Red Centre Way camping route

Alice Springs to Tjoritja

Stock water, food and fuel in Alice Springs, then drive west through Tjoritja. Ormiston Gorge and other designated campgrounds make strong bases for early walks.

A visitor pass or campground booking may be required. Keep footwear on around camp and check waterhole safety advice locally.

Kings Canyon

Choose the sealed route unless your vehicle, rental terms and current road advice support an unsealed alternative. Kings Canyon Resort provides the main nearby facilities.

Start the Rim Walk early and obey heat closures. Carry enough water for the full route rather than relying on how cool sunrise feels.

Uluṟu and the return

Curtin Springs can break the journey before Yulara. Around Uluṟu, follow Anangu requests, park rules and photography guidance.

Do not squeeze sunrise, a long walk and a major onward drive into one day. Desert fatigue is still fatigue.

The loop and its unsealed section

The Red Centre Way links Alice Springs, the West MacDonnell Ranges, Kings Canyon and Uluru. The Mereenie Loop Road between Glen Helen and Kings Canyon is unsealed, requires a permit, and is prohibited in most standard hire agreements.

The sealed alternative runs back through Alice and down the Stuart Highway, adding distance but keeping you on bitumen. Decide which you are doing before hiring the vehicle, not after.

The Mereenie permit is inexpensive and available from visitor centres. It exists because the road crosses Aboriginal land, and camping along it is not permitted.

The West MacDonnells are underrated

Ormiston Gorge, Ellery Creek Big Hole, Standley Chasm and Simpsons Gap are all within easy reach of Alice on sealed roads, and several have swimming. Ormiston in particular is one of the best gorges in the country.

The water in these gorges is snowmelt-cold year round because it sits in permanent shade. Swimming is a shock even in forty degree heat, and people have got into trouble misjudging it.

The Larapinta Trail runs 223 kilometres through this country and individual sections make excellent day walks from the road. Section three from Standley Chasm is a good sample.

Heat, water and walking safely

Central Australian summer regularly exceeds forty degrees and walks are dangerous in it. Rangers close tracks when forecasts pass thresholds, and the Larapinta is effectively a winter trail.

Carry at least four litres of water per person for any walk and more in heat. Start at first light and be finished by mid-morning in summer. Dehydration here develops faster than most visitors expect.

Winter, from May to August, is the season: warm days, cold nights that can drop below freezing, and clear skies. Pack for both ends of that range because the diurnal swing is large.

Alice Springs as a base

Alice has the services, supermarkets, mechanics and hospital that nothing else out here does. Restock properly before heading out on any leg, and deal with vehicle issues here rather than hoping.

The Alice Springs Desert Park and the Royal Flying Doctor Service base both explain the country and how people live in it, and both are worth half a day. The Telegraph Station explains why the town exists at all.

Fuel prices rise sharply once you leave. Fill in Alice, and again at Erldunda or Curtin Springs, and treat every roadhouse as a top-up rather than a decision.

Alice Springs and the desert parks

The East MacDonnell Ranges east of Alice are quieter than the west and include Trephina Gorge and the historic Arltunga goldfields. They are frequently overlooked entirely.

Both ranges have basic national park campgrounds requiring a Parks and Wildlife pass. Fees are low, facilities are minimal and most sites are first come outside peak season.

Consider the Larapinta Trail as a reason to return, since individual sections make excellent multi-day walks with vehicle support available.

Winter nights in central Australia drop below freezing while days stay warm, so pack for a genuinely large temperature swing rather than a single climate.

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