I can’t believe it took me 4 years living in this country to visit the heart of Australia. My partner and I booked this trip to celebrate my 25th birthday but unfortunately he had to ditch due to work reasons. I ended up going alone but looking back, it was actually awesome to experience this by myself (no offence Alex haha)
If you choose to fly to Uluru, try and grab yourself a window seat. You won’t want to miss the first aerial view of Australia’s most iconic landmarks. I did not expect to see Ayers Rock so soon! I remember this moment like it was yesterday, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I remember thinking to myself, holy smokes, this is unreal. The photos that you see spreading around social media does not do this place justice. You need to go to go see for yourself.
After collecting my bags, I quickly picked up my Toyota Yaris that I rented from Rentalcars. If you’re anything like me, I highly recommend renting a car. They have multiple tours that are available to book but I personally like making my own itinerary and having a bit more freedom. The tours are full of tourists and to be honest, I like to distance myself away from the crowds. The roads to and inside the National Park are well looked after so you don’t need a 4WD. If you are looking to go to the remote outback, then you would probably need something a bit bigger. The only downside of renting a car is the fuel price. Be prepared for the high fuel prices, I paid over a little over $200 for 3 days.
It only took me about 10 minutes to get to my accomodation from the airport. The town is very little and has everything you need in about a 5 minute distance. Before I headed off to explore the National Park, I went to the local grocery store in the area to stock up on food and water. Once I familiarised myself with the area, off I went!
Three days / two nights was the perfect amount of time to spend in Uluru. The National Park has an entry pass for $25 fo 3 days which was super ideal. Three days gives you a chance to see the sunrise and sunset at different locations. Watching the different rocks glow and change colours was probably my favourite part in this magical part of the world. I loved waking up every morning being surrounded by the beautiful natural wonder.
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different shades of orange.
One thing that I did regret not doing was the helicopter ride over Uluru and Kata Tjuta (also known as The Olgas). I wasn’t allowed to fly my drone due to the drone laws in this area so I really wish I did it from above.
The Olgas is located approximately 40km west of it’s neighbour Uluru. Once upon a time, they believe that the Olglas was a big rock like Uluru but now it’s made up of 36 different ones! I think I might of been back and forth here about three times within the three days.
The drive from Uluru to Kings Canyon is roughly 4 hours.
On the way to the Canyon you’ll see Mount Conner in the distance that is worth stoping to catch a glimpse.
To be honest, I didn’t do much research on Kings Canyon but it’s worth spending a full day hiking. There are so many hikes to do, I literally just picked the easiest one. Unfortunately I was sick so I didn’t get a chance to experience the hikes like I would normally. From what I did see though, absolutely spectacular!
I was so captivated by the natural beauty, you’ll see me again Northern Territory.
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Flew with Jetstar. Super cheap direct fights from Brisbane.
Booked car with Rentalcars.com > https://www.apollocarrentals.com.au
Stayed at Outback Pioneer Lodge via Booking.com
