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A week in the Northern Territory

By David Goodlad

January 2^nd, 2015

Day One – Uluru (Ayers Rock)

I arrived at Ayers Rock airport in March of 2013 after a couple of easy flights, where I met my Dad who’d been travelling up from Adelaide for the past couple of weeks. We were both excited, so even through it was late, we went for a quick peek at Uluru right away; there was no way we were going to sit in the hotel! It was a mostly overcast evening, but even with the cloud cover the sunset poked through a couple of times giving us a glimpse of the glowing Rock.

Uluru – Day Two

We woke up to a dark, stormy day which kept us cooped up at the hotel. Normally, this would have been a pretty sad thing, but the storm brought with it a rare downpour of rain, then cleared off by early evening. Luck was with us: water was pouring off the Rock, a sight that very few people get to witness in person!

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Day Three – The Olgas

We got up bright and early to arrive at the Olgas, a mountain range about a 60 minute drive from Uluru, before the sun got high enough to roast us on the hike. It ended up being overcast most of the day, though, which made for reasonable temperatures at the expense of light for

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A final evening visit to Uluru

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Day Four – Kings Creek Station

A doors-off helicopter ride, and some more incredible rock formations!

Days Five & Six – Kings Canyon

Only a short drive from the Station, King’s Canyon is an incredible place for a hike. While it’s not too long distance-wise, the heat makes it a very tiring walk. One evening we made sure to make our loop finish up around sunset, when the colours in the rocks shone and the shadows moved across the canyon.

There were signs of the fires which had blown through last season, leaving many gumtrees blackened but now covered in fresh green shoots.

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Day Seven – West Macdonnell Ranges

It’s a long drive from King’s Creek Station to Alice Springs, especially given the washboarded dirt roads. The route took us through the West Macdonnell Ranges for a final day of hiking

The Ochre Pits are unbelievable; the rocks are mined by the Aboriginal people for their natural pigment, and have been an important part of their traditions for hundreds of years.