Australia's Red Heart

Meet your local guide for a tour of ‘Alice’. Spend time at the School of the Air and the world-first Royal Flying Doctor Service for a fascinating insight into education and health care in the remote Outback.

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Journey through the dramatic West McDonnell Ranges to Simpsons Gap and majestic Standley Chasm for a picnic lunch. Visit the advanced ecotourism desert park with rare and endangered animals. Enjoy interactive guided presentations and witness free-flying birds at the nature theatre presentation.

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Collect your 4WD Land Cruiser* and embark on a self-drive adventure to Kings Canyon via the Mereenie Loop through the spectacular Central Desert landscape. Arrive at Kings Canyon Resort, an oasis in the red desert plainc.

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Drive to Kings Canyon Rim to embark on a spellbinding 6 km hike to the top of the canyon. Your expert guide will walk you through the history of this sacred Indigenous site, explaining the natural and mythical significance of the canyon’s most captivating rock formations such as Priscilla’s Crack, Cottrell Lookout, the Garden of Eden and the Lost City. The scenery is epic and you can expert an extraordinary bird’s-eye view over the red ochre desert. Don a sturdy pair of walking shoes and come energised for the hike’s over 500 steps.

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Rise at dawn and wander through the acclaimed artist Bruce Munro’s Light-Towers — a stirring art installation of sound, light and energy. Witness the colours change in response to an entrancing soundscape by composer Orlando Gough, which makes the 69 light towers dance. Pause, reflect and acknowledge the mystery of Australia’s Red Centre, followed by hot coffee and pastries as the sun comes up.

Drive to Uluru, stopping en route at Curtin Springs, a legendary outback cattle station. Return your vehicle at Ayers Rock town centre before a private transfer to your accommodation. This evening, your Bruce Munro art immersion continues at the Field of Light. Inspired by wildflowers, gaze upon 50,000 slender stems crowned with radiant frosted-glass spheres as they gently bloom with rhythms of coloured light.

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Early this morning, meet your driver-guide for a private tour of the massive rock domes of Kata Tjuta (‘The Olgas’). Explore the ancient rock formations spread over some 20 kilometres in this spiritual place while the sun's morning glow awakens the desert. Make your way to the western side of Kata Tjuta for an outback picnic breakfast.

This afternoon, enjoy a private tour of Uluru. The sheer size of this monolith puts geological time into great perspective. As you drive around the base, your guide will take you to the entrance of Mutitjulu Waterhole nestled in the contours of Uluru. Here you will learn the Creation and Dreaming stories of Liru (poisonous snake) and Kuniya (python). Study the rock art of the ancients and learn how Uluru was, and still is, a significant location for Indigenous peoples. Adjourn to the Talinguru Nyakunytjaku viewing area where you will witness a spectacular sunset.

This evening, feel a powerful connection to country with the shared Wintjiri Wiru experience at the open-air theatre on a dune top with incredible views of Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Listen to a traditional story in the Pitjantjatjara language, and witness ground-breaking technology as choreographed drones, lasers and projections light up the night sky in a modern, artistic expression of an ancient, Anangu story (additional cost).

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Rise early to saddle-up on a camel — your morning’s ‘ship of the desert’. Breathe in the cool morning air as you ride your friendly camel through the red centre as dawn breaks over Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Watch the desert come to life and learn about the flora and fauna along the trail from your knowledgeable cameleer, before your private transfer to the airport.

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*Vehicle hire not included.