Uluru Tour with Kings Canyon & MacDonnell Ranges Astronomy

Passengers departing from Alice Springs will be picked up at 6am before taking the 4.5-hour drive towards Yulara for an early lunch. It’s a big driving day today. This ensures that we can maximise the cooler walking weather for the following day, so sit back and take in the landscape around you.

Passengers departing from Yulara or Ayers Rock Airport will be picked up between 1.45 and 2pm. If you are departing from Yulara or Ayers Rock Airport, please have lunch prior to your pick up and be ready with walking shoes on and easy access to hat, sunscreen and water bottle.

Together, we head north to Kings Creek Station, a working outback cattle station on the edge of Watarrka National Park. As the afternoon light softens, take a short walk around the station to stretch your legs, then settle into camp for dinner around the fire and your first night under the Red Centre sky.

Accommodation: Permanent Eco Tent
Meals Included: Lunch, Dinner (tour codes: AR6, AR6AY), Dinner only (tour codes: AR6Y, AR6YY)
Driving Time: 8 hours if departing from Alice Springs, or 3 hours if departing from Yulara
Walking Distance: Approximately 30 minutes

This morning we tackle one of the great outback walks: the Kings Canyon Rim Walk. Climb to the top of the canyon’s sheer sandstone walls and follow the rim past the Lost City’s beehive domes. Then descend into the Garden of Eden, a lush, palm-fringed waterhole that shelters more than 600 species of native plants and animals.

After lunch at Ginty’s Lookout, we leave the bitumen behind and take the Mereenie Loop, a remote red-dirt road that crosses some of Central Australia’s most untouched, rugged country. Late in the afternoon, we reach our camp in the West MacDonnell Ranges, home of the Western Arrernte people.

Tonight, join a Traditional Owner for an immersive First Nations star experience beneath the vast, uninterrupted West Macs sky. You’ll see beyond the constellations you thought you knew and hear ancient stories connected to this very Country, including the story of the Seven Sisters.

Accommodation: Swag Camping
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Driving Time: 3.5 hours
Walking Distance: 6km (approximately 3–4 hours)

Rise early for the Ormiston Pound Walk, one of the finest walks in the West Macs. The loop crosses open spinifex country into a vast natural waterhole, then returns through the towering red walls of Ormiston Gorge. Next we stop at the Ochre Pits, a site of cultural significance where ochre has been mined for thousands of years. Then we have lunch and a refreshing dip at Ellery Creek Big Hole.

This afternoon we head east into the East MacDonnell Ranges, one of the Outback’s best-kept secrets, and arrive at our custom-designed Star Camp at the Arltunga Bush Pub & Eco Retreat. It’s purpose-built for the ultimate night-sky experience. Help your guide prepare a classic camp-oven dinner. Then, as darkness falls, join the ‘Outback By Day, Universe by Night’ Laser & Telescope Astronomy Experience, with next-to-zero light pollution for the clearest possible view of the stars.

Tonight is one to remember. Settle into your exclusive Eco Star Tent and fall asleep beneath the Milky Way.

Accommodation: Eco Star Tent
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Driving Time: 3 hours
Walking Distance: Up to 9km (approximately 3–4 hours)

After breakfast, explore the Arltunga Historical Reserve, the remains of Central Australia’s first town, born from a gold rush in the 1880s. Then we drive to Trephina Gorge for a guided walk among quartzite cliffs, ancient river red gums and plenty of birdlife. At Emily Gap, a sacred site for the Eastern Arrernte people, we’ll walk to the gap’s red rock walls before lunch.

This afternoon we cross the desert to Yulara, just in time to watch the sun set over Uluru. Grab a light snack and watch the Rock shift through deep oranges, reds and purples as the light fades. Then it’s back to camp for dinner with your group.

Accommodation: Permanent Eco Tent
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Driving Time: 6 hours
Walking Distance: Approximately 1.5 hours

Today is all about Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. We start at Kata Tjuta, where the Valley of the Winds walk winds between the 36 towering domes to two spectacular lookouts. After lunch, visit the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre to learn about Anangu culture and see hand-crafted art by First Nations artists of the Western and Central Deserts. Your guide will provide some insights about the rock art, creation stories and ongoing connection of Anangu to this place.

This evening, choose your own adventure. Watch a second Uluru sunset with the group (weather permitting), or head off on an optional Sunset Camel Tour or visit to the Field of Light. We’ll meet back at camp for dinner.

Accommodation: Permanent Eco Tent
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Driving Time: 2 hours
Walking Distance: 8.5km (approximately 4–5 hours)

An early start is rewarded with sunrise over Uluru, as first light sets the Rock glowing. Then take on the full base walk and experience Uluru’s caves, waterholes and changing faces up close. If you’d prefer something shorter, a part base walk is available.

If you’re finishing in Yulara, we’ll drop you at Ayers Rock Airport in time for your flight. If you’re returning to Alice Springs, we’ll head north across the desert, arriving in the early evening. That ends an epic six-day Red Centre adventure, by day and by night.

Meals Included: Breakfast (all tour codes), Lunch (tour codes: AR6, AR6Y only)
Driving Time: 20 Minutes if finishing in Yulara, 5 hours if finishing in Alice Springs
Walking Distance: Up to 10.6km (approximately 3 hours)

*Please note that starting and finishing this tour in Yulara will save 10 hours of drive time compared to starting and finishing this tour in Alice Springs