4 Days in the Red Centre
I didn’t find the energy to pack last night; I was so exhausted from another hectic few days at work… or maybe I’m just trying to find an excuse because if I’m being honest, I always tend to pack my stuff at the very last minute.
I’m so excited about this new adventure. It’s something I have never done before. Last month, two Australian travel bloggers that I really like to follow (Hayley & Kyle) have announced that they were organising this epic group trip. When I discovered what the chosen destination was, I thought it was a sign for me to go. Sixteen of us were about to embark on a magical journey to Uluru, one of the most sacred places in Australia.
The tickets sold out in just a few hours, and I’m SO happy I managed to secure a spot. I soon found out that a fellow travel blogger Amandine was also going to be there, which was even more exciting!
Thursday June 3rd
The 3-hour flight from Sydney to Uluru went smoothly. Nine of us were aboard the same plane!
After a strenuous 2-hour wait at the airport to ensure no one had been to a covid hotspot, our driver Gav picked us up so that we could go meet the rest of the crew at the base of Uluru to do the Kuniya Walk. Because we got in so late, we very quickly introduced ourselves to Hayley, Kyle and the rest of the group. I feel like everyone was a bit shy in the beginning… I mean most of us came on this trip by ourselves and didn’t know anyone.
During the walk, we all got to chat a bit about our background while discovering the unique colours and rock formations of Uluru. This 348-meter tall monolith is sacred to the Anangu people. It is home to so many stories and traditions, and a resting place for ancient spirits. It is believed it was formed about 500 million years ago, and is one of the country’s most special places to visit!
We snapped a few photos during our walk, including some at a beautiful waterhole before we headed to the sunset viewing platform. While we were watching the sun setting down, Gav prepared some snacks and rosé for us to enjoy and I feel like that’s when we all slowly started to feel more comfortable around each other. Most of us are really passionate about photography and were all ears when Hayley & Kyle were sharing some tips with us. After making sure everyone had some nice shots in front of stunning Uluru, we slowly walked back to the bus and made our way to Field of Light, a breathtaking outdoors exhibition by artist Bruce Munro. It is composed of approximately 50,000 lights and stems that cover the size of seven football fields in the middle of the desert. By the time we got there, it was pitch black and the experience was absolutely enchanting; I highly recommend it!
We walked around Field of Light for about an hour before we made our way to the first campsite, where Gav had prepared fried noodles for dinner (and more wine, obviously!) Later that night, we all sat by the campfire, sharing a bit more about ourselves and what brought us here on this trip. It was so nice to see that people were from such different backgrounds in terms of age, hometown, job, etc. Yet we all had something in common which is this desire for new adventures and doing something we hadn’t done before.
Friday June 4th
We had an early 5am wake-up call this morning in order to go see the sunrise at Kata Tjuta Dunes Viewing Area.
We were all freezing cold while we waited for the sun to pop out, but when it did, it didn’t disappoint. The sun reflections over Kata Tjuta were simply stunning. Shortly after this, we made our way to Valley of the Winds to do the short walk to Mala Gorge, and gosh… it was windy! 🌪 We were literally in the middle of a wind tunnel!
When we got to the end though, we felt a bit more protected. Again, there were some stunning views and another beautiful water hole where we could see the reflection of the gorge! We took a moment to appreciate the beauty of this place and continued chit chatting and getting to know each other :-)
We then made our way back to Uluru one last time to go on another walk, and to learn more about the history of Indigenous Australians who live there. Gav took us on this tour and taught us about the meaning of certain areas and rock formations - some are sacred and should never be photographed. What’s so special about the history of Uluru is that its stories aren’t written anywhere. Instead they are transmitted from one generation to another through storytelling, paintings, songs, dances and ceremonies - which can last for days.
After another amazing experience, we took the road to Kings Canyon which is about 3 hours North. Surprisingly, I was always looking forward to those bus rides. Not only was it a good time to unwind and catch up on sleep, but because we had zero phone reception, it was the perfect way to get to know other people from the tour.
We made a quick stop at Mount Conner, also known as Fooluru (because it looks quite similar to Uluru, but it’s not) before we got to Kings Creek Station, our campsite for the night. I’m sooo happy this place had tents with heaters - I spent an amazing night compared to the one before! We got there before sunset and went on a walk around the property, which is gorgeous. The colours in the Red Centre are particularly stunning at sunrise/sunset, where we can admire tones of yellow, orange, pink and red. We spent another epic night by the campfire! Gav had prepared some tasty chicken curry while Sasha & Niamh made some damper. I had absolutely no clue what that was before I saw them making one and asked about it. Turns out it’s just a mix of flour and water, which you then bake in wood ashes - perfect for camping!
I slept like a baby with the heater on all night. Except I woke up around 3am and was about to venture outside of my tent to go to the bathroom when I heard so many dingos howling in the background. I decided it was probably safest for me to stay where I was - so I waited until the morning. Apparently one of them stole Hayley’s jacket and tried dragging it into the woods! 👀
I’m really starting to open up to the group, and somehow I feel like we’re forming a unique bond that will connect all of us in a very special way moving forward!
Saturday June 5th
The 4:45am wake up call wasn’t easy this morning! We woke up that early to ensure we’d have enough time to drive to Kings Canyon, and climb all the way to the top to see the sunrise. The little hike that we did is called the Rim Walk, and it starts with 500 steps to climb. It takes approximately 20-30 minutes to get to the sunrise viewing area, and gosh it is beautiful! Like all other mornings, it was freezing cold and super windy, especially at the top but once again, it was so worth it!
The pinky colour reflections on the canyon were breathtaking, and when the sun finally popped out from behind the cliff, we immediately felt warmer! I think so far, it’s got to be my favourite place we’ve been to on this trip.
After sunrise, we walked all the way to the other side of the canyon where we saw another magnificent view on the Garden of Eden. Sadly, we didn’t have time to do the full loop, but I’m so glad we crossed to the other side, as both sides don’t look the same at all!
On our way back, I kept noticing these beautiful fluffy flowers that are pretty much everywhere in the Red Centre. Gav told us that these are called Mulla Mulla and they’re native to dry areas of Australia. The way the Anangu people call these flowers can be translated as ‘useless’, and that is because these flowers have absolutely no food, practical or medicinal virtue. Nevertheless, I find them really pretty :)
We spent the rest of the day on the bus, driving to Alice Springs. We stopped in Erldunda for some lunch and then I managed to sleep for a bit (hurray!) When we got to Alice Springs, we went to the bottle shop and then grabbed some takeaway pizzas before heading to Simpsons Gap for sunset.
We left before it got completely dark because we had to drive another hour before reaching Ellery Creek, in the West MacDonnell Ranges, where we would camp for the night. I’m not sure how I missed that in the trip description, but I had simply no idea we were going to sleep under the stars. You read right, we slept outside, under the stars, in a sleeping bag! Well, a premium sleeping bag: they call it a swag!
For those of you who, just like me, have no idea what a swag is, I found this definition online:
A swag is made out of heavy duty canvas, sewn into a cocoon-like bag providing warmth, comfort and security - the ultimate of all bush beds!
Not so sure about the ‘warmth, comfort and security’ part - but I’m always keen for new experiences! Also, for those of you who didn’t realise it yet, it’s winter in Australia and we were travelling to the desert. This means the temperature is quite pleasant during the day (18-20 degrees) but it can get really cold at night!
Speaking of cold nights, we spent another incredible one by the campfire, laughing, drinking and eating marshmallows. We could clearly see the Milky Way, and I saw some beautiful shooting stars too. While I was staring at the stars with fascination, Gav told me that we tend to look at star formations by finding the stars and connecting the bright parts together. Aboriginal people on the other hand, tend to look at the dark spots, those empty spaces between stars, similar to what we do when we look at the clouds. He said that when we pay close attention to the Milky Way, we can actually see an emu, and the legend says it’s being chased by a dingo!
Sunday June 6th
We all woke up with the sun, around 7am. Everything was so quiet around us! I mean, we all pretty much had turned into ice cubes at that point I reckon.
In all seriousness, I don’t know how I actually managed to sleep, but the temperature got down to 0 degree Celsius last night. You can’t imagine my face when I woke up in the middle of the night because I needed to go to the bathroom. For starters, I didn’t have my glasses on so I couldn’t see a thing. Second of all, I could hear dingos, again. Thirdly, well, it was sooooo cold. Anyway, I took a deep breath and embarrassingly ran to the closest bathroom, shivering, before I made my way back to my swag.
At this point, I honestly couldn’t see a thing and I was just hoping I would get back to the right sleeping bag (lol - can you imagine?!)
Once I was back into my swag, I zipped it all the way up to my head to make sure the cold couldn’t get in. I miraculously found my glasses, put them on for a quick second while everyone was asleep and all I could see was the stars. I wanted to pinch myself, it felt surreal. I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. It definitely helped me handle the cold better. Fast forward a few hours later, everyone was slowly waking up and realising that most of our stuff had a thick layer of ice on top of it. #FunTimes
What better than fresh pancakes to help everyone warm up? Justin, king of the pancakes, took this very seriously and fed our whole bunch of frozen bean bags until the sun came out.
We then walked down to Ellery Creek, which was just a 5 minute walk from the car park. We were the first people there and had the spot to ourselves. The creek was still in the shades at that time of the day, which was perfect for photos. Once everyone was done exploring the area and taking pictures, we made our way to the next spot: Ormiston Gorge. When we got there, the sun was up high in the sky and I finally started to feel warm! Not warm enough to go for a swim though. Some of us did, but I preferred staying dry and getting some vitamin D. One of the ladies that were already there had brought a hang drum with her and played for a bit, which was pretty magical I must admit!
We slowly made our way back to Alice Springs, which took about 1.5 hour. Gav dropped us off at our hotel so we could shower and get ready for our very last and special visit of the trip: the Kangaroo Sanctuary. We were there from about 5pm to 7pm as sunset is the best time to go meet the kangaroos. Upon arrival, Brolga welcomed us and introduced himself as a full-time kangaroo mum, which we all thought was the most adorable job ever! He told us about how everything started for him, and how most of the kangaroos that live on his property were rescued from roadkill. It turns out, some of the kangaroos that get killed on the highway still have a living baby inside their pouch. His small team and him dedicate their life to rescuing and raising these babies. Those that are strong enough get released back to the wild, whilst those that aren’t end up living on their 188 acre property.
We all got the chance to hold baby kangaroos while walking around the property at sunset. I was lucky enough to have a close encounter with Abigail, one of the oldest female kangaroos there, and she really loves a cuddle! This was honestly such a perfect way to end the trip and I’m so grateful I got to visit this place!
Later that night, we all decided we wanted to go out for some drinks and dinner in Alice Springs. We ended up at Monte’s Lounge and had a whole lot of fun reminiscing about our favourite moments.
Monday June 7th
Most people had a flight at midday, and decided to go for one last breakfast together at Crowne Plaza! Shortly after, we parted ways. Some of us went straight to the airpot while we continued to wander around Alice Springs for a bit. I’m honestly so grateful for all the people that made this trip so special:
Amanda, Amandine, Cass, Delina, Diana, Gavin, Georgie, Hayley, Juliana, Justin, Kyle, Lia, Matt, Max, Niamh, Rian, Sasha, Shahnee & Tara.
Check out this epic vlog that Max has created if you want to see more of this trip!