The Outback

The Australian outback, the home to many aboriginal populations, is unlike any place I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot of places. I know many people who have gone to Australia and stayed on the coast, missing the outback. It’s not super easy to get to Uluru, the main attraction (a flight plus a long drive). Hotels are limited and very expensive, and camping is not for everyone (even the glamping is incredibly expensive, possibly more expensive than a hotel). However, if you can make it happen I highly recommend that you DO NOT MISS THE OUTBACK.

We started our trip in Alice Springs, as most people will because this is where the airport is located. This is a small town with a lot of culture. You’ll find aboriginal art galleries, camel rides, and a cute town with some shops to walk through.

Even though it’s a “city,” Alice Springs had a definite outback feel to it, and not so much of a city feel. Here’s proof in the form of a kangaroo outside our hotel window.

We only stayed here one night as this is really the gateway to Kings Canyon, Uluru and Kata Tjuta National Park.

The drive from Alice Springs to the true outback sights is about 5.5 hours. The whole drive is beautiful and red. The outback is filled with bright red sand and it’s an incredible sight. I actually took some of the sand home with me in a water bottle.

Once you get there, Uluru, Kata Tjuta, and Kings Canyon are the three major attractions (or at least the ones that we saw). Honestly, I think pictures will do it more justice, so I’ll be brief.

First of all, we stayed in tents. This wasn’t my first camping experience and it wasn’t my last, but I think I can finally say I’ve reached a point in my life where I will never do it again (at least by choice). I’m not a tent person, and I HATE HATE HATE the idea of walking to a faraway bathroom alone in the middle of the night. However, I don’t even really remember this, and I DO remember the outback. #worthit.

And there were ATVs right at our campsite which was fun.

And also, this campfire, the one and only perk to camping.

And if we were in a hotel, who knows if we would’ve had the chance to hang out with this Emu.

Anyway, we pretty much did a lot of hiking. It was hot, and I wouldn’t recommend going in the summer (our winter) because we went in the beginning of November and it was already almost 100 degrees every day. I cannot imagine what January is like there.

Hiking Kings Canyon and Kata Tjuta were absolutely incredible. Here is photo evidence of Kata Tjuta’s beauty:

And here is photo evidence of Kings Canyon’s beauty:

And then there was Uluru. I so so badly wanted to climb Uluru. Unfortunately, there are a lot of rules about when you can climb and how you can climb related to both aboriginal sacred ground and weather. We were unable to climb when we were there due to some overcast weather or wind or something. We walked the base though, and I got these pictures of myself on the bottom of the rock so I could say I climbed. I must go back to climb Uluru one day.

See? I climbed!

Finally, when I began writing this I asked Jen if there was anytihng memorable I should make sure to write about, and she simply said “Sunrise”. The sunrise over Uluru was beyond stunning. And the picture DOES NOT do it justice. Go ahead and see it for yourself one day.