnell Ranges. Visit one of the most photographed places in the Red Centre – Ormiston Gorge. Keep your eyes peeled for wallabies while admiring the colourful, sweeping walls surrounding its waterhole. Continue to Ellery Creek Big Hole, a popular spot for a refreshing dip.

After a satisfying day spent exploring the MacDonnell Ranges, your tour leader will find a suitable place to set up your bush camp for the night.

Today’s driving time: about 45 minutes
Today’s walking distance: up to 10 kilometres/6.2 miles

Accommodation: Bush Camp (basic facilities)

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Often overlooked for its western counterpart, the Eastern MacDonnell Ranges just might be one of the Outback’s best kept secrets. This is the home of the Arrernte people, the Traditional Owners of the land. Learn about their caterpillar dreamtime story on a short walk to Emily Gap, an important spiritual site to the Arrernte people containing galleries of ancient rock paintings.

Drive to Trephina Gorge, where you’ll set off on a one-hour guided walk to see its quartzite cliffs and rich birdlife. Afterwards, it’s time for lunch; grab a bite at the historical Ross River Homestead before continuing to the ‘Ghost Town’ of Arltunga where you’ll learn about the mistaken gemstone that lead to a mining rush here in 1887, and also precipitated its abandonment. After exploring the best of the Eastern MacDonnell Ranges, it’s on to Alice Springs where your Outback adventure ends upon arrival in the late afternoon.

Total driving time: about 3 hours

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch