These two weeks in Alice Springs, Kings Canyon and the MacDonnell Ranges worked out to be a wonderful holiday to really experience Central Australia. I think perhaps it even exceeded our expectations!
There is so much to do in the various areas of Central Australia including lots of walking trails, waterholes, camping spots and 4WD adventures. Other possibilities include hot air ballooning over Alice Springs, a helicopter ride over Kings Canyon, golf in Alice Springs under the gaze of the Macdonnell Ranges, quad biking, camel trekking, bike riding and various cultural activities and festivals through the year.
I guess the two main reasons for the success of this holiday was firstly because of the weather – generally max. temps between 25 and 30. Perfect for us. Two or three very overcast days but generally sunny and beautiful blue skies. We did get a little rain in the evening on two days late in the trip but that didn’t impact us at all.
Secondly, the sheer beauty and colours of the landscapes were amazing. Lots of gorges, water holes, mountains, canyons and beautiful colours everywhere. The orange/red sands against the blue skies, the yellow grasses, and the many different shades of green trees: blue greens, silver greens, yellowy greens, olive greens and just bright greens. It made me fall in love with my own country even more. The outback, and Central Australia in particular, really can be very beautiful.
The only negative really of the whole holiday was the blasted flies. We were in the Uluru area for five days last April and it was much the same but I do believe that sometimes in April the flies are not a nuisance! Perhaps it may have something to do with the drought they are having and the hotter than normal summer they experienced.
Generally though, I think the ideal time to come to this part of Australia is from June – September to avoid the flies. We really couldn’t go outside during the day outside of Alice Springs without wearing a fly-net over our hat. And 90% of everyone else does that too. They are extreme! And they get you down after a while. It’s quite funny watching everyone try and get back in their cars without flies but it’s a futile exercise – you spend the next 5-10 minutes waving them out of the car.
Things to know before coming to Central Australia
When to Go
Pick the time of year carefully! Visiting here in Summer, I would suggest is a no-go. This is due to extreme temps which will really restrict when you can go out and what you can do. Temperatures sometimes go over 40 degrees C and this past summer they had many days in a row over 40 degrees! People do die from going out in the sun for too long – perhaps if they get lost on a trail and don’t have enough water. And as mentioned above you really want to come in the cooler months to avoid the flies.
Getting Around
You really need to be driving a 4wd otherwise you are very much limited to where you can go. So if you were only going to be in Alice Springs for a couple of days you could hire a regular sedan and see a few things close to town but otherwise you will need a 4wd! If hiring a car like us, that will be expensive especially when you add in the hire car insurance! Through Budget we could go almost anywhere though.
However, there were two locations to which we couldn’t go: Chambers Pillar (quite a bit south of Alice Springs) and Ruby Gap (apparently beautiful and in the far east of the East MacDonnell Ranges). But that left 90% of places that we could go to. And to be honest if they knew how rough the road to Palm Valley was for the last 4 kms I think that would come off their list of approved roads!
Cost
A budget holiday it is not, but it will be a wonderful, memorable holiday. As just mentioned, hiring a 4wd vehicle for two weeks is not cheap, and also when staying in isolated areas such as Kings Canyon and Glen Helen Gorge you only have one choice of accommodation and they really are a long way from anywhere so food and accommodation is generally quite expensive. Food and accommodation in Alice Springs costs much like anywhere else in Australia.
Internet and Phone coverage
Also important these days to know is that you may be without phone service or internet when outside Alice Springs. However, you can buy internet service in $5 increments when in Glen Helen or Kings Canyon (which doesn’t last very long) but strangely on the last morning in Kings Canyon the internet service on my phone started working. Although a bit temperamentally. Phone service in Kings Canyon you might get for short periods of time if you are with Optus. When out driving in the middle of nowhere you’ll have neither until you get to about 25 kms from Alice Springs.
Footwear
And last but not least, wear proper walking shoes people! We were amazed when we saw a few people wearing flip flops (or thongs as we call them in Australia) and they are SO not the right thing to wear on any of the walks. The walks include sandy areas, rocky areas, and sometimes even boulders. So please be sensible and look after your feet because they will be getting a good workout already!
Alice Springs, hub of Central Australia
Alice Springs is in the centre of Australia and has a population of about 30,000. It’s many hundreds of kms from any comparable sized town and so is an important hub for Central Australia on many levels. It’s about 1300 km from both Adelaide in the south and Darwin in the north.
We were mostly interested in the landscapes on this holiday and so Alice Springs was a great base to explore the beautiful East MacDonnell Ranges and also the closer parts of the West MacDonnell Ranges. If you have your own vehicle you could head down to Chambers Pillar from here too. Also our trip down to Rainbow Valley was from Alice Springs. So it’s a good place to base yourself from.
Alice Springs Desert Park
There are lots of things to do in and around Alice Springs. The Desert Park is about 6 kms from the centre of town and we liked it so much we did a second visit on our last day. Beautiful landscapes, trees and pathways have been created. They have a great nocturnal house – really excellent and I particularly loved the bird aviary. Central Australia is a paradise for birds and reptiles! On our second visit we sat in on the very entertaining raptors show in the nature amphitheatre. I would really recommend spending an afternoon or morning here.
One of several different landscapes 
Lots of birdlife at the Park
Culture
Also there are several cultural places to visit in Alice Springs such as the Royal Flying Doctor Museum, the Old Telegraph Station and the Araluen Cultural Centre. We spent a pleasant couple of hours at the Olive Pink Botanical Gardens which had a nice café with birds and rock wallabies and kangaroos and it’s free to enter!
Make sure to visit Anzac Hill at least once for a great view of Alice Springs and some stunning sunsets!
The Kangaroo Sanctuary
A highlight was the visit to the Kangaroo Sanctuary. Becoming almost famous after a TV special shown around the world, it showed the 24 hour care and attention Brolga gives to his injured or orphaned kangaroos. And because of the attention this TV show created, he has been able to transform it into a major tourist attraction of the area. One busload of people gets to go through 4 evenings a week for a sunset tour. So you need to book ahead. Such a joy holding and feeding the joeys!
Two orphaned girl joeys 
Feeding a joey in The Kangaroo Sanctuary
Food and Accommodation
We stayed in two different accommodations in Alice Springs and both were fine – Doubletree Hilton and Quest Apartments. The former had great views, good sized pool, couple of nice restaurants and a bar and 24 hour front desk. It is however just a motel room. The Quest Apartments had none of that (a tiny pool though) but it was a full sized comfortable apartment with a full kitchen and all mod cons including washing machine and dryer. Lots of other accommodation choices are available in Alice Springs too.
The best meal we had whilst away over the two weeks was at the Saltbush restaurant at the Doubletree Hilton. I had a really tender steak and John enjoyed a beef cheeks main course. We both had a delicious wattle seed crème brulee with port and figs. Wine was good too – always helps! Apart from that we had some decent meals, some average ones but nothing else particularly memorable. There was always a good choice of wine too.
East MacDonnell Ranges
This area really exceeded my expectations. A lot of tourists that don’t have a lot of time go just to the West MacDonnell ranges but I think I might even prefer the East Ranges. I think it’s a very underrated area of Central Australia. Firstly, the West Ranges have had the bushfires in January and so of course part of the West Ranges don’t look as pretty as they normally might. The scenery driving through the East Ranges is just gorgeous, slightly different colours from the West Ranges. Prettier I think.
Jessie Gap and Emily Gap are both very beautiful and Corroboree Rock was interesting but the highlight was Trephina Gorge. What a wonderful surprise that was! A great walk which took about one hour up and down through the gorge. Incredibly beautiful!
Also just before you get to Trephina Gorge there is the world’s oldest ghost gum tree – about 300 years old. I absolutely love the ghost gums – their white trunks and branches contrast beautifully with the colours of the sky and land. We also headed down to N’Dhala Gorge. Definitely 4WD territory! Both in and out of the car but worth a visit! The scenery particularly on the dirt road to N’Dhala Gorge was a great surprise. Just so beautiful!
Jessie Gap 
Trephina Gorge
Stopped in at the Ross River homestead for lunch for a comfortable break. A really interesting homestead. And this tiny little place is hosting a big music festival soon too!
Also I liked that there were hardly any other people around in the East MacDonnell Ranges. Such a hard thing to find these days.
We didn’t visit Ruby Gap, as our hire car was not permitted on that road, but I believe it is the most beautiful spot on the East MacDonnell Ranges. It has water holes too which the other places we visited didn’t have at this time of the year.
All of what we did could be done comfortably in a day.
West MacDonnell Ranges
As a very popular part of Central Australia, the West Macdonnell Ranges provides many spots to visit along this very popular 160 km stretch of road from Alice Springs. Some are just a couple of kms off the road and others will be a longer drive. Starting from Alice Springs, you can visit Simpsons Gap, Standley Chasm (unique – a must), Ellery Creek Big Hole, Serpentine Gorge, the Ochre Pits (my least favourite stop), Ormiston Gorge, Glen Helen Gorge (most beautiful and where we stayed for two nights) and Redbank Gorge (my second favourite gorge).
A lot of these places had water holes too, unlike the East MacDonnell Ranges and in most of them you can swim although you may find the water surprisingly cold.
Attractions along the West MacDonnell Ranges in order from Alice Springs
Simpsons Gap – Close to Alice Springs with just a 5 – 10 mins walk from the carpark. It has a small water hole which is not suitable for swimming. Very nice with great trees and rock formations but certainly not the most scenic of them all.
Standley Chasm – Jaw dropping! Get there around noon so that the sun lights up the red rock. 10-15 walk from the carpark. Also a little café there. The drive out there is wonderfully scenic. We walked up to the nearby lookout and that’s when the devastation of the January fires was clearly apparent – very blackened.
Ellery Creek Big Hole – As the name suggests quite a big water hole here and you can swim here. Very picturesque spot and only a 1 -2 min walk from the car park.
Standley Chasm 
Simpsons Gap
Serpentine Gorge – About a 1 km rocky and sandy walk from the car park. Quite nice and with a small waterhole but not the prettiest of all the gorges.
Ochre Pits – Short walk to the pits and probably the least impressive thing we saw on our trip. It’s a short stop but if you were pushed for time I would skip this one.
Ormiston Gorge – Quite good for several reasons: it’s only a two minute walk to the Gorge where there is a water hole, then you can walk 15 mins up to the lookout where you can peer down onto the waterhole, and if you want you can continue walking down and into the back of the gorge, and it also has a little café there.
Glen Helen Gorge – The best of them all! So incredibly beautiful! Lots of water as it is on the Finke River and totally suitable for swimming. And you can see past the large body of water, a kind of little paradise in the distance. We stayed at the Glen Helen Lodge there which is very, very basic accommodation. Set your sights low. However the staff were the best and friendliest we came across on our holiday.
Plus the homestead building where the restaurant and bar was located was really nicely renovated and very comfortable. So comfy that we sat in some comfy armchairs and both nights had a little too much wine. Slept well! Also there’s a balcony out the back where you can gaze out on the gorgeous scenery (if no flies!). The food was pretty good too! So if they could just upgrade the rooms, it would be brilliant. You can camp there too.
Redbank Gorge – Quite a hard walk getting there through rocks and boulders. About 2 kms and half an hour to get to the most wonderful gorge and water hole. Well worth the effort getting there! Also the fact that it’s not too easy to get to means not too many people there. This was probably my second favourite spot along the West MacDonnell ranges. You can swim in this water hole and you can swim for a way back into the narrow chasm. Really surprising place!
Redbank Gorge 
Glen Helen Gorge
Kings Canyon
Spent three nights at Kings Canyon in the Watarrka National Park, which was a highlight of our trip. We stayed in the Kings Canyon Resort and it’s worth noting that the word ‘resort’ is not used in the same way as in other parts of the world. There is basically one place that handles all the accommodation whether it be camping or a motel room which is what we had. Fairly standard but without even a kettle.
Two restaurants to choose from – one your standard restaurant and one a semi outdoor bbq venue. Prices not cheap at either! They have a petrol station and medical centre and a general store, next to the Thirsty Dingo Bar. And that’s it! You may or may not phone reception and only if you use Optus. The internet is patchy and may or may not work.
Helicopter ride
But of course we don’t go to these places for the accommodation and dining, we go for the spectacular landscapes. And spectacular they are! My first experience in a helicopter was one I will never forget. Half an hour for $285 but it was worth it! So much of the surrounding area of Kings Canyon is also amazing! We flew over Petermann Pound and the George Gill Range (of which Kings Canyon is part), the Back Canyon and all the area around Kings Canyon itself. Highly recommend if you can afford it. The landscapes were really other worldly! They also do 8 min and 15 min rides too.
Kings Canyon from above 
Petermann Pound
Walks
John did the big Rim walk (3.5 hours +) but I did the South Wall walk (2 – 2.5 hours) as I have tendon injuries in my feet and was trying not to punish my feet too much! It was magnificent! The scenery all up to the canyon wall is amazing and then the view when you get there takes your breath away. On the way up there are rocks that look like the Bungle Bungles in Western Australia (Aussies will know of this). Make sure you walk all the way to the end where a gate marks the finish. Also if you do the big Rim walk head down to the Garden of Eden.
At the top of the South Wall 
Looking at the South Wall
The creek walk there was partly closed when we were there due to some sort of building works which was a shame. A little drive out up the resort is Kathleen Springs. It’s a small, pretty waterhole but the 15-20 min walk there was probably the best bit. Very picturesque and the remains of the old cattle yards can still be seen. If you were short of time, you’d give this spot a miss and just concentrate on Kings Canyon itself.
Palm Valley
If you take the route from Alice Springs to Kings Canyon via the Larapinta Drive you can make a detour to the unique Palm Valley in the Finke Gorge National Park. About 22 kms of dirt, gravel, sand tracks (very scenic) with the last 4 kms being serious 4wd territory. A little bit nerve racking for us but it was definitely worth it.
Palm Valley is a little oasis in a gorge which has permanent underground water and so the palm trees thrive. It is also the only place in the world that has these Red Cabbage Palms. There’s about an hour’s walk along the palm valley and then up along the ridge of the gorge. Really fabulous.
Palm Valley 
Scenic surrounds
It was this day I remember feeling a little emotional about how much I love this part of Australia – it’s so incredibly beautiful. The Dorothy Mackellar poem “My Country” (commonly known as ‘I love a Sunburnt Country’) came to mind (a poem all Aussies are taught at school). The second verse is the one we all know off by heart. And out here you really feel every line of that verse. I think there’s often a special connection to the land in the country to which you were born. Do you agree? But I also remember thinking that day: these effing flies are driving me crazy!
Rainbow Valley
Our last full day we visited Rainbow Valley. From memory about 90-100 kms out of Alice Springs. Really had no idea what we were visiting. Visually very beautiful but only short walks around the area. A one km walk up to the right of these photos to the impressive mushroom rock but you can’t go beyond that. Then you can walk around the salt pans where the 2nd photo below was taken for another one km walk.
Rainbow Valley 
Salt Pans
Suggested Itinerary for Central Australia
We did 4 nights in Alice Springs, 3 nights at Kings Canyon, 2 nights at Glen Helen Gorge and then another 4 nights in Alice Springs. If anyone wanted to do a similar holiday I would suggest just one night at Glen Helen Gorge (you can still cover everything easily) and drop a night or two in Alice Springs.
I had a rest day in Alice Springs which I really needed and then our last day we went back to the Desert Park which we loved. But the extra time in Alice Springs also allows for one or two days of not good weather. You might want to revisit a spot on a nice day if the weather was not good on your first visit.
If you were planning to add Uluru and Kata Tjuta to your itinerary (which we did last year) I would suggest inserting 3 nights at Uluru before Kings Canyon. That gives you a full day at Uluru and a full day for Kata Tjuta. See my post on Uluru for more information.
Important to be aware also that both Kings Canyon and Uluru are a long way from Alice Springs and will involve a good part of the day driving to get there. Also the most direct route from Kings Canyon to the West McDonnell Ranges is 150 kms or so of corrugated dirt roads! A 4wd for this route is compulsory.
Please feel free to leave a comment or ask me questions you like on our experiences of Central Australia.
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Hope you’ve enjoyed this Travel Inspiration from an Empty Nester!
Useful links
Tourism Australia – Visit the Red Centre
Alice Springs and Surrounds Map
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Fabulous post about the colourful centre of Australia. We only stayed at Uluru for five days last November and knew that we had a lot more to go back for next time. There weren’t any flies when we were there but very scary electrical storms EVERY afternoon! The colours of the McDonnell Ranges against the blue skies are mind blowing. Lots of useful information and tips – congratulations.
Thanks so much Joycee, glad you enjoyed it! Wow, electrical storms every afternoon – I had no idea they had weather like that!
Wow a lot of excellent detail — sounds like some great places to visit! I would love to visit the kangaroo sanctuary.
Thanks Christy! Yes the Kangaroo Sanctuary is a must – everyone gets to hold a joey for 5 mins. Wonderful experience. Book in advance though.
Your photos are amazing ! Love the landscape s which you have captured. What I enjoyed more were the useful tips which is ideal for first timers like myself if I ever consider visiting this part of Australia. A good read.
Thanks so much Georgina! Glad you loved the photos and I’m pleased to hear you really enjoyed the tips too!
I really enjoyed reading about your travels in Central Australia! Like you, I adored the colours – that red, red sand and infinite blue sky with the counterpoint of our unique plant species. I’m interested in visiting Iluru this year, having covered the Kimberley on a photographic tour a few years back – and I’ve made a note about the fly nets – those tiny ‘sweat bees’ are awful! Thank-you for sharing!
Thank Roz! Actually the Kimberley is on our list for next year 🙂 And yes, the fly nets at certain times of the year are worth their weight in gold!
Congratulations Jenny on a fabulous post. WOW!! You certainly covered a lot in the two weeks you were in Central Australia. I’m so impressed with this travel guide. You haven’t left anything out, plus lots of tips that will help anyone planning a visit. For me personally this post bought back many happy memories of our time in Central Australia.
Thanks Estelle, sorry for the delay in responding – I have only just noticed that your comment did not have a reply! Thanks so much for your kind words, I really appreciate it!
Many Congratulations, Jenny! I have nominated you for the Mystery Blogger Award. Please visit my website and have a look.
Thanks Georgina, much appreciated! I have had a look at your blog post and have liked it too 🙂
Thanks Jen for all the great tips – your blog has inspired me to travel north again soon. Loved reading your story – amazing photos.
Thanks Ali. It really is a wonderful part of the world!
Hi Jenny. Great descriptions and photos of where we went. I think breathtaking, rugged and colourful are apt descriptions. Often bright sunlight tends to make photos washed out. Not there – the colours are that strong they actually look better! Red gorges and deep blue sky! Just wonderful.
Thanks luv, I totally agree!
Fabulous and very detailed post Jenny. We spent three weeks in Central Australia in 2017 and loved every minute of it. The big skies, red earth, beautiful vistas and so many incredible places. I think we covered everything in your post. My favourites: Trephina, Ormiston Gorge, Glen Helen, Palm Valley, the Rim Walk … far too many to mention. Thanks for bringing back such special memories.
Thanks Miriam, glad you liked it. I have to agree with everything you said 🙂 I really loved the colours and so many wonderful sights. Sounds like you did much the same as us – Aren’t we lucky?
We sure are! I’d go back in a heartbeat too. 😊
Yes, that’s exactly what we did after a short visit to Uluru last year. The red dust really does get under your skin doesn’t it!
Great travel blog Jenny with lots of practical info. I know what you mean about the red dust getting under one’s skin … I have been in Broome just over a year now and love this remote part of Australia.
Thanks for that Tina. Appreciate the positive feedback. Yes it is certainly a special part of the world!