Things to do
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Uluru Base Walk
Ten kilometres of flat track circle the rock in three to four hours, passing waterholes, caves and painted overhangs invisible from the road. Signs mark stretches where photography is restricted for cultural reasons. Early starts are standard in the warmer months, and carrying water matters because the loop offers no shade, no tap and no shortcut back to the car park.
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Kata Tjuta
Thirty six domes of conglomerate rock stand west of the monolith, taller than it and formed from a coarser stone. The Valley of the Winds circuit threads the gaps and becomes exposed quickly, while the shorter Walpa Gorge track suits an afternoon. Rangers close the longer loop when the forecast passes thirty five degrees, which happens often through summer.
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Kings Canyon
Three hours northeast by road in Watarrka National Park, a sandstone gorge carries walls a hundred metres above a permanent waterhole. The Rim Walk climbs steeply at the start, then loops the plateau past beehive domes and the shaded Garden of Eden. Rangers close it from nine in the morning when heat is forecast, so departures run very early.
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Talinguru Nyakunytjaku
Sunrise viewing area on the southeastern side, with raised platforms on the dunes that hold the rock and Kata Tjuta in the same frame on a clear morning. Sealed paths and generous parking make it the busiest of the viewing points. Arriving in the dark is normal, the colour lasts twenty minutes or so, and the crowd thins before the light has finished.
