It was about time we saw the red Australian desert of the Red Centre and we loved every minute! Carry on reading for our perfect itinerary driving the Red Centre Way in Australia.
Itinerary
- Day1 – Fly into Alice Springs
- Day2 – Drive Alice Springs to Uluru
- Day3 – Uluru
- Day4 – Uluru
- Day5 – Fly home from Uluru
Day 1 – Driving the Red Centre way around Alice Springs
We flew into Alice Springs on the morning Qantas flight from Sydney. Arriving at the airport at around 11:30am we then picked up the car from from the airport. We used Avis for the car hire and we had absolutely no issues.
After picking up the car we wasted no time. Grabbed some picnic food from the local IGA and drove straight to the West MacDonald Ranges. There are tonnes to see here but we choose two places. These were:
Ellery Creek Big Hole
Our first stop was the famous Ellery Creek Big Hole! This is about an hours drive from Alice Springs airport, but the roads are so easy to drive. So empty and smooth, a very stress free drive and gives you a good taste of driving the Red Centre Way. There is about 5km from the main road to the Ellery Creek Big Hole car park. It is not on a dirt track, but it is still smooth enough for 2WD (we had 2WD and just drove slower down this part).
Once you get there the Big Hole is just a very short walk to the car park. It is just as stunning as all of the photos. It is definitely worth spending a bit of time here and going for a refreshing dip! We also had some lovely chats with other travellers, a lot of people were on long Campervan trips, and they had the most interesting stories!
Simpsons Gap
We left Ellery Big Hole and started to driving back on the Red Centre roads towards Alice Springs. On the way back we saw a sign for Simpsons Gap and without knowing much about this one, we decided to make the turning. Boy, we are glad we did, this place is so stunning. I actually am so surprised that there is somewhere this beautiful so close to Alice Springs.
Simpsons Gap is an amazing red rock gorge, with beautiful water hole that reflects the surrounding rocks. We got here at late afternoon and the sun was quite low. This made the area look such an amazing orange-red colour. Wow!
Evening
We were staying one night at the Hilton Doubletree Alice Springs. This was a nice hotel in a good location. Don’t expect any super luxury hotels in Alice Springs. Personally I think the place is about the surrounding areas not the accomodation.
For dinner we asked the hotel reception staff where to go, they recommended the hotel restaurant as its the best in the city. Obviously we thought they were bluffing until we looked it up and Tripadvisor and yep the Hilton has the best rated restaurant in Alice Springs! It is called Hanuman Alice Springs, and yes the food was great! It is a mixture of Indian and Thai, so if you like both of those then this restaurant is for you!
The hotel bar is also nice and we stayed there for a few drinks before night time!
Day 2 – Driving the Red Centre Way Alice to Uluru
For brunch we decided to check out the Bean Tree Cafe which is located in the Olive Pink Botanic Garden. We walked from the Hilton Doubletree and it took about 15 minutes, mostly pavement and then into the garden botanical which was really nice to see. The food there is great, and I highly recommend to come here for breakfast.
Unfortunately we had to then leave Alice Springs to drive to Uluru. I would definitely come back to Alice Springs to visit the Kangaroo Sanctuary and Alice Springs Desert Park.
Journey from Alice Springs to Uluru
The journey from Alice Springs to Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park takes around 5 hours. Honestly, there is not much going on in the journey (apart from seeing a 130km sign for the first time in Australia!), but it is almost worth driving the Red Centre way just be able to comprehend the mind-blowing emptiness of the Northern Territory Red Centre. The only signs that you see really are to Adelaide and WA Border! Seeing the red soil is really an iconic moment.
Arriving into Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park, we were first fooled by one rock that we wondered if it was Uluru which apparently many people do, but once we had arrived we saw Uluru from a distance and it was a wow moment!
Accomodation
There is a main town near Uluru which I believe is called Ayers Rock Resort. This is made up of hotels and a few cafes, restaurants, tourist shops and an IGA. We had 3 nights at Sails in the Desert, which we had booked during a 50% off boxing day sale 4 months before. Sails in the Desert is a nice, clean, modern choice of places to stay in the Ayers Rock Resort.
National Park Pass
It is advisable to buy the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park pass before you arrive. To get to the hotel area (Red Rock) you do not need the pass, but on route to Uluru or Kata Tjuta, you will need to scan your pass at the entrance barrier, or buy one from the staff at the entrance office.
If you buy it ahead of time (just go to the website) you can download it on your phone into your wallet, and it is very easy to scan it at the barriers. We bought one 3 day pass each, in reality we only used one of them for the whole trip, but the money goes the national park and I think that is important to support.
Sunset at Uluru
We then headed straight to the sunset carpark for some wow moments! I’m sure there are other great places to watch the sunset other than Sunset car park, but in a way it is a really beautiful moment to experience the sunset with a crowd of people watching it.
It almost makes it more special to know how many people had travelled so far to see this phenomenon. The changes in the colours of the rock and the sky are spectacular, and you cannot go to Uluru without watching it at sunset!
Day 3 – Driving around the Red Centre National Park
Kata Tjuta
We used this day to check out the other rock, less famous but equally stunning, Kata Tjuta. Even in early April, day time is HOT! We arrived at Kata Tjuta at midday after a leisurely brunch at the Academy Cafe in the Red Rock Resort area. Then we drove to the end of the road to get to Kata Tjuta.
I can’t explain how nice driving the Red Centre Way is, empty smooth roads with amazing views, perfect. However, be prepared as soon as you exit your car, you will be attacked with hot air and flies! A fly net is a must at this time of the year.
There were some people arriving who were heading to the Valley of the Winds walk. As much as we would have loved to do it, I have learned to feel very content with not doing everything possible.
Also at the time of the day we visited Kata Tjuta (midday), it was far too hot to enjoy the walk. We were shocked some people were attempting it!
We admired Kata Tjuta from a few different view points. I have to say even though the view from the distance is amazing, I felt that the closer the better as you really got the sense of the odd shapes and colour of this amazing monolith.
Evening at the Field of Lights
After an afternoon at the pool and a meal at Sails in the Desert, we got on the bus to see the Field of Lights.
We had pre-booked this trip, and at the time of writing it was $39 per person including transport. If you come to the Red Centre you need to come here, it is mind blowing! Making use of the pitch black darkness of the Red Centre Desert, there are more than 50,000 solar powered lights making up this magical field.
No words can describe it, no photos can properly capture it, so you need to see it for yourself.
Day 4 – Sunrise and Sunset activities
Today was the day we watched the spectacular sunrise. So we got up early and got to the Sunrise car park 30 minutes before sunrise. You can check the time sunrise will be for you on timeanddate.com/uluru. As we were there early April for us sunrise was at around 6:50am. However, you need to get there before this time to see all of the colours changing even before the sun comes up.
Uluru Base walk
After the amazing sunrise, we drove to Mala car park and completed the Uluru base walk. This is a really good walk to be able to see Uluru up close, each angle is so different!! There is also amazing aboriginal artwork in some spots, this walk is really worth doing. Make sure to do this walk early before it gets too hot, and take plenty of water.
Time to Chill
There are four hotels in Ayers Rock Resort that have swimming pools. Staying at Sails in the Desert allows you to use Pira swimming pool which also has a bar/cafe. This is a great way to spend an afternoon if you want to get some chill time in (in between all of the activities)!
Sunset camal ride
I really didn’t know what to expect from the Sunset camel ride, but it ended up being our favourite activity at Uluru. You get picked up from your resort accomodation and taken to the Camel farm, which is only a 5-10 min drive away. Arriving at the farm is like arriving at the set of a Wild Western film, so cool!
The camels are really well looked after here, and the guides are full of amazing facts. It is another really wow moment, being on a camel during the red sunset and Uluru in the background.
After the camel ride there are sunset drinks and homemade bread, included in the cost. This is at their super cool bar called Old Tom’s Waterhole. We actually ended up stay until about 11pm. This because we were enjoying the setting, cheap drinks and they had sausage sizzle BBQ! It really was the perfect last night in the red centre. The Ayers rock resort shuttle also comes to the camel farm as one of the stops very regularly, so this is easy to then get back to the hotels.
Day 5 – Goodbye to the Red Centre Way
After a chilled morning we flew out of the tiny yet extremely convenient airport at Uluru (called Ayers Rock airport). This airport is less than 10 minutes from Ayers Rock Resort! We dropped our car at Avis desk and no issues at all. Unfortunately, we were on the ‘wrong’ side of the plane. This meant we did not get the view of Uluru like the lucky people on the other side did! However, instead we got a spectacular view of seeing the full vast red centre way desert beneath. Flying out of Ayers Rock Airport is amazing, and much cheaper than getting a scenic flight :D.
Overall – Driving the Red Centre Way
Overall it is very worth visiting and driving the Red Centre Way. It is truly the typical Australia everyone dreams of visiting and really exceeded our expectations.
If you have extra time you can also add Kings Canyon onto this itinerary. We would have loved to do a couple of days there. Maybe this gives us an excuse to go back one day :).
