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Ayers Rock (Uluru) to Alice Springs
FEATURES
- Choice of the ultimate extended or a sectional journey.
- Up to 20 National Park, nature, historic and scenic reserves will reveal all the rugged wonders of this central heartland.
- Share daily encounters with Australia’s unique wildlife long after the invasive crowds have departed or while sitting in solitude by an outback waterhole.
- Marvel at the agility and sure footed judgment of Rock Wallabies and Eu
 ros scampering along their precarious pathways
- Immerse yourself in the life and survival practices of isolated indigenous people, their rock art and spiritual beliefs.
- Sense, even today, the challenges faced by yesterday’s Afghan camel drivers, hardy explorers and pioneers in a vast unforgiving but intensely beautiful land.
- Comprehend, if you can, the tyrannies of isolation and distance, the enduring sense of space and silence in an ancient contorted landscape.
- Stroll across the brilliant red earth dotted with tussocks of bleached Spinifex, sheltering nature’s unusual desert dwellers.
- Startle at the rapid flights of intensely colorful and charismatic bird life.
- Sit back and stare at the clarity of southern galaxies adorning the night sky, free of the city glare
- Savour the shade of a grand river red gum or the stark white ghost gum clinging to a burgundy cliff face, survivors playing host to a rich variety of bird and animal life. .
Ayers Rock (Uluru) - Alice Springs section
- Explore the scenic wonders of Simpsons Gap, Standley Chasm, Glen Helen Gorge, Ormiston Gorge and Pound, Serpentine and Redbank Gorges
- Browse around galleries of authentic Aboriginal desert art and pottery
- Study the dependence of man and wildlife, on a glorious water hole, trapped in a stunning gorge
- Embrace the many moods of sun or moon lit cliff faces, chasms, gorges and grand monoliths, with every changing hour
- Stand in awe, on the precipitous edge of a red hot Kings Canyon.
Walk around Australia’s most iconic and recognizable landmark, Uluru or Ayers Rock and join the crowded ritual of sunset or sunrise adorning the rock,
- Walk through the windy valleys of an equally stunning Kata Tjuta – The Olgas
- Spend a morning with a hardy Stockman who understands all the challenges and ways to survival.
- Tramp a section of the celebrated Larapinta Trail which snakes its way 223kms across the 300 million year old West MacDonnell Ranges
 Imagine a comet 600m wide, a ball of ice, gases and dust, crashing to earth at 144,000kms/hour, affecting global climate for 100 years, destined to become a sacred site of cultural significance to our Aboriginal people .- Follow an old Aboriginal trade route to the botanist’s paradise of Palm Valley.
- Drive along the bed of the Finke River, regarded as the oldest in the world.
- Visit an old Lutheran mission featuring German farmhouse architecture, where in 1878, the pastors determined to bring Christianity and civilization to the Aboriginal people of the desert, taking some 11 years to gain a convert.
Alice Springs - Alice Springs section
- Visit the explorer’s signpost, Chambers Pillar standing sentinel on the northern edge of the Simpson Desert.
- Travel through the pastoral holding of a sixth generation family, connecting to the explorers and pioneers who opened up this challenging land
- Discover the scenic features of Emily Gap, Jessie Gap, Trephina Gorge.
- Study the rock carvings of a
 ancient peoples
- Savour journeys end with the setting sun illuminating a Rainbow Valley.
TRANSPOR
Journey in a luxury air-conditioned 4WD Land cruiser or purpose built coach with forward facing recliner seats, seat belts and panoramic windows. Vehicles are equipped with remote area travel safety and communications facilities.
PROFESSIONAL STAFF
Tour staff includes a professional tour guide and driver/assistant guide.
Typical guide to guest ratio is 1:7
ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation selected from facilities close to National Parks and trail heads, invariably in character settings. Including motor-inns and remote outback resorts. Twin share with private facilities.
DINING
- Full dining inclusions with breakfast, lunch and dinner each day
- Morning and afternoon teas.
- Wine with dinner if you wish
- End of tour celebration dinner
- We vary dining settings to interact with local people.
SPECIAL INCLUSIONS
- Tour transport and guides
- All National Park entry fees
- Pre-tour briefing and meet ‘an greet function
- Local guides and guests, as available.
- Entry The Royal Flying Doctor service
- Entry historic sites around Alice Springs
- Entry to the Alice Springs Desert Park
- Entry to Hermann Galleries
- Ranger Talks as available
- Entry to astronomer’s telescope viewing of galaxies
PLUS
- Access to our on-tour field library.
- Provision of field binoculars
- “Wish you were here” digital images capturing your adventures down under, emailed to friends and family selectively during the journey.
- Spontaneous travel treats and a tour memento.
- Pre-tour planning advice to maximize your enjoyment of the experience
- Advice and assistance with any pre and post tour travel requirements.
- Satisfaction in knowing we operate under a responsible travel ethic.
- Enjoyment of a small group environment – typically, 10 to 15 participating guests.
WHAT TO COVER
You will only need to cover your free time and personal costs, pre and post travel arrangements relating to the start / conclusion of the tour, all flights and your personal travel insurance.
GUIDED WALKS
Participation in all walks is optional, enticing and rewarding, requiring a moderate degree of fitness. Make this a “wellness” holiday, relaxed or as active as you wish.
TOUR DATES
Please contact us for dates and availability.
Itinerary:
13 DAY TOUR AYERS ROCK TO ALICE SPRINGS, including a 9 day option Ayers Rock to Alice Springs and 4 day option Alice Springs to Alice Springs.
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Pre departure administration, tour briefing and Meet ‘n Greet.
Convened in Yulara (Ayers Rock Resort) afternoon of tour commencing. |
Day 1 |
Flight greetings and accommodation check in during the day. In the afternoon we visit the award winning Aboriginal Cultural Center, conduct the tour briefing and then retire to the sunset viewing of Uluru Ayers Rock.
Accommodation : Ayers Rock Resort 3 nights |
Day 2 |
A full day base walking around Uluru together with cultural interpretation and later a visit to a nearby display of desert creatures, a stroll in native gardens and at night, star gazing with astronomer experts into the southern galaxies |
Day 3 |
Today is dedicated to a sunrise viewing of Uluru then walks in Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) followed by a revisit to the Cultural Center and perhaps an opportunity to join indigenous artists at their work. |
Day 4 |
A relaxed travel day takes us to Kings Canyon resort and featuring a visit to two remote stations, one boasting a million acres and a legendary bushman guide who will acquaint us of the realities of running a cattle property in this arid fringe desert environment.
Accommodation: Kings Canyon Resort 2 nights. |
Day 5 |
Today we climb to and walk the Canyon Rim with its unusual geological formations and precipitous cliffs inflamed by the morning sun. Further walking deep inside the Canyon and to other remote features of the range country will complete an energetic and inspiring day. |
Day 6 |
We travel the 4WD back roads to Gosse Bluff reflecting on the event which rocked the world, causing global climate change, 140 million years ago, Tyler Pass with its rolling hills of Spinifex and maybe some air-bed rafting through the canyons of Redbank Gorge will add a tone of adventure to the day, then finally we travel to our resort accommodation at the head of the Glen Helen Gorge
Accom:: Glen Helen Resort 2 nights |
Day 7 |
An outstanding walk awaits us into the Ormiston Pound and down the Gorge surrounded by countless millions of years of geological wonders, brilliant colors, delightful beaches and waterholes. Later a visit to Serpentine Gorge and the Aboriginal Ochre Pits from which centuries of overland trade by the Aborigines originated. |
Day 8 |
We’ll embark on a full day walk over a select section of the celebrated 223kms Larapinta Trail snaking its way through the West MadDonnell National Park. We complete the day relaxing in the soothing beauty of the Ellery Creek Big Hole then travel on to Alice Springs
Accom: 2 to 6 nights at fringe town resort , Alice Springs. |
Day 9 |
We take a leisurely visit to the iconic Standley Chasm and Simpsons Gap before spending the afternoon at the world class Desert Park to bring all our experiences and impressions of the Red Heart into one, especially for those completing the 9 day tour. Perhaps some inspirational time with an Aboriginal Ranger as he takes us back into an ancient peoples way of life, surviving in the desert. |
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End of section |
Day 10 |
For those departing or joining us there are airport transfers and for those continuing, a wonderful day in The Alice with its outstanding museum and art galleries inspired by the outback and indigenous desert art, the graves and legends of pioneering heroes, the Overland Telegraph Station which opened up the wilderness outback and “live” insights into contemporary organizations which today provide essential support and mercy services to people isolated by the tyranny of distance. |
Day 11 |
We continue our day travels to Palm Valley and Hermannsburg for an insight into the former Mission life and Aboriginal communities as they are today, We’ll travel down the dry sandy bed of the world’s oldest river and enjoy short walks exploring Palm Valley and its remarkable botanical display. |
Day 12 |
Today we travel along bush roads and tracks toward the northern edges of the Simpson Desert a remarkable sight of rich red sand ridges and our destination the explorer and pioneers sign post of yesteryear Chambers Pillar an awesome feature standing sentinel in the desert and beckoning all who care to adventure in their 4WD vehicles into Australia’s heartland. |
Day 13 |
Our final day is spent visiting the smaller gaps and features of the East MacDonnell Ranges, including a circuit walk in beautiful Trephina Gorge with its rich burgundy walls, clean sandy river bed and magnificent river Red Gums. Perhaps a chance for some remote township retail therapy before a late afternoon drive to Rainbow Valley to absorb the closing impression of Central Australia in its full sunset glory
End of 13 day Journey |
Travel days offer a broad variety of special features reflecting the location at the time.
Please contact us for dates and availability.
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