Palya. This is the first word you’ll see when you step off the plane and into the Red Centre of Australia. Palya is the Anangu word for ‘good’, ‘OK’, ‘hello’, and ‘goodbye’, and you’ll hear it throughout your time in one of Australia’s oldest and most beautiful places. Here is my experience of spending 72 hours in the Red Centre!
Day 1:
We land in Yulara around 2pm. A complimentary (and air-conditioned) coach is waiting to take us to our home for the weekend – the luxurious Sails in the Desert. We quickly check in and freshen up, then prepare for our first activity – a scenic helicopter flight over Uluru.
We arrive at the launch pad after a ten-minute coach ride, and our excitement builds with our first glimpse of the helicopter. We also see Uluru for the first time and my heart skips a beat.
The helicopter is a gleaming silver beast, shimmering in the 35°C sunlight. We take our (luxurious leather) seats, buckle up, and take a million selfies. Then we’re off! I’m surprised by the smoothness of the take off, and as we lift into the air we start to see the sheer scale of Uluru. It is magical to see from above. With iPhone in hand, I snap a few token pics for Insta, then enjoy the moment. Our pilot takes us around the rock and tells us all about the formation, the local Anangu people, and the history of Uluru. We then fly over Kata Tjuta and experience that site too. Its size is equally impressive, and its smooth edges stand out against the blue sky.
After our flight, we’re transferred back to our hotel, where we have 30 minutes to relax and prepare for our next experience – Bruce Munro’s Field of Light and an Uluru sunset. Again, a coach picks us up and transports us to a nearby location. We walk through red sand and up a small dune. At the top are tables with white table cloths and bar staff with ice-cold drinks… all set in front of Uluru! I take another selfie, grab a Diet Coke, and mingle with some of my fellow diners. After the sun sets over Uluru (stunning!), we find our seats and enjoy a sumptuous buffet full of Australian Outback-themed dishes with plenty of wine and drinks.
After dessert, an astronomer joins us and talks about the stars. The night is so clear we can even see stardust around the Milky Way. I’ve never seen stars like this in my life and I suddenly realise how massive the universe is and how old this site is. We then walk down to the Field of Light itself – 50,000 twinkling rainbow globes covering an area the size of seven football fields. Wow!
Day 2:
After a big first day, we’re up at 4am to board another coach–this time to experience an Uluru sunrise. We rug up because it’s freezing (be sure to take all types of clothes, as the temperature can go from 3°C to 43°C in the same day). With our breakfast packs in hand (they come with the tour), we drive down the road to the national park and end up being the first ones there. Woohoo!
Our guide leads us to the viewing platform, then tells us to stake out a good spot, because soon the park will be packed with people trying to take a sunrise shot. I get my camera phone ready and, sure enough, more and more people arrive. It’s fabulous hearing so many different languages as we all come together to take Insta-worthy shots. The cloudy morning makes for a moody sunrise.
Back on the bus, we head over to Kata Tjuta. Kata Tjuta is actually even more sacred than Uluru to the Anangu people, and venturing between the mounds feels very special. The hundreds of domes all gathered together look almost like a city scape. Following the path, we pass a little lake and lots of bird life, which add to the serenity. After a peaceful hour, it’s back on the bus and back to the resort for a pizza lunch.
After lunch, we attend a traditional dot painting lesson with a local artist named Sarah. Sarah begins the lesson by explaining the different symbols represented in Indigenous art. She draws them in the sand and tells some stories. Then we are given our own canvas and paint, and asked to tell our own story using the symbols we’ve just learned. After an hour of painting (which is EXTREMELY RELAXING) and not even thinking about social media, we all get back together as a group to present our paintings and stories. What a nice way to spend an afternoon!
But the day’s not over yet. At 5pm,we go to Uluru Camel Tours and get ready to experience an Uluru sunset from camel back. Bucket list item… I think so! The camel leaders pairs us with camels to match to our personalities. I end up with Trevor, the most vocal and naughty camel, so I wonder what they were trying to tell me?
After a scary lift-off (camels stand with their back legs first), we set off on our walk. The camel handlers are very informative and I learn so much about these dromedaries. I didn’t know we had feral camels in Australia – did you? After sunset, we return to the camel farm for drinks, locally made damper, and dips. Then we hop on a courtesy bus to the Outback Pioneer hotel (one of Yulara’s other resorts), where we enjoy a delicious buffet dinner. Yum!
Day 3:
At 8am, with a playlist of Disney favourites, we hop in our hire car and embark on the 300km+ drive from Yulara to Kings Canyon. We stop at the Curtin Springs roadhouse for a toilet break and snack. They’re famous for their ‘F***ing Good Port’, so we purchase some to see if it lives up to its name. The label doesn’t lie, I can tell you! Then we continue on to Kings Canyon and our rim walk.
Preparing for the rim walk is vital and we eat before we start. You must carry sunscreen and at least two litres of water, as temperatures can get up into the 40s.
Kings Canyon has a 2.6km walk and a 6km walk. We do the 6km one, which is quite challenging at the start, as it features a steep climb of 1,000 steps. But we stop to admire the view from the top and…WOW! The climb is totally worth it. A little later, we pass through Priscilla’s Crack (made famous in the film Priscilla: Queen of the Desert in the scene where the characters climb through the crack while dressed in full drag). Further on, we go down some stairs to the ‘Secret Garden’ at the bottom of the canyon. It’s one of the most peaceful places I have ever been! It has a waterhole, lush greenery, and birds tweeting softly. It’s the perfect resting spot, and we stop for some much-needed water and apples. Then we climb back up the stairs and continue around to the south wall. The south wall is the perfect photo opportunity, so we pose for a selfie (and potential new profile picture). Then we start the walk back down to the car park – which is much more gentle than the climb at the start!
The landscape here is amazing. Imagine Jurassic Park meets the surface of Mars. To think that it’s millions of years old is mind-blowing.
We spend the night at Kings Canyon Resort and enjoy dinner under the stars. We start with drinks and canapes in the resort garden before being seated next to the fire pit for a five-course dinner. The chef explains each dish and how much of the produce is locally sourced. It’s a lot of fun!
72 hours might not seem like a lot of time, but it is enough to experience some of Australia’s most spectacular Outback scenery. This was definitely a bucket-list trip and my Instagram is now flooded with amazing travel pics from the Red Centre. So stop dreaming of the NT and start doing!
Book your next trip to the Red Centre!