Answer the outback’s call and join a guided rim walk around Kings Canyon, tackling the famed stairway to heaven before traversing sheer sandstone walls and honeycombed cliffs. Descend to the cool oasis of the Garden of Eden, where a permanent waterhole shelters ferns and cycads.

In Watarrka National Park, learn how water shapes life in this arid landscape as you pass the beehive domes of the Lost City. Panoramas from the rim reveal rippling desert country, soaring cliffs and the silence of Australia’s Red Centre.

Taste the Territory with a hearty Big BBQ Brekkie served at the working Kings Creek Station. Fuel up on classic station fare fresh from the grill while the morning sun warms red sand and mulga scrub, a moment steeped in outback hospitality and wide-open skies.

Hear how pastoral life unfolds on this remote property as you relax in the shade and trade stories with fellow travellers. The smell of eucalyptus on the morning air and the sizzle of the BBQ set the tone for a day of exploration.

Raise a glass and toast the day with sunset drinks as you watch the colours wash across Uluru. The monolith shifts through russet, ember and violet while long shadows stretch over spinifex plains—an ideal time to pause for photos and reflection.

Hear how twilight transforms the desert and why dusk is a cherished ritual for travellers and locals alike. As the light fades, the rock’s contours deepen and the desert hush settles in, capturing the mood of the Red Centre.

Share a relaxed welcome dinner near Yulara, the village gateway to Uluru, and meet your fellow travellers over contemporary Australian dishes. Expect bright, clean flavours with native accents as conversation flows and the desert evening cools.

Your host highlights the days ahead and the significance of travelling on A?angu Country. As lanterns glow and the sky deepens to indigo, sample regional flavours and settle into the rhythm of outback life under a canopy of southern stars.

Wander through the desert art installation Field of Light, where tens of thousands of stems shimmer beneath a starry sky, conceived by artist Bruce Munro. Titled Tili Wiru Tjuta Nyakutjaku—“looking at lots of beautiful lights”—the work blankets the sand with gentle colour as Uluru looms in silhouette.

This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour. Solar-powered blooms pulse softly as you follow illuminated pathways, a contemplative encounter that pairs contemporary art with the timeless scale of the outback night.

Glide around Uluru on a guided Segway tour, covering more ground as you circumnavigate the base of Uluru with frequent interpretive stops. Learn about waterholes, including Mutitjulu Waterhole, and observe rock textures and ancient rock art shelters that speak to ongoing A?angu culture.

This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour. A short training session gets you riding confidently before you move at a relaxed pace, with time for photos and stories that bring the monolith’s geology and heritage into focus.

Walk among the rust-red domes as you walk among the 36 domes of Kata Tjuta, tracing the wind-carved corridor of Walpa Gorge and continuing to the lookouts on the Valley of the Winds trail. Feel the breeze funnel through narrow chasms, with wildflowers and spinifex edging the path.

Learn why this conglomerate of ancient rock holds deep cultural meaning for the A?angu. As light shifts, the soaring sandstone domes glow crimson, revealing layers compressed over millions of years and vistas that stretch to the desert horizon.

• 1 Dinner (D)
• 2 Breakfast (B)

• Sydney: A modular trip means fellow travellers will join and leave at various locations. There’ll be some goodbyes, sure, but there’ll also be plenty of hellos with new like-minded travellers.
• Sydney: Contiki acknowledges the Traditional and Torres Strait Island owners of the land, sea and waters of the spectacular Australian continent. Dual-naming reflects that, as we explore this remarkable land, we recognise and respect Indigenous custodianship of a unique, ancient culture and country.

• Uluru: Chill with your new BFFs over dinner at Uluru.
• Uluru: Start the day the right way – by enjoying the sunrise over Uluru. This should be on everyone’s #lifegoals list. 
• Kata Tjuta: Walk around this sacred site. See the Valley of the Winds and Walpa Gorge, with its towering domes that change colour in the sunlight. 
• Uluru: Does it get any better than a ‘Big Brekkie’ cooked up on the BBQ? We think not. 
• Uluru: Salute this sacred landmark with drinks and nibbles as you watch the sun set. A moment you’ll replay in your mind forever. 
• Kings Canyon: Climb the ‘stairway to heaven’ to the aptly named Garden of Eden, Kings Canyon.

Contiki

Watch dawn spill across the desert as you watch the sun ignite Uluru from the sweeping platforms of Talinguru Nyakunytjaku. The cool morning air, silhouettes of desert oaks and changing hues from violet to ochre create a quiet mood to pause for photos and reflection with Kata Tjuta visible on the horizon.

Gain perspective on the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park, where the A?angu share Tjukurpa creation stories that connect landscape, law and life. Your guide helps decode the rock’s age-old geology and cultural significance while the desert wakes around you.