It only has been late XX century when the touristic business escalated, road has been paved and all the hotels and amenities had been build.

Red Centre of Australia and Uluru

Amazing rock formation, Uluru

Uluru during sunset

Don’t mistake Mt Conner with Uluru!

With all that knowledge you can imagine how much the environment has changed in last decades for the local people living here. The Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park is located on aboriginal land and their people actively help to run in. To get here, you can fly in to the small airport at the resort, or take the Lesseter Highway from Alice Springs or unsealed road from Western Australia. If you are driving in from the East do not let Mt Conner fool you. It is not the Uluru that you see already. In fact, so many people mistook Mt Conner for Uluru that it earned a nickname Fooluru.

Watch Uluru at sunset or sunrise!

As you get closer to Yulara you will notice the huge, red monolith rising from the flat desert-like landscape. It is especially magnificent at sunset and sunrise when warm beams of the soft light bring out the colour of the rock.  In fact, there are designed areas meant as the best spots to marvel at Uluru as the sun goes up or down. However, they may get little busy, so if you would like to have your own spot it is quite popular with people to just stop on the side of the road. As long as you do not do it in forbidden parking zone, you should be able to have Uluru just for yourself.

Uluru with the green surroundings after the rainy season

Uluru just for ourselves

Beautiful, peaceful landscape

You can take a walk around The Rock

There is a path leading around the base of the Rock which is over 10km long. We took a walk around to see the monolith from every angle. Speaking from the experience, we would recommend renting a bike for that path or going early in the morning or with Seagway tours. It is because the sun has no mercy and you need plenty of water for the walk. Besides, the landscape does not change that much during the walk, so it can get a little dull. Some of the most popular parts of the track lead to the waterhole and aboriginal rock paintings. As it goes for climbing to the top the park is working on closing it permanently. It is not only dangerous, but also offensive to the locals who consider Uluru the sacred place. You can learn much more about aboriginal culture and art in the visitor center located inside the park.

blooming flowers at Ayers Rock

Beware of kangaroos!

the sacred Rock

Water Hole at Uluru

The Valley of the Winds

Further West within the park are the rocks of Kata Tjuta. The 36 domes are creating some wonderful deep valleys and gorges. There are two great walks there. First one, which should take you less the an hour, runs between 2 rock walls at the bottom of the gorge. As you walk alongside the cliff face you might get lucky enough to spot some rock wallabies. The second trail is called The Valley of the Winds and is a bit more difficult. It runs for over 7 km and takes you across the domes to beautiful shaded valleys. 2016 was a very wet year. They reckon there is enough rain for flowers to bloom every 7 years. We were really fortunate to see a lot of them.

kata Tjuta with blooming flowers

Valley of the Winds walk

Desert laughs with flowers

Valley of the Winds

Kata Tjuta domes

Kata Tjuta

Be sure to visit both: Uluru and Kata Tjuta!

If you come to this area you should really spent at least a day at Kata Tjuta as well and do not your visit to be limited only to Uluru. The park entrance fee is 25$ for 72 hours per person. There is abundance of activities, tours, restaurants and hotels at Yulara. You can chose to visit Uluru on the back of the camel, on a seagway, or even on a plane or helicopter. But nothings beats simple sitting and watching Uluru turn intensive red as the sun makes its way below the horizon.

Mataranka hot spring

There is nothing as relaxing after a long day drive as a bath in a hot spring. You can do it for free in Mataranka.

There are 2 springs here. One over at the camping site. This one is more organized and have some concreate stairs and walls. The other one called Bitter Springs is a stream in the middle of the forest. You can just float all the way down in cristal clear water among the palm trees. Splendid!

Bitter Springs, Australia

Almost like in Bolivia - Lake Hart

Lahe Hart, Australia

1 journey 1 life 2 people

Lake Bambunga

As we got close to the coast we could see Flinders Ranges rising on the East. There were quite a few pink lakes such as Lake Bumbunga which appered to us really extraordinary.

     1. Landscape.

As you drive through out the Park you will see a variety of different landscapes. First wetlands surrounding river catchments. They are full of birds and extraordinary vibrant green colours. Secondly, you will come across rocky plateux, where after a brief hike you can see the endless land surrounding you. You eyes can see so far and the bush spreads all the way to the horizont. It is trully magical to just stair at this tranquil, aincient land while sun goes down. Unforgetable. And finally the third part of the landscape – waterfalls and billabongs. Best known of them all is Jim Jim Falls, which flows only in the wet season and during that time it can be only reached by the scenic flight. In dry season you can get there by sandy 4wd route.

Lichfield National Park

129 km south from Darwin (which is considered really close in the NT) you will find the Lichfield National Park. This is a perfect place to cool off in amazing crock-free pools and waterholes. Some of them are situated just by the waterfalls! Florence falls and Wangi Falls are just splendid!  Your time there will be surely extraordinary. Some other attractions of the park are Magnetic Termite Muds. They are so called as they point North-South. This allows insect to control the temperature inside as only the smallest part of the wall is exposed to the sun! Hell yeah mother nature!

Magnetic Termite Mounds - Litchfield National Park

Magnetic Termite Mounds - Litchfield National Park

Wangi Falls

Florence Falls

Curtin Springs

Curtin Springs is more than a Road House. It’s like a Rancho with cattle wandering across the 400.000 hectars of land. The owners of the Station, the Severin Family, own also a remarkable Mt Connor, which is easily mistaken for Uluru by many turists on daily basics. For this reason, Mt Connor can be sometimes named Fooluru, as it creates the first misleading impression.

Curtin Springs Staff

Apart from the Severin Family members, the staff consist of people all over the globe, mostly backpackers that came to AU on a Work and Holiday Visa, just like us. There’s a lot to be done in the station so it could run smoothly and provide visitors and guests with the best outback experience. From working in the store, monitoring the fuel, helping out in the kitchen and housekeeping, to reception tasks and gardening. It’s a good place to save a bit, as the nearest store is 85-km West, in Yulara.

The best time to visit Australia’s Red Centre

If you plan to visit Australia, keep in mind the seasons of the year with its pros and cons. In the Northern Territory, the major season starts in June and lasts for the next 3-4 Months. Later on, the flies, bugs, spiders, snakes and many other wild creatures come to live and assist you in the less comfortable way. It’s good to get a fly net to secure your face from thousands of flies that get more active as the temperatures grow rapidly in the spring/summer time ( Oct- Feb). Watch out for geckos as well! They may be your neighbours even if you don’t spot them too often.

Australia’s dangerous creatures…

It’s the same with the Tropical North Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef. Dry and safer season comes in Australia’s winter (May – September). Wet season starts in October and lasts till March. It comes with the presence of the deadly Jelly Fish in the waters of the Coral Sea, crocodiles that get more active from the heat as well as all these different, hazardous creatures you have probably seen on TV. Snakes and lizards are especially popular in our location, of the Australia’s Golden Outback in the Red Heart of the continent.

Although it may sound a bit scary we are grateful for being able to experience the wonders of the real outback. With the backyard full of starts and low humidity, the milky way has never looked brighter. Let the adventure begins!