Finding Centre

The Red Centre is all about ochre dirt under your feet and electric blue skies overhead. And nowhere is this sensation more arresting than at Uluru, the majestic monolith that shifts colour with the sun, stretches 350 metres high and boasts a circumference of around 10 kilometres wide. Spend a few days journeying 460 kilometres here from Alice Springs, dabbling in other spellbinding Central Australian highlights as you relax into the tranquility and slower pace of desert life.

SIMPSONS GAP AND STANDLEY CHASM

Make your way through two dramatic red rock ‘gaps’, Simpsons Gap and Standley Chasm located 20 kilometres and 50 kilometres outside Alice respectively. Gentle bush and a cornucopia of desert flowers abound here and the area is rich in indigenous spiritual significance – Standley Chasm, for example, is a traditional women’s dreaming site.

HENBURY METEORITES CONSERVATION RESERVE

A 145 kilometres drive south-west of Alice, detour off the Stuart Highway to wander around the 12 craters of the Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve. These formations resulted from a meteor hitting the Earth’s surface 4700 years ago.

WATARRKA NATIONAL PARK

Travel the Mereenie Loop to Watarrka National Park (home of Kings Canyon), an oasis in the desert that swims with prehistoric fossils, zebra finches and cycads. Take the rim walk for views of undulating rock formations and pink canyon walls, then spend the night in a Deluxe Spa Room at Kings Canyon Resort gazing out at rugged bush beyond via a huge window set beside your spa bath.

ULURU-KATA TJUTA NATIONAL PARK

While away a morning along the shady Walpa Gorge trail at Kata Tjuta, formerly known as the Olgas, where red-rock domes resemble ‘many heads’ (as its name reflects in the Pitjantjatjara dialect). As a Red Centre finale, head to Uluru for the afternoon. Uncover the secrets of its creation history in the rock art galleries along the Mala trail, before basking in views of sunset sliding over the monolith – with sparkling wine in hand.