Like most of our other vacations in Australia, we needed a 4WD to navigate unpaved roads, this time along the Mereenie Loop Road between Kings Canyon in the West MacDonnell National Park and Uluru. The Mereenie Loop Road is part of the Red Centre Way, and is a beautiful, very scenic, and offroad option for getting from Alice Springs to Uluru. Below there is a map of our route along the Mereenie Loop. Click the link if you want more interaction.
Map showing our route
The first stop on the Mereenie Loop Road was Serpentine Gorge.
Hiking at Serpentine Gorge (1)
Hiking at Serpentine Gorge (2)
Hiking at Serpentine Gorge (3)
The next stop along the Mereenie Loop Road was Ormiston Gorge. At this point we had been on unsealed but very well maintained roads for maybe 10 km. Like the last trip a month previous, we would liked to have come in the wet season so that we could have swam in these gorges.
Hiking at Ormiston Gorge (1)
Hiking at Ormiston Gorge (2)
On the road towards Kings Canyon (1) -- an interesting rock formation in the background
On the road towards Kings Canyon (2) -- another picture of the interesting rock formation
On the road towards Kings Canyon (3) -- roving wildlife on the road
On the road towards Kings Canyon (4) -- a sample of the Red Centre Way road, very well maintained but very dusty this time of year. Just look at that blue sky!
On the road towards Kings Canyon (5) -- close to Kings Canyon resort where we spent two nights
Kings Canyon
The word is that many visitors to Alice Springs and Uluru miss Kings Canyon, which is just a short drive away. KC featured quite large on my list of things to see, and we spent a day hiking the gorgeous canyon.
A short sunset walk from Kings Canyon Resort the day we arrived, along a trail suggested by the resort staff
Kings Canyon Hike (1)
Kings Canyon Hike (2) -- the hike really starts with a bang, with a big uphill kick along this rugged trail
Kings Canyon Hike (3) -- at the top of that first big uphill
Kings Canyon Hike (4)
Kings Canyon Hike (5)
Kings Canyon Hike (6) -- this picture shows what a beautiful hike this was, through canyons of colorful rock, sometimes having to scramble up and over ridges
Kings Canyon Hike (7)
Kings Canyon Hike (8) -- the namesake canyon in the background
Kings Canyon Hike (9) -- showing the vertical relief of the canyon
Kings Canyon Hike (10)
Kings Canyon Hike (11)
Kings Canyon Hike (12)
Kings Canyon Hike (13) -- this is the farthest extent of the official walk, although some of us did indulge in some unofficial walking
Kings Canyon Hike (14)
Kings Canyon Hike (15)
Kings Canyon Hike (16) -- beautiful contrast of those red rocks
Kings Canyon Hike (17) -- looking lengthwise along the canyon on the route back
Kings Canyon Hike (18)
Kings Canyon Hike (19)
Kings Canyon Hike (20)
Kings Canyon Hike (21)
Kings Canyon Hike (22) -- another good impression of the scale from this picture
Kings Canyon Hike (23)
Kings Canyon Hike (24) -- some fauna observed on the walk
Uluru
We drove the next day to a very nice resort at Uluru, along more unsealed roads for part of the way.
Drive to Uluru (1) -- some weird melons observed in the middle of the desert
Drive to Uluru (2) -- the last of the unsealed road
Drive to Uluru (3) -- from a distance, we thought that this was Uluru, but it is not, as will become more obvious once you see the outline of Uluru in the next several pictures
We checked into the resort, had a nice meal at a very nice restaurant, and got ready for exploration of Uluru the following day. We opted not to hike up on top, as the native peoples ask that visitors do not, and instead were going to circumnavigate.
Uluru (1) -- at last, with beautiful contrasting colors. And that blue sky again!
Uluru (2)
Uluru (3) -- some cave paintings seen on the guided walk around Uluru
Uluru (4)
Uluru (5) -- very distinctive features visible on the rock in the background. There are parts of Uluru where you are not allowed to take pictures, because the distinctive shapes are sacred to the indigenous people
Uluru (6)
Uluru (7) -- this is reminiscent of Wave Rock, which we visited on a trip to the south of Western Australia (link)
Uluru (8) -- it was about this point on the walk that we realized that restrooms are few and far between. We hoped that our donation to the funds supporting the park might be put towards adding more facilities along the route around the base.
Uluru (9) -- more very distinctive features of Uluru
Uluru (10) -- even yet more very distinctive features of Uluru
Uluru (11) -- there was some information provided along the walk, but not as much as we would like. The children are home schooled, after all ...
Sunset at Uluru is a big thing. There was a lot of money spent on creating viewing platforms for sunset, and flocks and heaps of tourists crowd them at sunset. We found ourselves wishing that some of that money for the car viewers had been spent on bathrooms for the walkers. Nevertheless, beautiful views of Uluru at sunset!
Sunset at Uluru (1)
Sunset at Uluru (2)
Sunrise at Uluru -- the following we day we headed to the Olgas
The Olgas, or Kata Tjutu, are another neaby desination where we had a short hike
Kata Tjutu Hike (1)
Kata Tjutu Hike (2)
Kata Tjutu Hike (3)
Kata Tjutu Hike (4)
Kata Tjutu Hike (5)
A final view of Uluru
A comparison of colors at Uluru sunrise and sunset
We really enjoyed the trip to the Northwest Territory, and loved the stay at the Uluru resort. There was a buffet restaurant that the kids still talk about years later, and we all enjoyed the beautiful hikes very much. If you go, don't forget the gorges of the West MacDonnell range.
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