​Life in the slow lane along the Red Centre Way

A stone’s throw from Glen Helen, you’ll cross the Finke River with parts possibly dating as far back as 340 million years – and you’ll see the turn-off to Mt Sonder Lookout. Stop, spend a while and soak in the commanding views of the MacDonnell Ranges and Mt Sonder itself.

As you slide into the rhythm of travel along this section of the Mereenie Loop – it is a sealed road route, for those with a caravan or without a four-wheel drive (so check condition reports before you head out) to Kings Canyon, you get a sense of the sheer scale of the outback.

• Free: If you’re in a four-wheel drive, stop at Tnorala / Gosse Bluff Conservation Reserve and visit the huge crater formed by a comet more than 130 million years ago. According to Aboriginal belief, Tnorala was formed in the creation time, when a group of women danced across the sky as the Milky Way. During the dance, a wooden baby carrier fell to earth forming the circular rock walls. Whatever your belief system, Tnorala is worth the visit – just don’t take your two-wheel drive in here.
• Easy: It’s a 40km round trip to the small Aboriginal community of Areyonga. This tiny town has a BIG claim to fame in the form of an oversized Echidna and Lizard for those chasing a quirky travel pic. Set in the valley of a deep and spectacular gorge, Areyonga also boasts a large wild donkey population who bray day and night, adding to the town's charm, as does their thriving Community Arts Centre.
• Fun: Part of the 260km Mereenie Loop is unsealed, so you’ll know you’re in the outback with a corrugation or two under your belt. Experts say if you maintain a steady 90km/h you’ll skate over the corrugations, but as with any outback driving, it always pays to drive to conditions.
• Live like a local: The best thing about the Red Centre Way (apart from the scenery) is that you experience the outback away from the crowds. Keep an eye out for cattle, camels and wild horses that may stray onto the road and for the famous yellow “Lift ‘um Foot” drums indicating sharp bends in the road ahead.

Our big skies and open roads will eventually lead you to Watarrka National Park at the western end of the George Gill Range and perhaps best known for its most famous landmark, Kings Canyon. The sheer red rock face of the Canyon soars over 100 metres above cycad gardens, in an important conservation area and home to more than 600 species of flora and fauna including Painted Finches, Dusky Grass Wrens and occasional sightings of the Grey Falcon, the third rarest raptor in the country.

• Free: Ginty’s Lookout has a free campsite, but help us protect the environment and bury your waste. Oh, and once you’re in the park, it doesn’t cost anything to walk Kings Canyon’s rim, so add that to your list.
• Easy: It’s worth staying at least one night in Watarrka National Park, because Kings Canyon really is one of the country’s most jaw-dropping sites.
• Fun: Watarrka National Park Kings Canyon offers walks for all fitness levels. There’s the Rim Walk for adrenalin junkies, or the more sedate Kings Creek walk where you’ll still enjoy the spectacular views of the Canyon. Don’t do one, do both – after all you only live once!
• Live like a local: For those with limited mobility, take the sealed walking track to Kathleen Springs. And for those that have worked up an appetite and have a hankering for a good hearty camel burger, visit Lyn and Ian at Kings Creek Station, it’s a 40km detour of pure delishy goodness.

Mt Conner – the outback’s famous “Fool-uru”, Curtin Springs and Yulara await and the Red Centre’s blue skies, desert oaks and red dirt will whiz by at pace as you chew up the miles on the Lasseter Highway towards Uluru and Kata Tjuta… some 300km or so from Watarrka. Uluru is widely considered to be the world’s largest monolith, but this place is so much more than an oversized stone, it’s an Aboriginal sacred site (the ancestral spirits of the Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara people are said to reside here) and stands at the spiritual heart of the country. There are a number of ways to explore Australia’s most iconic natural landmark - on foot, on a bicycle, by Segway or Harley Davidson, from the air by balloon or helicopter or even on the back of a camel. As you’d expect, there are accommodation options to suit every type of traveller at the nearby Ayers Rock Resort.

Twenty minutes to the west of Uluru stand the impressive domes of Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), which means 'many heads' in the local lingo. This colossal pile of 36 rock domes dates back 500 million years and has great cultural significance for the Anangu traditional landowners, who lead walking tours to teach visitors about the local flora and fauna, bush foods and the Aboriginal Dreamtime stories of the area. There are also two fantastic walks through Kata Tjuta, the challenging walk 7km Valley of the Winds Walk and the more serene 2.6 km Walpa Gorge Walk that should not be missed.

Take time to explore. You’ll need a few days to do even half of the free activities at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park alone.

• Free: Hear bush yarns from an Indigenous storyteller in the Circle of Sand; join a Ranger to learn about the native flora and fauna; or take one of the many guided walks around Uluru or Kata Tjuta and be amazed at the ever-changing landscape. Don’t miss the Mutitjulu Waterhole Walk (wheelchair accessible).
• Easy: Head to the Maruku arts gallery to watch Anangu artists at work. It’s a great place to pick up a locally-made souvenir.
• Fun: Bruce Munro’s Field of Art Installation sees 50,000 frosted-glass spheres bloom in technicolour glory as darkness falls over Australia’s spiritual heartland. It’s a fun spin on a traditional favourite and it’s been extended out until 2020.
• Live like a local: Take a base walk around Uluru at sunset – it’s a time when most of the visitors chose to view the rock from a distance aboard dedicated sunset platforms, so you can have the place to yourself. As one local said, being “right up close to the rock at sunset and watching the colours turn is just mind-blowing.”

The return trip to Alice is a story in itself and offers 50-shades of outback at every track and turn. However you do it and whenever, plan an overnight stay at Rainbow Valley and catch the action at dawn and dusk as Mother Nature paints the sky with her ochre-inspired palette.

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