“A red rose is not selfish because it wants to be a red rose. It would be horribly selfish if it wanted the flowers in the garden to be all red and all roses.” – O. Wilde
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Travel itinerary
- Day 1: Uluru Base Walk and Sunset point
- Day 2: Kata Tjuta, Valley of the Winds and Walpa Gorge
- Day 3: Uluru sunrise point, Liru walk and transfer to Melbourne-Cairns
- Conclusions
Introduction
Red. To the sentimental people it is the color of love, to patriots it represents the blood of the fallen, in politics it recalls an ideology to be embraced or opposed, to chemists it reminds iron. In Australia, it is the color of the land of the Aborigines. The Red Center is a huge fiery red desert located in the Northern Territory, and is home to the most sacred sites for native Australians, particularly the sites of Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Here one can come into contact with some of the most important Aboriginal communities, be confronted with surreal scenery and immerse oneself in remote nature, watching, among other things, the world’s most famous rock change color several times in few minutes.
To visit Red Center, one point to pay special attention to is the climate, which is very different from other Australian regions. The best season to visit Red Center is our Summer, as the average temperatures during the day are relatively cooler than at other times of the year. By “cooler” we mean something around 30 degrees, with a large temperature range between day and night. In other seasons, temperatures reach as high as around 45 degrees, and considering that some of the most beautiful trails are completely under the sun and the drinking water present at the few points located on the trails does not seem potable, you will understand that it may not be the best to be in the middle of the desert in certain conditions. Consistent with this clarification regarding the climate, the trip I will describe in the next paragraphs took place in August. The only minor drawback of that period is the fact that the sun sets a little early (around 6 p.m.) and consequently the parks also close earlier than the rest of the year, so it is important to plan your days accurately to be able to visit them properly.
Another important aspect to keep in mind relates to the fact that there are very few facilities in Yulara, a hub town for those visiting the Uluru and Kata Tjuta sites. This has essentially two consequences. The first is that it is quite important to book accommodations well in advance to avoid unpleasant surprises. We, that is, me and my wife, booked lodging several weeks before we bought our plane tickets (banking on a possible cancellation), already finding several hotels fully booked. The second is that everything costs a lot, starting with the car rental, for which we spent 483 AUD (about €300) for a two-day rental, and ending to the overnight stay, which cost us instead, for two nights at The Lost Camel, accommodation among the cheapest and absolutely nothing special, 573 AUD (about €360) in total. It should be pointed out, however, that an alternative option that saves a lot of money is camping, which however has an above-average cost, and which we did not choose for uninteresting reasons that I will spare you.
Last thing I would point out is the presence of only one market with quite inconvenient hours (it opens late in the morning, and closes early in the afternoon) and very few restaurants, in most cases very expensive. In summary, expect significantly higher than average costs, without being treated too much like rich people.
Travel itinerary
The Northern Territory region is home to several national parks. These include, in addition to Uluru National Park, Kakadu National park, known for its rocky escarpments and for being one of the most prominent sites for Aboriginal rock art; Watarrka National Park, which includes Kings Canyon; and Nitmiluk National Park, within which are the Katherine Gorges.
Having one full day and two half days available, our initial idea was to use the first half day for the Base Walk at the Uluru site, the second (full) day to visit Kings Canyon in the day (particularly the Rim Walk), and the last half day for the Valley of the Winds trail at the Kata Tjuta site. However, in the end we decided not to go all the way to Kings Canyon, which would have required several hours of driving (3 hours each way round trip), as well as more overall physical exertion, opting instead for the smaller Uluru and Kata Tjuta routes.
Below is a summary of our itinerary:
| Day | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uluru Base walk | flight MEL-AYQ in the morning. Overnight in Yulara |
| 2 | Kata Tjuta | Overnight in Yulara |
| 3 | Uluru Liru walk | flight AYQ-MEL in the afternoon |
Day 1: Uluru Base Walk and Sunset point
Our day begins in Melbourne, where we had landed two days earlier beginning our trip to Australia, with sightseeing and the Great Ocean road. Our flight bound for Yulara, the main airport for visiting Uluru and Kata Tjuta parks, leaves late in the morning. We land around lunchtime, after a flight that heralds the wonder of what we will see once we arrive at our destination, and that makes us understand why the Red center is so named.
One of the special features of the area, is that it is half an hour’s time difference from Melbourne, which is very unusual. I point out that, wanting to include a visit to Kings Canyon as well, another reference airport might be Alice Springs, which many people mistakenly confuse with Yulara.
We pick up the car at the airport and head directly to Uluru, without passing through the hotel to save time. The road is very easy and very few cars pass by, but English driving includes a couple of slight off-tracks before my already fairly compromised nervous system gets used to the idea of driving on the left. Still, we arrive safely at the park in a half-hour, and retrieve the map at the entrance (the map can also be downloaded digitally).
Note: the way to get from the parks to the resort area is pretty straightforward and intuitive, no need to use Maps, but in case you are wondering, the answer is yes, the internet works great (but of course I recommend buying a local SIM card to keep costs down).
The Uluru Base walk, i.e. the full loop around the famous monolith sacred to Aborigines, starts from the Mala Walk parking lot. The walk is about 10 km long in total, but it is fairly easy, being totally level. However, it is completely under the sun, so it is essential to have enough water, not least because the drinking fountains at the points marked on the map release very unpleasant, boiling water (although according to them drinkable). The Base walk also includes Mala walk and Lungkata walk, while it is also possible to do the Kuniya walk with a simple detour from the loop trail. The latter trail is one of the few places where taking photos is allowed, in fact it is normally not allowed for most sections of the Base walk (although only few people respected this rule, including some guides we met), for a matter of respect.
However, the trail is very impressive, with a intense landscape and colors. The only downside is the presence of avalanches of midges, absolutely harmless but very annoying. The full tour takes us 3 hours, in which we observe the monolith from every possible corner.
At the end of the Base Walk, we head to Sunset Point, the park’s best-known point, and enjoy the different hues taken on by the monolith at sunset. Below are 4 summary pictures, but the spectacle witnessed in person is a continuous change of colors. There are not so many people, but on the other hand, the space available is small and harassingly occupied by chairs and tripods..
After admiring the beautiful scenery, we finally return to the hotel, which we manage to get into with some difficulties, since the concierge is closed and check in has to be done at another hotel nearby. The temperature drops resoundingly; I strongly recommend having at least a sweatshirt on hand. The drive to Yulara is short, it is a few minutes by road and traffic is nonexistent.
Day 2: Kata Tjuta, Valley of the Winds and Walpa Gorge
We get up early so that we can tackle the Valley of the Winds trek, Kata Tjuta’s most important and challenging trek, in the less hot hours. Before arriving at the start of the trail, we make a brief stop at one of the park’s most scenic viewpoints, at which we pause for a few minutes, enjoying the splendid view.
Having entered the park and retrieved the site map, we then begin the route, which is shorter (about 7.5 km) but much more challenging than the Uluru Base Walk.
On the map, the duration of the route indicated varies from 2 to 4 hours; we manage to complete it in about 3 1/2 hours. From our perspective, the scenery is even more spectacular than at Uluru. Here you are allowed to take as many photos as you want, so we take advantage of it.
After the Valley of the Winds trail, we still have some time left before sunset, so we enter the Walpa Gorge trail, the only trail at the site besides the Valley of the Winds. The trail is very short (about a couple of kilometers total) and easy; we manage it within a half-hour. The scenery is not unmissable, but for completeness it is worth doing.
We finally head to the Sunset view point for the beautiful sunset over the Olgas Mountains before returning to the hotel. Again, the dynamics here are similar to what we have already seen at Uluru sunset point, but the space available is a bit larger.
Day 3: Uluru sunrise point, Liru walk and transfer to Melbourne-Cairns
We begin our third and final day at Red Center from Uluru’s Sunrise point, which we appreciate even more than Sunset point. Despite the beauty of the place and the auspicious time, we are completely alone (which we don’t mind at all).
Since we have some time spared, we also enjoy some scenery along the way, taking some photos from the car, since there are no lay-bys.
We finally take the Liru walk, the last trail we have left to complete our visit to Uluru. The trail is rather simple and short, allowing us to see the monolith from a different angle, but still I would say that it adds nothing to what we have already seen, except for the sight in the distance of a nice little black snake, the kind that if it bites hurts quite a bit. The trail is not a loop, but a simple roundtrip. Along the trail, we meet very few people.
Having finished the Liru walk, we head to the airport to catch the first of two flights that will take us to Cairns, on the Great Barrier Reef. But that is another story.
Conclusions
Before leaving, I had tried for the sake of curiosity to search for guided tours on various websites, coming across offers that seemed like tourist traps, being very expensive and at the same time not very comprehensive. I therefore recommend making the same choice I did, and for those like me who are not familiar with driving in English way, I suggest not to worry too much, also because all available rental cars have automatic gears, which helps a lot to get used quickly to the type of driving required.
Regarding the itinerary, in hindsight I would have followed the initial idea and included a visit to Kings Canyon. This is both because the site visit would have been feasible in a day, although it would have involved no small amount of physical exertion (not least because of the high temperature), and especially because the secondary routes to the Uluru and Kata Tjuta are not unmissable, or at least do not add anything to what is visible on the more important routes. The time available was more than enough to see everything, and considering that on the one hand it is rare to find unfavorable weather conditions, and on the other hand the costs are higher than the Australian average, I suggest optimizing the time available by following the itinerary described in this article, stopping to overnight in Yulara no more than two nights (either if one wants to limit oneself to Uluru and Kata Tjuta, or if one decides to push on to Kings Canyon with a day trip).
Although everything is absolutely wonderful, having to make my Red Center top list, I would say:
- Valley of the Winds
- Uluru Base walk
- Uluru sunrise point
Finally, I report the site on which you can find all the information regarding accommodations, which you can also book without using Booking or Airbnb type platforms (and thus without aggravating costs), while retaining the possibility of free cancellation up to a week before your trip.Recommended two-day itinerary to optimize the visit to the sites of Uluru and Kata Tjuta, in the heart of Australia’s Red Center
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