Tailor-made The Red Centre: Introduction

Contrasting sharply with the Top End, the Red Centre has an awesome, arid, craggy beauty, peppered with tufts of spinifex grass and seasonal wildflowers. The colours of its vast landscape change with the angling light, adding drama to the stories from the Aboriginal Dreamtime.

In the heart of this region is the great monolith of Uluru/Ayers Rock, partnered by the ruddy coloured domes of Kata Tjuta/The Olgas and the hidden waters of Kings Canyon. Alice Springs, crouching beside the majestic MacDonnell Ranges, is no longer considered just an overnight stop en route to Uluru; its robust founders are ever-present in the form of the Royal Flying Doctors service and the Telegraph Station.

The area is now more accessible than ever with the extension of The Ghan railway to Darwin, and small group tours now head out into the bush escorted by local Aboriginal people, making this a good place to learn more of this culture that has shaped Australia.

Selected Highlights

Our specialists have travelled the length and breadth of the country to research the best places to stay and things to do. Here they list a few of their favourite “unmissables”. Click here for more highlights

Spend some time in Alice Springs

Alice Springs is an intriguing outback town with a fascinating history and a host of unusual attractions. An afternoon in the town will give you...  [more]

Take a 4WD trip to Mount Connor

The third of the great monoliths of Central Australia, Mount Connor is missed by most visitors to the Red Centre. Away from the crowds of Uluru and...  [more]

Visit Kings Canyon

Located some 330 kms southwest of Alice Springs, Kings Canyon is yet another of the dramatic natural wonders in the Northern Territory Outback....  [more]