The drive into the Australian Outback starts before sunrise, or “ridiculous o’clock” as your guide may call it. It’s an unreasonable time to wake up, but necessary if you want to get deep into the bush at a more reasonable one.
As the sun comes up, the red dirt that gives this part of the continent its nickname “The Red Center” begins to glow in the light. Your rugged van-slash-bus tears past mulga trees used by indigenous Australians to make digging sticks. Two kangaroo appear amidst the Spinifex grass. But there’s not much else. The Northern Territory Outback is really way the hell out there, and that’s the beauty of it. “It feels so remote, so different from the rest of the country,” says Ryan Turner, the Australia Destination Manager for the Intrepid Group. “We’re a nation of beach dwellers—central Australia is as far away from that as you can get.” Gone are the days of packing enough gasoline and food to survive your walkabout. Despite its remote location, the bucket list destination is easier to visit than you’d think.
When to go
While your mental picture of an Australian vacation is probably filled with sizzling beach montages, the best time to visit the Outback is not during beach season. “Winter in Australia—June to September—is the best time to visit Central, as you don’t get those scorching summer temperatures,” says Turner. A summer trip here will limit your Red Center activities due to the intense heat (although you can definitely still go). If you’re going in the winter, pack like you’re going in the winter. The Outback gets bone chillingly cold and you’re going to be spending a lot of time outside.
How to start your trip
Flying down to Australia’s getting easier and cheaper by the year. Fly to Melbourne with Qantas, which offers non-stops from the West Coast for under a grand (and serves complimentary sparkling wine from Down Under). Before you go, make sure to get a tourist visa, which you can do online.
Australia’s a long ways away, so bookend your Outback action with experiences in other major Aussie destinations. Stay in Melbourne for at least a few nights before heading north into the wild. Adjust to the jetlag at QT Melbourne, very conveniently located in the middle of everything, like the Royal Botanic Gardens and Chinatown. The hotel has a gym, rooftop bar, deep bathtubs for weary traveler soaking, as well as a high-end Japanese knife shop if you forgot your high-end Japanese knife at home.
Across the Botanical Gardens from the hotel, dine at Matilda for a taste of local Australian ingredients cooked over an open flame. Sit at the chef’s counter to watch the bewitching magic of those open flames, and order the kangaroo tartare, not just for the novelty but because it tastes damn good, too. After dinner, you’ll want to investigate the city’s drinking scene—try the pubs of Fitzroy or head to the hospitality industry favorite, Lily Blacks for cocktails.
How to Outback
After adjusting to the time change, hop on another Qantas flight from Melbourne to Alice Springs, your gateway city to the bush. It’s only two and a half hours away by plane but you’ll feel completely transported mentally and physically when you land. If you open up a map and find Alice Springs, it’ll put your location into perspective. Gone are the skyscrapers and Ubers; you’re bordered by wilderness now. Book a tour to get you to the Outback (and back) in one piece, camp in the bush and see all its wonder, and learn about the area’s cultural significance. You’re entering territory that once belonged to indigenous Australians, and need to visit accordingly. “The Anangu people of the area are part of the world’s oldest living culture and the traditional custodians of the region,” Turner says of the central Australian Aboriginal groups. “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the traditional owners of the land; white people have been here for only the last 230 years. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a continuous link to the land in Australia that stretches back more than 40,000 years.” To learn more about aboriginal ethics, start here. The absolute basics include that it’s not okay to photograph aboriginal people unless you have permission, and that English is likely an aboriginal person’s third or fourth language, so going with a well-trained guide is particularly important.
You’ll want to keep cultural sensitivity in mind when visiting places like Uluru, the sandstone monolith in the Uluṟu–Kata Tjuṯa National Park that stands as the most iconic piece of the Red Center. It’s what pops up most often on postcards, magnets, t-shirts. “Your first view of Uluru is on par (or better) than your first glimpse of say the Pyramids or Grand Canyon or somewhere similar,” says Turner. It looks like something straight out of a Salvador Dalí dreamscape, its vibrant red surface appearing to melt under the cloudless Australian sky. While walking around Uluru’s base, you’ll come across signs asking visitors not to photograph certain sites sensitive to the Anangu people. Respect those signs; there are plenty of other photo opps around the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Along the base you’ll come across a chain that slinks up the side of Uluru to the top. It was put there with the intention of letting tourists climb the rock, but it’s highly dangerous to climb Uluru, not to mention deeply disrespectful to the Anangu people to do. Some 37 people have died making the climb, despite the obvious signage next to the chain explaining why climbing Uluru is not recommended. In 2019, climbing Uluru will be made illegal. Just don’t fucking climb it.
Uluru is a spectacular part of the Outback, but by no means the only major site to see. There’s the Cultural Centre where you can learn Anangu stories and buy Aboriginal art. Also in Uluṟu–Kata Tjuṯa National Park is Kata Tjuṯa, the “many heads” domed rock formation sacred to the Anangu people. Stay on the designated paths to enjoy hiking around this marvel. For a longer trek, there’s the Kings Canyon rim walk. The 6 kilometer trek in Watarrka National Park starts at Heart Attack Hill and takes you around the rust-colored gorge to epic sandstone domes, watering holes, and cliffs. But wait, there’s more. “The Macdonnell Ranges are a hidden gem only a few hours from Alice Springs,” says Turner. “The Finke River is said to be over 100 million years old. Ormiston and Glen Helen Gorges are two highlights.”
Driving back to Alice Springs, you’ll feel detoxed, at least digitally, as a lot of the wilderness is cell service-free. Treading through the oxidized earth of the Outback will recharge your senses, and, as all good bucket list places do, put your tiny human life into perspective.
