Uluru to Kings Canyon

Tuesday, 21 April 2026

The alarm went off at 5.15am this morning. There is something to be said for catching a sunset over a sunrise, ha, ha. Despite the horrendously early hour, we rolled out of bed, threw on some clothes and we were out the door by 5.30am. We were scanning our Park Pass at the gate at 5.40am then drove out to Talinguru Nyakunytjaku, the Uluru Sunrise Viewing Area at the furthest point you can drive to in the park. Arriving just on 6.00am, the truck was not the first vehicle in the car park but we were well ahead of the masses!

We wandered up to the viewing decks and Bernie secured himself a spot at the front of the upper deck, to set up his tripod and camera. I could see three very bright stars clustered in a triangle to the east. I used GoSkyWatch to establish that we were looking at Mars and Mercury, almost on the same plane, with Saturn sitting above them, at roughly the point above the horizon where we were expecting the sun to rise at 7.03am. Nearly an hour until ‘the moment’ the sun rises but in the meantime Bernie was happy to snap away taking long exposures of The Rock.

I persevered with the platform for a while but, as it became more and more crowded, I decided to head off to take some photos that would be different from Bernie’s. It seemed a bit daft for both of us to be taking almost the exact same shot and, since I was shooting hand held rather than with a tripod, I had plenty of freedom to wander around. Bernie’s processing photos at the moment, hopefully I managed some interesting shots of Uluru and Kata Tjuṯa, random gnarly trees, the interesting clouds in the east and … the sunrise? By the time 7.03am arrived it could safely be said that we have taken photos of The Rock in many different lights. I’m sure it’s going to be difficult to decide which photos are the best ones.

With the crowds thinning out, I returned to the viewing platform. Bernie packed up his camera gear and we returned to the car, before setting out on our last drive along Uluru Road back to Yulara. On the drive we decided that we had allocated the right amount of time to explore Uluru Kata Tjuṯa National Park and that we had enjoyed a good variety of activities while here. We felt it would be difficult to do the park justice spending fewer than three nights.

Back in our room we showered and ate our breakfast before wrestling all our gear back into our bags and then into the truck. We purchased a third cask of water and that proved a little difficult to fit in! It seemed like a good idea to make sure that we had plenty of water but we are going to have to keep in mind how to fit in the vehicle. If pressed for space we could take the bladder out of the box which would make it easier to squash 10 litres of water in.

After checking out, we were back on the Lasseter Highway heading east by about 10.00am. For the first 130 kilometres we were retracing our route from Saturday. Because we had been on the road for just over an hour, we stopped again at the Mount Conner Lookout for a leg stretch and another photo of ‘Fooluru’. I read somewhere that the locals call it that because many tourists mistake it for Uluru. They are both inselbergs and both of them, along with Kata Tjuṯa, are part of the same geological formation. However, Mount Conner, or Artilla, has a flat-topped shape and much sharper edges. Artilla sits outside of the national park inside the Curtin Springs Station, owned by the Severin Family since the 1950s.

At Luritja Road, we turned north and soon passed a sign telling us that we were now on the ‘scenic route’ to Alice Springs. Driving along the Lasseter Highway the predominant vegetation had been the desert oaks or casuarinas. They were everywhere, ranging from the very narrow, upright young trees to mature specimens with their graceful branches. As we climbed into the Liddle Hills the casuarinas disappeared to make way for much more mixed vegetation featuring a wider variety of shrubs and trees. Now, you would think that driving on this previously untraveled road, seeing new and different scenery that I would be able to stay awake but, no, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I’d like to say that it was due to the early morning start, but that would probably be a lie! Just par for the course for me and vehicular travel.

Anyhow, I did see some of the hills and then dozed off until just after the turn off for the Ernest Giles Road. Bernie tells me that is about 100 kilometres of Dry Weather Only, dirt road that takes you to the Stuart Highway via the Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve. Something we could have seen if we’d travelled to Alice Springs on the highway. I think Kings Canyon, Watarrka, will be better and, if we pass this way again, well, we can stay on the highway to see different sights??

We continued north west on the Luritja Road past the Levi Range, Mount Levi, Trickett Bluff and Parana Hill, with not a single spot anywhere to pull over for photos which was frustrating. Even before reaching Watarrka, the scenery was spectacular with red cliffs along the northern side of the road. Once again, the recent rains are in evidence with a blush of bright green grasses on the red cliff faces.

We arrived at the Discover Parks – Kings Canyon about 1.00pm and went straight to the servo to top up with fuel. Woo hoo, diesel was 30 cents/litre cheaper than it was at Uluru. Even so, it cost a fairly eye-watering amount to fill the long range fuel tank, buy two sangas and a Coke! Just gotta suck it up. From the servo we drove back to reception where we were able to collect our keys to our deluxe room, which will be home away from home for the next three nights. The deluxe room was a cheaper option than one of their glamping tents so, we are trying to save money where we can, ha, ha. We unloaded our gear again and moved into our beautifully appointed and spacious room. In addition to the ensuite bathroom, we have a tub with a view. Very fancy, we will have to try that out on one of our three nights here.

We ate our sandwiches on the comfy chairs in our outdoor sitting space. We thought the flies would have us retreating inside before we finished our lunch but the fly situation was surprisingly good. We ate while we watched bird life and butterflies flitting about. The only downside was some sort of static electricity thing I had going on. I was wearing a synthetic ‘Columbia’ PFG shirt and every time I touched the arm of the outdoor chair – ZAP!!

Having arrived in the hottest part of the day, we decided against attempting any of the walks this afternoon, even though several of them are quite short and rated Easy. We are actually spending one more day here than was originally planned so we should have enough time to explore. Hopefully that will be the case. So, unable to stir up enough enthusiasm to go for a sightseeing walk, we declared it Splice o’clock and we were about to amble back to the servo for our afternoon ice-creams.

Before we could get underway though, Bernie received a call from a Sydney lawyer wanting to talk with him about a matter relating to his former life as a public servant. Four, nearly five years retired and this matter has returned to bug him. The lawyer has made an appointment to talk with him tomorrow afternoon about a statement that they have received from a complainant. What a fun way to spend your holiday!!

We did eventually wander over to the servo. While we were out (and revived by our Splices!) we walked out the boardwalk to Luritja Lookout, where we were able to take our first photos of this beautiful place. Maybe we’ll have a night off tonight from watching the sun set but, before we move on, we’ll probably catch yet another sunset with a different backdrop. Although technically we are not watching sunsets, we are watching the play of light on the geological features that the setting sun is casting its dying rays onto.

With a pool onsite we thought about a swim but Bernie had to read the statement that had been emailed through to him in preparation for tomorrow. Groan! And, tonight is Trivia Night over at the resort Bar & Grill and Bernie is keen to join in. I’m sort of keen but worry that all the questions might be too young for us and we’ll embarrass ourselves by knowing nothing?? So, we ended up spending the afternoon in our very comfortable room writing the travel diary and processing photos so that we can go to the Trivia Night without falling behind on recording our memories, ha, ha.

About 6.00pm we walked over to the Bar & Grill via the boardwalk, for a quick look at the late afternoon sun on the George Gill Range. We’ll come back for a drink at the bar tomorrow night before dinner and watch the sun go down. Tonight though, we wanted to eat dinner before the Trivia Night started at 7.00pm. There weren’t really any odd couples (other than us of course!) to try to partner up with, so we competed on our own, coming in a very respectable third place with 39 points. Second place went to a table of three (50% more brain power) on 43 and first place to a table of five (lots more brains!) with 44 points. Bonus – we didn’t know there were prizes, so we were chuffed to win a $10.00 voucher which we can put towards dinner tomorrow night. The round that killed us was ‘Which Came First’. Every question was a straight 50/50 proposition and we managed to answer less than 50% correctly BUT we did answer the age old question of – the chicken or the egg? correctly. Our host says that Google provides a definitive answer that it was the egg!!

Steps: 12,132 (8.04kms)