Experience sunrise over Uluru and explore part of its base in the cooler morning air. From close range, the rock’s surface reveals folds, hollows and changing textures that are easy to miss from a distance.

Visit the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre to learn about A?angu culture and the continuing importance of Country. Together, the walk and cultural visit offer a deeper understanding of Uluru within this World Heritage-listed national park.

Walk into Walpa Gorge, a passage between two of the towering domes of Kata Tjuta. Follow the rocky path beneath steep walls, where sheltered pockets of vegetation contrast with the exposed desert beyond.

Kata Tjuta’s rounded formations are part of the same World Heritage-listed national park as Uluru, yet have a distinct shape and atmosphere. The walk brings their immense scale into focus while offering a closer look at the plants that persist in this arid setting.

Watch Uluru change colour at sunset in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. As the light softens, the sandstone shifts from ochre to deep red against the open desert sky, revealing why this is one of Australia’s most recognised landscapes.

Uluru is part of the living cultural landscape of the A?angu Traditional Owners, whose connection to Country stretches back millennia. This included visit offers time to take in the scale and presence of the rock without treating it as simply a viewpoint.

Hike the Kings Canyon Rim Walk in Watarrka National Park for views across sheer sandstone cliffs, weathered domes and the vast Red Centre. The roughly six-kilometre route begins with a steep climb and requires a high level of fitness.

This ancient sandstone landscape reveals its character in sculpted plateaus and sheltered rock pools. Travellers unable to tackle the demanding rim route can take an easier creek walk offered by the Driver Guide.

Visit the Alice Springs School of the Air to discover how children in remote communities receive an education across an area of approximately 1.3 million square kilometres. Learn about the teaching methods and technology that help connect students separated by enormous distances.

A live lesson may be visible during the visit. The experience offers a practical glimpse of everyday life in the outback, where distance shapes even the most familiar routines.

Explore Simpsons Gap on a scenic outing into the West MacDonnell Ranges near Alice Springs. Walk into a narrow break in the rock walls and see the sheltered waterhole set against the range’s rugged, layered slopes.

The gap is a distinctive feature of the West MacDonnell landscape, where ancient geological forces and erosion have shaped gorges and ridgelines. Its quieter setting gives you time to notice the colours and textures of Central Australia up close.

Visit the Royal Flying Doctor Service Visitor Centre in Alice Springs to learn how medical care reaches people living far from hospitals and clinics. Discover the role of aircraft, communications and specialist teams in serving remote Australian communities.

The service is a vital part of outback life, where journeys for urgent care can span hundreds of kilometres. This visit puts the region’s vast distances into human perspective through the work of those who respond when help is needed.

Take in sweeping views from Anzac Hill over Alice Springs and the surrounding ranges. This elevated vantage point helps reveal the town’s setting within the broad, dry landscape of Central Australia.

Also known as Untyeyetwelye, the hill is both a local landmark and a place of remembrance. Pause to appreciate the scale of the outback and the shifting colours of the ridgelines that have long drawn artists to the region.

Visit the Alice Springs Telegraph Station, established in 1872 as a repeater station on the Overland Telegraph Line. Explore the historic site and learn how messages were relayed across an immense and sparsely populated landscape.

The line linked Adelaide and Darwin and transformed long-distance communication in Australia. Standing among the station’s buildings offers a tangible connection to nineteenth-century outback history and the challenges of maintaining a communications route through Central Australia.

Wander among the rounded granite boulders of Karlu Karlu, also known as the Devils Marbles. Their enormous forms balance and cluster across the landscape, creating striking views at every turn.

Shaped by weathering over millions of years, Karlu Karlu also holds deep significance for the area’s Traditional Owners. This visit brings together the site’s geological and cultural importance, inviting a closer look at formations that seem almost deliberately arranged across the outback.

Step inside the Daly Waters Pub, an outback institution whose walls are crowded with keepsakes left by travellers. Browse the boots, notes and other unexpected mementoes that give the place its unmistakable character.

Welcoming visitors since the 1930s, the pub captures a sociable side of life on long Northern Territory journeys. Its collection of traveller stories makes this more than a refreshment stop; any food or drinks purchased are separate from the visit.

Follow palm-lined paths to the thermal springs at Mataranka and, if you wish, take a restorative dip in their warm water. The springs offer a lush change of scenery from the drier country farther south.

Mataranka is closely associated with the outback story We of the Never Never. Time here is a chance to experience the tropical feel of the Top End firsthand, with shady vegetation and clear water providing a welcome pause from the road.

Cruise through Nitmiluk Gorge in Nitmiluk National Park, travelling between ancient sandstone walls cut by the Katherine River. Look towards the shaded cracks for rainforest vegetation and watch the banks for wildlife, including possible freshwater crocodiles.

Nitmiluk is Jawoyn Country, with cultural stories and connections to the gorge extending back millennia. This MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience pairs the scale of the landscape with an appreciation of the people for whom it remains deeply significant.

Cruise Yellow Water Billabong in Kakadu National Park with an expert local guide. Glide past water lilies and wetland vegetation while watching for crocodiles, sea eagles, brolgas and kingfishers; sightings vary with conditions and the season.

This MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience offers a close perspective on Kakadu’s living wetlands. Your guide can explain details of the environment, including the traditional use of plants such as water lilies as bush food.

Explore the Aboriginal rock art galleries at Ubirr in Kakadu National Park, where images on the stone offer insight into the area’s long cultural history. Walk among the shelters and take time to observe the detail of the artworks.

Those able to manage uneven rocky paths and steps can climb to Nadab Lookout for expansive views across the floodplains and escarpment. A flatter gravel route allows travellers who cannot make the climb to visit the rock art.

Browse the Mindil Beach Sunset Market in Darwin, where food stalls and the warm evening air create a lively introduction to the city’s tropical character. Explore at your own pace and choose from the range of global flavours on offer.

Set beside the Timor Sea, the market brings together Darwin’s multicultural food scene and coastal atmosphere. It is a distinctive place to spend an evening; any food, drinks or purchases are at your own expense.

Gather with your fellow travellers for an included farewell dinner in Darwin. This hosted group meal is a chance to share favourite moments from the Red Centre and Top End, from sandstone gorges to Kakadu’s wildlife-rich wetlands.

Darwin’s relaxed tropical setting provides the backdrop for one final evening together. The itinerary does not specify a restaurant or special menu, so the experience centres on the shared celebration rather than a particular dining tradition.

Extend your time near Uluru with an exclusive barbecue dinner offered as an optional experience. Dine in the desert setting and enjoy an evening centred on the landscape rather than a routine hotel meal.

The itinerary does not specify the menu or exact dining location, but the experience offers a different way to savour the Red Centre’s evening atmosphere. This dinner is at additional cost and can be pre-booked through the tour operator.

See Field of Light before dawn, when approximately 50,000 illuminated stems glow across the desert near Uluru. Walk among the lights as their colours shift in the darkness, with the surrounding landscape gradually emerging in the early morning.

This large-scale artwork offers a striking contrast between human-made light and the natural desert. It is an optional experience at additional cost and is bookable on tour, subject to availability.

Take an optional scenic flight over Kakadu for an aerial view of the national park’s immense landscapes. From above, the relationship between wetlands, floodplains and rugged escarpment becomes easier to appreciate.

The flight offers a perspective unavailable from the ground on a place of profound Indigenous cultural significance. Routes and views depend on the flight offered and prevailing conditions. This experience is at additional cost and is bookable on tour.

Explore Litchfield National Park on an optional outing from Darwin. The park is known for its magnetic termite mounds, cascading waterfalls and waterholes set among Top End bushland.

Its varied landscapes offer a different perspective on the Northern Territory’s tropical north. Swimming may be possible seasonally where conditions and local access permit, but is not guaranteed. This excursion is at additional cost and is bookable on tour.

Choose an optional lunch cruise in Darwin for a meal enjoyed on the water. It offers a relaxed way to spend part of the day away from the city streets while taking in the surrounding coastal setting.

Darwin’s harbour is an important part of the city’s identity, and a cruise provides a different viewpoint on its tropical waterfront atmosphere. The itinerary does not specify the vessel, route or menu. This experience is at additional cost and is bookable on tour.

AAT Kings

• 10 Breakfast (B)
• 2 Dinner (D)

• Comfortable walking shoes
  Warm layers in cooler months
  Sunglasses, sunscreen and hat
  Water bottle
  Camera

• Day 1: Flights to arrive prior to 3.00pm into Ayers Rock AirportDay 11: Flights to depart anytime from Darwin Airport
  Airport to Hotel transfers are available to purchase on request.
  Flights to and from your tour are not included in the tour price.

• High level of fitness required for the Kings Canyon Rim Walk. This 6km hike will not be suitable for all guests. The first 30-minute incline is considered “Difficult”. The Driver Guide will offer guest an easier alternative along the creek walk for those that are unable Medium level of fitness required for the climb to the top of Nadab Lookout at Ubirr in Kakadu National Park so will not be suitable for all guests. To get to the lookout guests are required to scale up uneven, rocky paths and steps. There is an alternate route on a fairly flat gravel path for those unable to climb to the top so they will not miss out on the Rock Art.