Visiting Uluru-Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon National Parks

After three nights spent in motels, Nick and I were starting to miss life on the road. Wanting to get back out exploring, we decided to hire a campervan and take a road trip to visit Uluru-Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon National Parks. The van we hired was much smaller than the luxury of the one we had become used to, but we soon adjusted to walks to campsite bathrooms and taking turns to use the floor space.

Nick sat outside our new campervan after getting set up at the Ayers Rock Resort

Halfway to Uluru from Alice Springs, we stopped at a service station that claims to be “the closest point on the Outback Way to the true centre of Australia”. There is also an emu farm there where we got to see lots of emus up close.

An emu who lives at the very centre of Australia

As we completed our journey to Uluru through outback roads, we saw a lot of flood warning signs and, with our sunglasses and air conditioning on, wondered aloud to each other why they were there. We joked about how it surely couldn’t rain all that much in the centre of Australia and we didn’t understand how it could be a flood risk. Cut to the middle of that same night, when we were woken up by rain pouring down heavily on to the van. That showed us.

We were disappointed when we woke the following morning to find that the rain was still going strong. Nevertheless, we put on much warmer clothes than had been laid out the night before and set off to see Uluru, which is much bigger in real life than I thought it would be.

Uluru ("Ayers Rock")

You may also know Uluru by the name “Ayers Rock”. Ayers Rock was the name given to Uluru by western man when they took it from the aboriginals. When ownership of Uluru was given back to the aboriginal community, they reclaimed the name “Uluru” and do not like the use of the alternative. The name “Ayers Rock“ is still commonly used today, although we have seen it crossed out in red graffiti paint on many signs we have passed.

The cooler weather turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the temperature was just perfect for the three hour walk we took around its base. If we had come on a hot day, I think the temperature would have been unbearable! The many signs we saw warning visitors of the dangerous heat conditions and precautions to be taken further reinforced this. So, I’m very glad that we visited on the day we did.

Me visiting Uluru in my winter hat

When under western ownership, guests were encouraged to climb Uluru, so long as weather conditions were suitable (which is only 23% of the time) and there is a designated path where you can do so. 37 people have died climbing Uluru since records began in 1950. However, as the aboriginals see Uluru as a sacred landmark, they do not like for you to climb it, and there are signs all over the park begging guests not to. By October 2019, it will be officially banned.

Even though we didn’t want to be disrespectful enough to climb Uluru against the aboriginal community’s wishes (and couldn’t even if we had wanted to due to the weather), we still had a lot of fun exploring its circumference, tight rope walking trees and exploring its cave like crevices.

Me tightrope walking a tree at Uluru

There were aboriginal folk tales printed on plaques spread across the park with humorously questionable moral messages. For example, one told the story of a man who ate someone else’s emu and so was hunted down and burned alive. The moral of the story: this is what happens to dishonest thieves.

A ticket admitting one adult into Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park costs $25 for one to three days. If you’re so inclined, you can also pay more to explore Uluru by camel, Segway or helicopter. 

The next day was a lot warmer and we got up early to explore the second landmark in the park: Kata Tjuta.

Kata Tjuta

Despite Kata Tjuta being less well known than its neighbour, I actually enjoyed visiting this site a lot more. Its rocky landscape reminded me of something from a fairy tale, like somewhere a giant would live, and I felt like we were on our very own expedition as we explored it. We did the full circuit Valley of the Winds Walk, which is estimated to take four hours, but we managed it in just two. Whilst Uluru was a very straightforward and easy walk, walking the Valley of the Winds around Kata Tjuta involved a lot of rock climbing, steep surfaces to scale and forest-like areas to explore. This made it a lot more fun, which is another reason why I enjoyed it more. 

Me enjoying the views of Kata Tjuta whilst resting halfway through a long hike

It is also a lot more dangerous than walking the base of Uluru, and guests aren’t allowed to enter at all if temperatures reach 36 degrees Celsius or above. We didn’t realise it, but by visiting in their winter, we actually arrived in their peak season. As the weather starts to get warmer from next month, exploration of these sites will become almost impossible due to the weather becoming unbearably hot. We feel very lucky to have turned up when we did.

After our exploration of Kata Tjuta, we got back in the van and Nick drove us three and a half hours to Kings Canyon.

The following morning, we got up early to watch the sunrise over the Canyon.

The sun rising over Kings Canyon on the morning of 23rd September 2018

We drove to Kings Canyon (also known as "Watarrka") straight after sunrise so as to complete our walk before the day began to get too hot. Entry to this national park is free. Once there, we did the Kings Canyon Rim Walk, which starts with an extremely steep and long climb to the top of the Canyon!

The climb to the top of the Canyon. It was steeper than it looks!

Once we’d completed this climb, the hardest part was over and we were rewarded with the most gorgeous views as we explored the rim of the Canyon.

The view from the rim of Kings Canyon

Like the Valley of the Winds Walk at Kata Tjuta the previous day, the Kings Canyon Rim Walk involved a lot of climbing which made it very fun. The climbs required to scale the Canyon were a lot more challenging, but I would say that the views were equally more impressive and rewarding.

Me enjoying the views of Kings Canyon

Also similar to the Valley of the Winds Walk at Kata Tjuta, the Kings Canyon Rim Walk is estimated to take four hours, but we managed this in two hours as well.

In total, the walk around Uluru was 10.6km, the Valley of the Winds Walk around Kata Tjuta was 7.4km and the Kings Canyon Rim Walk was 6km – meaning that we walked and climbed 24km in three days. Accounting for all the extra walking we did as measured by an app on Nick's phone, in total, we walked the length of a marathon in that time!

Both Nick and I agree that our favourite landmarks to visit ranked in the following order:

1.  Kata Tjuta
2. Kings Canyon
3. Uluru

I have a confession to make: I’m someone who isn’t always overly impressed by natural landmarks (damn internet generation…) and I probably wouldn’t have been overly fussed to visit Uluru if it wasn’t something that Nick had wanted to do, but I am SO glad that we did! We had a really fun three days driving across central Australia to explore these three iconic landmarks, that were completely worth the long drives, early starts and cramped living space. We had such an amazing adventure that I will remember forever, and I would really recommend the trip to anyone travelling Australia.