Australia Outback tour - Ayers Rock by night

Sleep beneath the stars

Alice Springs - Ayers Rock - Kings Canyon

This 4x4 Australia Outback tour will whisk you through the highlights of the Australian Outback for 4 days, sleeping beneath the stars. During the trip, you'll camp at the base of Ayers Rock in the heart of a seemingly endless desert and hike through Kings Canyon Gorge. On Day 4 of our Australia Outback tour, you'll swim in a lagoon and hike through a palm valley. Travelling in a small group by 4x4 will make it easier to get off the beaten path, so you'll experience the Outback intensely and enjoy the almost spiritual silence of the desert. You'll sleep in a tent or in the open air in permanent camps. This Australia Outback tour is more back to basics than our other 3-day Magical Red Rock trip. As you look up at the night sky from your swag, you'll see countless stars shining above you. You may even spot the Southern Cross and the Milky Way before drifting off....

Duration	4 days/3 nights Departs daily	Accommodation	3 nights in 'permanent camping tents' with shared shower and toilet facilities. Comfort level 1 (see accommodation).
Price	£517 per person - based on 2 people sharing	Includes	Transport, accommodation, english-speaking guide, all meals and excursions as mentioned below
Transport	4 days 4x4 truck (max. 16 travellers)	Excludes	Yulara National Park entrance fee, to be paid on arrival at the park

Day 1: Alice Springs - Ayers Rock

Travel time (including stops): 6 hours

Our Australia Outback tour begins in Alice Springs, a village in the middle of the Australian Outback desert. 'Alice' was founded in 1871 as a sub-station for the telegraph line from Adelaide to Darwin. Nowadays, it's mostly inhabited by travellers on their way to Ayers Rock, but it still manages to retain a genuine village atmosphere. It's small, endearing and dusty with a pioneering feeling.

You'll be collected at around 6:30am by 4x4 and taken to Uluru, the Aboriginal name for Ayers Rock. It might be useful to leave a part of your belongings behind at the hotel. After an hour or two it will seem as if you can see Ayers Rock appearing; however as you get closer, you'll notice that this rock is flatter. This is Mount Connor.

Australia Outback tour - Welcome to the Northern Territory

Australia Outback tour - a spot of scenic tea...

You'll make a pit stop to stretch your legs then continue to a typical Outback farm - a homestead. Although you may not automatically associate camels with Australia, they were once brought here from Africa and you can take a camel ride here for a fee. After lunch, you'll drive on to the Olgas, in the Aboriginal Kata Tjuta, (many heads). The largest rock, Mount Olga, looms 200m above Ayers Rock. You'll hike for 1.5 hours to the nearby Valley of the Winds. In between the impressive, deep red rocks and green fields you may see parakeets fly by from time to time.

You'll reach your camp in time for sunset at Uluru - a real highlight of your Australia Outback tour. You'll see how the holy rock slowly changes colour from deep red to deep dark brown and finally to dark purple. We'll arrange accommodation in sync with your surroundings - a bush camp and a swag for you to sleep in with a mattress, tent and sleeping bag near Ayers Rock. You can fall asleep listening to the crackling sounds of the campfire and looking up into the dark starry sky above you.

Day 2: Ayers Rock - Kings Canyon

On Day 2 of your Australia Outback tour, you'll wake up early for a spectacular sunrise at the 348m high rock. Some travellers choose to climb to the top of the rock, which will give you an incredible view of the area. However, the Aboriginals consider Uluru to be holy and do not approve of people climbing it. If you would like to respect the Aboriginal culture, you can instead go on a 9.4km hike around the foot of the rock. During the hike, you'll come across beautiful caves filled with rock drawings. The well maintained Aboriginal museum in the Visitor's Centre is a real eye-opener. After a visit to the museum and lunch, you'll travel on to the 2km long Kings Canyon for dinner and a night of camping at the Kings Canyon Resort.

Day 3: Kings Canyon - Glen Helen

This morning you'll set off on a 4 hour trek past pastel coloured sandstone walls and rock formations called ‘the Amphitheatre’ and ‘The Lost City’. In one green gorge you'll find the Garden of Eden, where you can swim in this small, warm pool surrounded by rock walls in the desert. You'll also see the North and South Walls, rock walls that shoot up about 200m into the sky. There's a 120 million year old crater at the Mereenie Loop Track. This is the perfect place for a picnic in some amazing natural surroundings.

Afterwards, the Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira will explain his white-dot painting technique and then you'll head for Glen Helen, arriving just before sunset. Here, you can sit down to a spaghetti dinner and watch the gorge change colours as the night falls. The rest of the evening the gorge will be lit by lamps. As you have a drink at the campsite bar, you can look back on an unforgettable Australia Outback tour so far.

Day 4: Glen Helen - Alice Springs

Today, you'll travel straight through the vast Western MacDonnell Ranges. Along the way, you'll take a swim at the Ellery Big Hole and trek around the spectacular Ormiston gorge. Then, you'll hop back into the 4x4 for a 'rough' ride across the historic Finke River Track. Finally, you'll see Palm Valley looming in the horizon, a vast valley in the heart of the red desert. Once again, you'll stop here for a hike before eventually returning to Alice Springs at around 19:00. This is where your Australia Outback tour ends.

If you like, we can arrange for you to stay at the same hotel (not included in the price of this tour) in Alice Springs before and after this Australia Outback tour. This would mean that you can leave most of our luggage behind, and travel light for a few days. The exact route of this Australia Outback tour can differ due to weather conditions or changes made by the Aboriginals, as this is their territory. There are also flights to Ayers Rock from Sydney and other cities, so it's possible to begin this tour in Ayers Rock. However, if you do this, you won't be able to visit Mount Connor and the Olga's during the trip.

Australia Outback tour - Ellery Big Hole

Tips

Helicopter flight at Glen Helen

If you like, you can go on a helicopter flight at Glen Helen. This can be arranged at the camp restaurant on your arrival. The following morning, just after sunrise, a pilot will be waiting for you and you'll get a pair of headphones and some instructions. Usually the weather here is good and you'll have a blue sky and little wind. During the 15-minute flight you'll see the vast Western MacDonnell Ranges turn a fiery red below you. Aside from the view, the actually flying of a helicopter is fabulous. A helicopter flight in this area (price approximately £38, in 2007) is something you'll never forget.

A peek at your accommodation...

During our Australia Outback tour, you'll sleep in simple tents or in an adventurous 'swag' shared with other travellers (maximum of 4 people per tent). There are showers and toilets at each camp site, but you'll need to bring your own sleeping bag and towels. If you'd rather not drag along your sleeping bag for the entire trip, you can hire one on the spot for £15, payable when you check in for the tour. If you would prefer more comfort and privacy, you can also upgrade you camping accmmodation to a more spacious double tent with permanent beds and linens. They also have light and a fan. You'll travel in a small group of up to 15 people. The surcharge for the "Colonial Way" is £78 per person.

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