This week-long road trip highlighting the best of the Red Centre is guaranteed to keep even the fussiest child interested.
This week-long road trip highlighting the best of the Red Centre is guaranteed to keep even the fussiest child interested.
There’s nowhere like the Red Centre for a family adventure. Driving from Alice Springs to Uluru via the scenic Red Centre Way, through the West MacDonnell Ranges and via Kings Canyon, is one of the country’s best road trips, a journey through an extraordinary landscape that will introduce the family to the oldest living culture in the world. This is one road trip where getting there really is half the fun.
Pick up your hire car in Alice Springs and spend a couple of hours meeting the animals at the Alice Springs Desert Park on the outskirts of town – highlights are the birds of prey flying display and the nocturnal house full of bilbies and other night-loving creatures. Drive out to Simpsons Gap – the gorge is spectacular by day, but if you’re up for an adventure, come back at night with a couple of torches and go bat spotting at the waterhole.
Pack the swimsuits and sneakers because today is all about exploring rocky gorges and splashing about in secret waterholes. Make your first stop at Standley Chasm and follow the 20-minute walking trail to the gorge, followed by a snack (or lunch) in the café. The kids may even spy a wallaby. Ellery Creek Big Hole is 60km down the road, and the perfect spot for a swim – you can also take a dip at Serpentine and Ormiston Gorges, and there’s a pool at Glen Helen Homestead Lodge, where you can camp or book a room.
The road gets a bit dusty as you wind your way to Kings Canyon, with stops along the way at lookouts and Tnorala (Gosse Bluff), a huge crater formed by a comet more than 130 million years ago. Stay the night at Kings Canyon Resort or Kings Creek Station.
Take a break from driving and stretch the legs in Kings Canyon. The 3-hour walk around the rim of the canyon is a must, but if that seems a bit too much for little legs, try the 1-hour Kings Creek Walk into the floor of the canyon. You can also explore this stunning part of the Outback via a quad bike tour, camel ride or helicopter flight.
It’s a big drive today, about 4 hours, but worth it – seeing Uluru for the first time is one of those moments you never forget. Stop at Curtin Springs Wayside Inn for lunch – kids will love meeting the resident emu that seems to wander though the restaurant like he owns it. Once you get to Ayers Rock Resort, check out the night sky with the resident astronomer on the Family Astro Tour – the stars out here are amazing.
A sure-fire family hit is a sunset or sunrise camel safari. There are also guided tours around the base of the rock that will teach kids all about the cultural significance of the landscape, and a range of family-friendly activities on offer at the resort, including dot painting workshops and free Aboriginal storytelling. Don’t miss the free 3pm tour of the Wintjiri museum, or a performance by the Putitja Dancers at 4pm (Friday to Tuesday), which is also free.
A 2-hour bush-tucker and reptile tour with an Aboriginal guide – tasting traditional bush foods, learning about desert survival and getting up close and personal to desert wildlife – is a fantastic way to finish off your Red Centre adventure.
Day 1
-
Alice Springs Desert Park
See & doAlice Springs Desert Park is where the desert comes alive!
Drive:
-
Simpsons Gap
See & doSimpsons Gap is one of the most prominent gaps in the West MacDonnell Ranges.
Drive:
Stay:
Alice SpringsView 42 options
Day 2
Drive:
-
Standley Chasm – Angkerle Atwatye
See & doStandley Chasm Angkerle Atwatye is a breathtaking marvel of Central Australia, where striking geological formations meet deep cultural significance.
Drive:
-
Ellery Creek Big Hole
See & doEllery Creek Big Hole is one of the most popular and picturesque camping, walking, swimming and picnic spots in the Tjoritja / West MacDonnell National Park.
Drive:
-
Serpentine Gorge
See & doSerpentine Gorge is a narrow gap in the West MacDonnell Ranges, 100 kilometres west of Alice Springs.
Drive:
-
Ormiston Gorge
See & doOrmiston Gorge is a great place for a cool dip, to see the towering red walls of the gorge and pound, and local plants and wildlife.
Drive:
Stay:
Discovery Resorts – Glen HelenView details
Day 3
Drive:
-
Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) Conservation Reserve
See & doThe Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) Conservation Reserve is a place of international scientific interest as well as a place of cultural significance to the Western Aranda Aboriginal people.
Drive:
Stay:
Kings Canyon accommodationView 1 options
Day 4
Drive:
-
Kings Canyon helicopter flights
TourGet a new perspective of this stunning feature of the Outback with a helicopter flight over the canyon.
Drive:
Stay:
Kings Canyon accommodationView 1 options
Day 5
Drive:
-
Curtin Springs Wayside Inn
RestaurantCurtin Springs has been home to the Severin family since 1956, when Peter Severin arrived with his young wife Dawn, their toddler son Ashley and 1,500 head of cattle.
Drive:
Stay:
UluruView 11 options
Day 6
Drive:
-
Uluru Camel Tours
TourAward-winning Uluru Camel Tours is an owner operated tour business based in the Red Centre of Australia showcasing 25 years of passion of all things camel!
Drive:
-
Uluru tours
TourFrom Uluru and Kata Tjuta to 4WD tours in the Outback, the best way to experience this unique desert region is to get out there and live it.
Drive:
Stay:
UluruView 11 options
Day 7
Drive:
-
Sounds of Silence Ayers Rock Resort
TourEntered into the Australian Tourism Hall of Fame, Sounds of Silence offers the best of the Red Centre distilled into four magical hours.
Book this trip
Book it yourself
-
NT Parks Pass
Required for entry to NT Parks. Read about passes & permits
1 nights’ stay in Alice Springs
Check-in: Day 1
Check-out: Day 2Standley Chasm – Angkerle Atwatye
Day 2
1 nights’ stay at Discovery Resorts – Glen Helen
Check-in: Day 2
Check-out: Day 32 nights’ stay at Kings Canyon accommodation
Check-in: Day 3
Check-out: Day 5-
Kings Canyon helicopter flights
Get a new perspective of this stunning feature of the Outback with a helicopter flight over the canyon.
Curtin Springs Wayside Inn
Day 5
2 nights’ stay in Uluru
Check-in: Day 5
Check-out: Day 7Uluru Camel Tours
Day 6
-
Uluru tours
From Uluru and Kata Tjuta to 4WD tours in the Outback, the best way to experience this unique desert region is to get out there and live it.
Sounds of Silence Ayers Rock Resort
Day 7