Itinerary summary:
Day 1
Darwin - Litchfield National Park - Katherine
Day 2
Katherine - Elsey National Park - Daly Waters - Kunjarra - Tennant Creek
Day 3
Tennant Creek - Devils Marble - Alice Springs
Day 4
Alice Springs - Kings Canyon - Yulara
Day 5
Uluru - Olgas - Yulara
Day 6
Yulara - Alice Springs - Darwin
Day 7
Darwin - Singapore
The next part of the trip is yet another long drive. We first need to get to Watarrka National Park, where Kings Canyon is, and have a leisure hike. From there, we drove to Yulara for lodging and to catch sunrise at Uluru the next day.
It took us about 6 hours from Alice Springs all the way to Watarrka National Park. Our initial intention was to take a short hike to just capture the view of the beautiful gorge.
So we drove off from Alice Springs rather early in the morning. This is the start of the scenic route that we took. Quite a different taste of the usual scenic route in Australia which are generally coastal routes.
Along the way, we stopped by a petrol station to buy some coffee and quick breakfast before we head on. There seems to be an emu farm next to the petrol station. You could see a good 10 - 15 emus on site, just next to the toilets.
Just like what it's stated, the canyon is basically a huge slab of ancient sandstone walls. These walls were sculptured over time by the elements of wind, water, heat and earth which results in the beautiful natural 'carvings' that you can now behold.
There are a number of drinking water points along the way. It is imperative for you to stay hydrated during these long walks, particularly if you come during summer! Sometimes, the park could be close due to extreme heat in summer. During our visit at this time of the year, the temperature was about 30c.
At the start, you'll need to decide between the two walks. Since we didn't want to reach Yulara too late for fear of driving in pitch black desert way, we thought it would suffice to do just the Kings Creek Walk.
We passed by the starting point of the Kings Canyon Walk, and thought to ourselves, it must be so difficult to get up there so taking the creek walk is probably a good idea.
Your eyes will feast on these beautiful formation of nature as you walk along.
What we realised at the end of the short walk is that we do not get to see the majestic view of the canyon. So we hike up that steep hill to embark on a journey around Kings Canyon Walk. I should say this is not for any faint hearted because it was indeed quite a steep route.
Pictures just do not do justice to how majestic the canyon is from above ground. It is amazing that all these are created by God, for everything seems to fit in so perfectly.
The 3.5 km return walk is like a walk on Mars. It was in the middle of the day and the whole canyon was red, (well, it was the Red Centre so you shouldn't expect any less), and it feels really barren with limited vegetation.
Some parts of the hike are facilitated by these steps to allow better access from one valley to another.
Would you please just look at how beautiful nature is?
The Giles Track is named after the first European that scaled the range in the olden days. It is quite suitable for a leisure walk. The entire 3.5km walk took us about 2 hours. From the national park, it took us another 3.5 hours to get to Yulara. By the time we reached Yulara, it was already pitch black.
And we finally spotted Uluru after so many hours on the road! At that point, I can't help but to feel extremely accomplished!
Our stay at Yulara was with Ayers Rock Resort. They have a range of accommodation to cater to your needs and budget. For us, we chose Outback Pioneer Lodge which is like a backpackers with a common bathroom for gents, and another for the ladies.
The accommodation is quite comfortable and given its proximity to Uluru, you could just walk up the viewing point to have a nice view of the red rock from afar.
And like any pure outback experience, you shouldn't miss out on barbeque! At the resort, they have an awesome dining area for Pioneer BBQ and Bar where you can purchase your favourite meat or fish, including exotic variation like kangaroo or crocodile and do your own barbeque in the open kitchen. If you're not up for barbeque, there also have a variety of eateries in the resort area so you'll never go hungry in the desert.
For a city kid like myself, I personally love this ambience and experience because when I walked out to the car park at night, I was greeted by a beautiful patchwork of stars right above me. This is one thing that is rarely sighted in cities but out here in the desert, one can really enjoy nature at its best!
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