Way Outback: Camping tour in Australian Outback
When I had settled on going to Australia for the 2017/18 Ashes tour (which wasn’t a hard decision), my priority was making sure I had enough time to go to the Outback.
For all the glamour of Sydney and cool, hipster reputation of Melbourne, the red centre was what I wanted to see most. Every big city has it’s own character, but cities spring up on every continent in their own way… it’s a lot less common and more alien to explore dry, arid and almost entirely uninhabited land. And there’s only one place on earth you can see Uluru.
After spending a week in Perth I took the short flight to Alice Springs to think about my next move, but the ordeal of leaving the coastal air and entering the oppressive Northern Territory heat left me in desperate need for food and a beer. Settled in a bar and suitably refreshed I started doing some research. Ideally I would have liked to do a road trip with friends, camping along the way and feeling like we were the only people for miles around. But I arrived in Alice Springs on my own, and I am neither brave nor stupid enough to rent a car and drive off into the Outback solo. I’ve seen the movies!
Can you take go camping in the Australian Outback?
The one thing I knew I wanted to do was camp under the Southern sky. So I looked into the various group tours on offer. Turns out, there’s loads. It was the first time I had ever thought about doing a group tour – I’m lucky that my travel plans had until that point matched up neatly with a friend or a boyfriend to be my travel buddy. In fact, the journey to Australia at the age of 27 was the first time I had ever travelled alone.
If I’m honest, I was a little nervous about the whole group tour thing. Like everyone else, there’s certain things I like to do – and not do – on holiday. I like to take my time and really get the feel of a place. I don’t like being rushed from one experience to another without actually experiencing anything. I’m also quite anti-social and don’t like being forced into making friends/conversation because of proximity, which felt inevitable. Was it so bad to want to enjoy my first solo travel experience, solo?
Anyway, overcoming my fear of conversations, I chatted to the hostel staff about the various tours on offer, and even managed some laughs with a few fellow guests who had just come back from a trip. An hour later I had booked onto a 3 day tour organised by Way Outback. I chose it because it focused on an experience in nature without any added frills.
As if to add to my list of misgivings, the tour I’d signed up to had a 5am pick up the next morning. Somehow time had slipped by and it was already almost 8pm, so I hastily packed a small bag for the upcoming three days, checked the rest of my luggage into the hostel’s lockers and attempted to get an early night, ready for an outback adventure.
Not sure if group tours are for you? Read on for my experience!
What happens on a group tour into the Australian Outback?
Day 1 : Alice Springs to Uluru
I was not ready for that 4.30am alarm. Already, the air was sticky. There didn’t seem much point in showering, but as I didn’t know what the facilities of the next few days at campsites would be like I thought I should at least start the trip fresh. The only other occupant of the four bed dorm was also booked on the same trip, so I woke her up as we agreed the night before (she warned me she was an over-sleeper!) then shovelled some breakfast down. We got to the curb side just as the mini-van pulled up to collect us.
From there it was about a 5 hour drive towards Uluru. Our tour guide introduced herself and welcomed everyone, explaining how things would work for the next 3 days. We stopped at the campsite where we would later return for the night, and the group got to know each other whilst making some lunch. It was a nice dynamic, where everyone had their job – washing salad, chopping tomatoes, buttering slices of bread.
After a short rest, it was back in the van and, only a few minutes later, we were ready to embark on an interpretive base walk of Uluru. The walk is a 10km path that runs all the way around the sacred site. It was fascinating to see how both the rock and the landscape changed so much as we walked. Some areas were lush and green, some dry and bare; the rock was bright red and smooth in some places and marked with deep crevasses in others. It seemed to shift in shape before our eyes as the clouds moved overhead. All the while, our guide was explaining the changing features in the rock and the plants of the surrounding landscape. There are areas that are sacred to the indigenous communities where no photography is allowed, but we would gather round to hear the stories from these blessed places. We were the only group around, and as we walked in silence under the hot sun it was easy to feel connected to the energy of the place.
The next stop was a visit to the Cultural Centre for more context of the indigenous people from the area, and were able to walk around two Aboriginal-owned galleries showcasing the best of Anangu art and crafts. There was also a shop with hand-made items, where I bought a lovely coin purse to give as a Christmas gift to my secret santa back home (albeit, a little late).
From there, we drove up to a viewing point and waited patiently as the sun set. The sky put on a spectacular show – turning, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple and, finally, midnight blue.
We made our way back to the camp and lent a hand finishing dinner, then sat down to eat as a group. After sharing some wine around the fire, we got our swag bags out and climbed in. It’s a surreal experience, essentially sleeping on the floor, but the fire was almost out and the early start had caught up with everyone. Before we could get too comfortable, there was a scream.
“Schlange! Schlange!”
Now, at the time I had been taking beginner German lessons, and only a few weeks before I left for the trip the class had covered animals. So I was in the unfortunate position of knowing exactly what the Swiss girls in our tour group were shouting about. A snake. Everyone jumped up and our guide, along with one of the staff at the camp, hurried in the direction the girls were pointing. Within a few minutes they returned to tell us they had seen it slither off, and it was more afraid of us then we of it so it probably wouldn’t be back. But also that it was an Eastern Brown snake – which was one of the most venomous snakes in the world. Did they really need to tell us that?!
For a while there was an air of tension and everyone huddled a little closer together as we got back into our swag bags, anxious. But a Norwegian in our group settled everyone down by pointing to the night sky. The stars were like nothing I had ever seen before. Her grandfather had been an astronomer, she said, and she talked us through the southern constellations. I have no idea if she knew what she was pointing out or was making it all up, but it was enough to take our minds off the prospect of venomous night visitors. I got what I’d wanted: I drifted serenely off to sleep under the vast open sky.
Day 2 : Uluru to Kings Creek Station via Kata Tjuta
It was still dark when we were woken up, and I was grateful I brought a head torch to find my way to the showers. They weren’t terrible but not glamourous – exactly what you’d find in any campsite. I turned the water to cold and washed the layer of sweat and dusty read earth off me. A quick breakfast and we were filed onto the van, all settling into our seats from the previous day like nesting animals.
Our next stop was Kata Tjuta – another area of the national park. Kata Tjuta is also known as ‘the Olgas’, and is named after the Aboriginal word for ‘many heads.’ There are 36 domes of rock in the area, and we were hiking through the park to explore them, taking a path called The Valley of the Winds. It was a 7km hike though creek beds and wilderness, but as our guide explained, the searing heat forecast for the day meant we needed to start before sunrise to have a chance of finishing before it was too dangerous to walk. The authorities closed the path at the first look-out once the temperature reached 36 degrees centigrade, so she was keen we hurried on to get past that point before the temperature rose. Now, I love hiking, but that’s not what you want to hear!
The walk itself was beautiful. It was challenging and the group was spread out – sometimes so much so I got worried I had strayed off course as I battled through long grass and lightly forested areas. In places it felt like we were walking on the surface of Mars with red rock on all sides. The most challenging section was an unshaded, steep, rocky climb up to the Karingana lookout – but my god is the view worth it when you get there! The whole site is sacred to the Anangu people, who ask that pictures of the area are not published. National Parks Australia say:
“According to Anangu culture, these rock formations hold knowledge that should only be learned in person and on location by those with the cultural authority to do so.”
So when I say that view was worth the climb in the searing heat, you have to take my word for it! Of all the activities we did on the tour, this is the time I felt most immersed in nature.
We recovered from the walk with a group lunch, then took our familiar places in the mini-van for the three hour drive to our next camp site in Watarrka National Park.
Day 3 : Kings Creek Station to Alice Springs via Kings Canyon
There’s nothing like a good routine, and day 3 started with a somewhat familiar course of events. We were woken in darkness and on our feet hiking before the sun had risen. This time, we had entered Watarrka (Kings Canyon) National Park, home of a mighty canyon. We were to do the 6km walk around the rim of the canyon that morning, but to get there we first had to climb up around 500 steep, rocky stairs. In the dark.
The canyon itself revealed its beauty in the rising sun. Sheer red rock faces soaring over high above lush green forests. After what felt like an eternity I clambered over the last few steps. Catching my breath at the top, I stopped and took in the view. To my left was a defibrillator. “Not much use up here, is it?” I said to our guide. She laughed. “Some people use everything they have to haul themselves up here – it’s not until they stop that their body goes into shock. That’s why they call it heart-attack hill.” She winked at me and walked off as I panicked about my own heart rate recovery. I liked her sense of humour.
Up at the top of the canyon there was no hiding from the sun, and we were once again in a race against the rising temperature as we completed the relatively easy walk. We passed a field of rock formations known as ‘the Lost City,’ another area that was apparently famous for featuring in the Australian movie Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and walked down into The Garden of Eden – a sacred pool reached via a bridge that is surrounded by rare plants.
It was the perfect way to end the trip – not too challenging but with 360 degree views to soak up our last few hours in the outback.
After a final group lunch, we got back into the van for the last time for the three hour drive back to the hostel in Alice Springs, where the trip ended.
My Australian Outback Camping Experience
I’m happy to say that most of my fears and assumptions about group tours were wrong. Though the tour was only three days, I got a really good understanding of the natural and cultural significance of the area and never felt like I was rushed past something I wanted to spend more time on.
When it comes to the social element of group tours, I got to be friendly enough with the other people to have some company and easy conversation, without having to do shots and pretend I was 18 again. Most people in the group were a little older, like me, and I think being away from the popular East coast meant there was less of a ‘gap year’ vibe and more of a ‘red wine round the campfire’ vibe. Of course it might not be that way in all destinations, and personalities will differ from group to group, but I think it’s unlikely to not find someone you can make small amounts of friendly conversation with for a few days. Maybe if the tour was a lot longer I would have tried harder in that respect, but for a few days I was pretty happy.
In the end, the small group gave just the right amount of structure, guidance and safety I was after to reassure me and allowed me to truly enjoy the experience of being in the Outback.
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