Australia: the Outback to the Great Ocean Road

1. Jour 1 : Ayers Rock, Kata Tjuta at sunset

   Ayers Rock Airport to Yulara, the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre, Walpa Gorge, then Kata Tjuta at sunset

   • Environ 2 h de route
   • Repas du soir
   • Nuit : Yulara
   Détail du jour 1

   Fly into Ayers Rock Airport (AYQ), landing by about 12:30 pm; there are direct flights from several Australian cities. Your See Sight Tours guide meets you in arrivals, and after a short stop at the hotel in Yulara we drive into Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. We start where the park asks visitors to start, at the Cultural Centre near the base of Uluru, where Anangu explain Tjukurpa, the law that shapes this country, and why some places must not be photographed. Then we drive west to Kata Tjuta, 36 domes of conglomerate rock, for the Walpa Gorge walk, about 2.6 km return up a stream bed between two of the highest domes, in the softer afternoon light. We watch the sunset turn the domes deep red from the Kata Tjuta viewing area, then head back to Yulara for a welcome dinner while your guide runs through the days ahead. Bring a warm layer: desert evenings cool quickly.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Ayers Rock Airport (AYQ)
   • Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park pass (3 days)
   • Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre
   • Walpa Gorge walk at Kata Tjuta
   • Sunset at Kata Tjuta
   • Welcome dinner in Yulara

   Option plus facile : Walk only the first part of Walpa Gorge, or watch from the car park viewing area.

   Activité : About 1.5 hours on foot, on a stony but gentle path. Land by about 12:30 pm to join the afternoon.

2. Jour 2 : Uluru at dawn and the Field of Light

   Sunrise and the base walk at Uluru, a free afternoon in Yulara, Uluru at sunset, then the Field of Light

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Yulara
   Détail du jour 2

   An early start for sunrise from Talinguru Nyakunytjaku, the dune viewing area on the east side of Uluru, then we walk while the air is still cool. The full base walk is about 10.6 km on flat, sandy paths, around three and a half hours, past caves, rock art, waterholes and folds in the rock you never see from a distance. Uluru rises about 348 m above the plain. If you would rather walk less, your guide leads the Mala walk, about 2 km return, into Kantju Gorge, then the short Kuniya walk to Mutitjulu Waterhole. We are back in Yulara for lunch together, and the afternoon is free while the day is at its warmest. Late in the day we drive to the sunset viewing area to watch the rock change colour as the sun drops, have dinner, then walk among the more than 50,000 solar-powered lights of Bruce Munro's Field of Light under the desert stars.

   Compris

   • Sunrise at Uluru from Talinguru Nyakunytjaku
   • The Uluru base walk with your guide, or the Mala and Kuniya walks
   • Lunch in Yulara
   • Sunset at Uluru
   • Dinner, then the Field of Light

   Activités en option

   • Sounds of Silence dinner among the dunes, in place of the included dinner
   • Camel ride at sunrise or sunset
   • Helicopter flight over Uluru and Kata Tjuta
   • (prices shown at booking)

   Option plus facile : The Mala walk to Kantju Gorge and the Kuniya walk to Mutitjulu Waterhole, about 3 km in all, with the vehicle between them.

   Option plus active : The full 10.6 km base walk around Uluru.

   Temps libre : Afternoon free in Yulara: the pool, a rest or the resort's galleries and shops

   Activité : The base walk is flat but long, with little shade after mid-morning; carry about a litre of water for every hour of walking.

3. Jour 3 : Across the desert to Kings Canyon

   Yulara past Mount Conner and Curtin Springs, then Kings Creek and Watarrka National Park

   • Environ 3.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Kings Canyon
   Détail du jour 3

   A slower morning: breakfast at leisure and away at about 9 am. We drive east on the Lasseter Highway past Mount Conner, the flat-topped mesa that many first-time visitors mistake for Uluru, with a coffee stop at a roadhouse on the way, usually Curtin Springs. Then north on Luritja Road, through red dunes and stands of desert oak, to a sit-down lunch near Kings Creek, about 35 km short of the canyon, at a venue we confirm with your booking. We reach Watarrka National Park, Luritja country, by early afternoon and rest at the hotel through the heat. In the late afternoon the Kings Creek walk, about 2.6 km return on the flat, follows the shaded creek bed to a platform under the canyon walls, which rise more than 100 m above you. Your guide points out the cycads and ghost gums that survive here on permanent water. We watch the George Gill Range turn red at sunset, then eat together at the resort.

   Compris

   • Coffee stop on the Lasseter Highway and a view of Mount Conner
   • Sit-down lunch near Kings Creek (venue confirmed with your booking)
   • NT Parks pass for Watarrka National Park
   • Kings Creek walk with your guide
   • Sunset over the George Gill Range
   • Dinner at Kings Canyon

   Activités en option

   • Helicopter flight over Kings Canyon (price shown at booking)

   Temps libre : Two hours or so to rest at the hotel before the Kings Creek walk

   Activité : About 3.5 hours on sealed roads, broken by coffee and lunch. The Kings Creek walk is about an hour on the flat.

4. Jour 4 : The Kings Canyon rim, then Alice Springs

   Kings Canyon Rim Walk, then Luritja Road, the Lasseter and Stuart highways to Alice Springs

   • Environ 5.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Alice Springs
   Détail du jour 4

   We are at the trailhead at first light for the Kings Canyon Rim Walk, a 6 km loop of three to four hours. It opens with a steep climb up rough rock steps, the hardest part of the trip, then levels out across the top: through the Lost City, a maze of weathered sandstone domes, down wooden stairs to the Garden of Eden, a permanent waterhole, and along the south rim with the sheer wall below you. On days forecast at 36 C or more the walk closes at 9 am, one reason we start early. If you would rather not climb, walk Kings Creek again in the early light. After the walk, at about 10:30 am, we start the trip's first long drive, about 480 km and five and a quarter hours on sealed roads; the shorter Mereenie Loop is mostly unsealed gravel that needs a permit and a four-wheel drive. Lunch is at the roadhouse at Erldunda, where the Lasseter meets the Stuart Highway (the venue is confirmed with your booking), and we reach Alice Springs by late afternoon.

   Compris

   • Kings Canyon Rim Walk at first light with your guide (6 km loop, 3 to 4 hours)
   • Drive to Alice Springs with a coffee stop on Luritja Road
   • Lunch at the Erldunda roadhouse (to be confirmed)

   Option plus facile : Skip the climb: walk Kings Creek again in the early light, or rest at the hotel until we leave.

   Option plus active : The full Rim Walk, with the side trip down to the Garden of Eden.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Alice Springs: our hotel is within walking distance of Todd Mall and its restaurants and Aboriginal art galleries.

   Activité : One steep climb at the start of the Rim Walk, then uneven rock and stairs. About 5.25 hours on the road afterwards, with a coffee stop and lunch.

   

5. Jour 5 : Alice Springs, then fly to Adelaide

   Anzac Hill and the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Alice Springs, then a flight from Alice Springs Airport to Adelaide

   • Environ 45 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   • Nuit : Adelaide
   Détail du jour 5

   A gentle morning in Alice Springs, Mparntwe to the Arrernte people. We start with the short walk up Anzac Hill for the view over the town and the red wall of the MacDonnell Ranges, where Heavitree Gap cuts through. Then we visit the Royal Flying Doctor Service base on Stuart Terrace, whose visitor centre tells how a doctor in a plane first reached outback stations in the 1920s and 1930s, and how the service still covers distances most of us cannot picture. Your guide fills in the town's story, from the Overland Telegraph to the art movement that grew from Central Australian communities. Late in the morning we drive to Alice Springs Airport, about 15 km south, for the flight to Adelaide, about two hours, which replaces two days of the Stuart Highway. Your guide flies with you. A local driver meets us in Adelaide, and the evening is free in a city known for its food and wine.

   Compris

   • Anzac Hill lookout
   • Royal Flying Doctor Service visitor centre, entry included
   • Flight from Alice Springs to Adelaide, economy
   • Transfers at both airports

   Temps libre : Evening free in Adelaide: our hotel is within walking distance of Rundle Mall and the restaurants of Gouger Street and Rundle Street.

   Activité : A light day: about an hour on foot and a flight of about two hours. The flight time is confirmed with your booking.

   

6. Jour 6 : The Central Market and the Barossa

   Adelaide Central Market, then the Whispering Wall, Mengler Hill, Tanunda and Seppeltsfield in the Barossa Valley

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Adelaide
   Détail du jour 6

   When it trades, Tuesday to Saturday (on Wednesday only some stalls open), we start at the Adelaide Central Market at about 8 am, a covered market of produce stalls, cheese counters and cafes, for coffee and a wander with your guide. Then we drive north-east, about an hour, into the Barossa Valley, one of Australia's oldest wine regions, settled by English and German-speaking Silesian migrants in the 1840s. First the Whispering Wall at the Barossa Reservoir, a curved dam wall where a whisper carries clearly to the far side. Then Mengler Hill Lookout, with its sculpture park and a view over the valley floor of vines and stone churches. We sit down for lunch in the valley, and in the afternoon taste at a cellar door, included, with time in Tanunda and a drive down Seppeltsfield Road under its avenue of date palms. We are back in Adelaide by about 5 pm, with the evening free.

   Compris

   • Adelaide Central Market walk (on market days)
   • The Whispering Wall at the Barossa Reservoir
   • Mengler Hill Lookout and sculpture park
   • Lunch in the Barossa
   • Cellar-door tasting, included
   • Tanunda and Seppeltsfield Road

   Temps libre : Evening free in Adelaide. The market trades on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and in part on Wednesday; on Sunday and Monday, when it is closed, we walk North Terrace and the Botanic Garden instead.

   Activité : An easy day, mostly short walks and standing. If you do not drink wine, the tasting can be swapped for a non-alcoholic one, which we arrange at booking.

7. Jour 7 : The Coorong, then into the Grampians

   Adelaide to Tailem Bend, Meningie and the Coorong, then Keith, Bordertown and Horsham to Halls Gap

   • Environ 6.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Halls Gap
   Détail du jour 7

   This is the trip's longest day, about 550 km and six and a quarter hours on the road, and it is long for a reason: this is the only road link between Adelaide and western Victoria, with no flight that saves time. We break it into three. We leave at 7:30 am and cross the Murray at Tailem Bend to Meningie, on Lake Albert, then walk in Coorong National Park, Ngarrindjeri country, where a long lagoon lies behind high dunes and Australian pelicans gather on the water. Then we turn east to the Dukes Highway for a sit-down lunch near Keith or Bordertown, and a coffee stop in Horsham after we cross into Victoria, where the clocks move 30 minutes ahead. We reach Halls Gap, in the Grampians, Gariwerd to its Jardwadjali and Djab wurrung owners, by about 5:30 pm, when kangaroos come out to graze on the town's lawns. Dinner is together.

   Compris

   • Walk on the Coorong in Coorong National Park, with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch near Keith or Bordertown
   • Coffee stop in Horsham
   • Kangaroos at dusk in Halls Gap
   • Dinner in Halls Gap

   Option plus facile : Shorten the Coorong walk to the nearest viewpoint over the lagoon, or stay with the vehicle at the coffee and lunch stops.

   Temps libre : No free time today; the evening in Halls Gap after dinner is yours.

   Activité : About 6.25 hours of driving, on sealed roads, broken by the Coorong walk, lunch and coffee. If that is too much, a private trip can add a night near the Coorong.

   

8. Jour 8 : The Pinnacle, Tower Hill and the Twelve Apostles

   Halls Gap to the Pinnacle, then Dunkeld, Tower Hill, Warrnambool, the Bay of Islands, Peterborough, the Grotto, London Arch and Port Campbell, then the Twelve Apostles

   • Environ 4 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Port Campbell
   Détail du jour 8

   We walk at about 7:30 am, before anyone else, from the Sundial car park to the Pinnacle, about 4.2 km return over rocky sandstone, to a ledge that looks straight down on Halls Gap and along the Wonderland Range. If you prefer, your guide takes you to the Balconies instead, about 2 km return on a gentle track to a rock overhang above the Victoria Valley. Then we drive south past the jagged end of the range at Dunkeld to Tower Hill, a dormant volcano whose crater is now a wildlife reserve, where emus walk the tracks and koalas sit in the gums. Lunch is in Warrnambool. In the afternoon we join the Great Ocean Road west of Peterborough and work east along its cliffs: first the Bay of Islands, then past Peterborough to the Grotto and London Arch, which lost its bridge to the mainland in 1990. After checking in at Port Campbell, we drive to the Twelve Apostles for sunset over the limestone stacks.

   Compris

   • The Pinnacle walk at first light, or the Balconies
   • Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve
   • Lunch in Warrnambool
   • Bay of Islands, the Grotto and London Arch
   • Sunset at the Twelve Apostles

   Activités en option

   • Helicopter flight over the Twelve Apostles (price shown at booking)

   Option plus facile : The Balconies, about 2 km return on a gentle track, instead of the Pinnacle.

   Option plus active : The Pinnacle, about 4.2 km return over rocky sandstone with some steep sections.

   Temps libre : Dinner tonight is not included: after sunset you choose from the small cafes and pubs of Port Campbell, a short walk from the hotel.

   Activité : About 2 hours of walking in the morning, then short walks at the lookouts. Sunset is at about 5:10 pm in June and about 7:45 pm in late October.

9. Jour 9 : Loch Ard Gorge, the Otways and Lorne

   Port Campbell to Loch Ard Gorge and the Gibson Steps, then Lavers Hill, Cape Otway, Maits Rest, Apollo Bay, Kennett River and Lorne

   • Environ 3.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Lorne
   Détail du jour 9

   We go early, before the day-trip coaches from Melbourne arrive around midday. Loch Ard Gorge is a narrow cove inside the cliffs, named after the ship wrecked at its mouth in 1878; two people survived, washed into this gorge. Then down the 86 Gibson Steps to the beach, for the view of two limestone stacks from sea level. We climb inland through the farmland and forest of the Otway Ranges to Lavers Hill, then turn down Lighthouse Road towards Cape Otway, where koalas are often seen in the manna gums by the road. At Maits Rest a boardwalk loop of about 800 m runs through cool temperate rainforest of myrtle beech, tree ferns and tall mountain ash. Lunch is in Apollo Bay. The afternoon is the most dramatic stretch of the road, cut into the cliffs above the sea, with a stop at Kennett River for more koalas. We reach Lorne by late afternoon, with time to walk the beach before the farewell dinner.

   Compris

   • Loch Ard Gorge early, before the crowds
   • The Gibson Steps
   • Koala spotting on Lighthouse Road near Cape Otway and at Kennett River
   • Maits Rest rainforest walk in Great Otway National Park
   • Lunch in Apollo Bay
   • Farewell dinner in Lorne

   Activités en option

   • Cape Otway Lightstation, the lighthouse and its grounds (entry price shown at booking)

   Option plus facile : See the Gibson Steps and Loch Ard Gorge from the clifftop lookouts instead of walking down to the beach.

   Option plus active : Walk down all 86 Gibson Steps to the beach, and the longer Loch Ard Gorge clifftop loop.

   Temps libre : An hour or so in Lorne before dinner, for the beach, the pier or the cafes on the main street.

   Activité : Short walks all day, with stairs at the Gibson Steps and Loch Ard Gorge. The Maits Rest boardwalk is flat.

10. Jour 10 : The surf coast to Melbourne

    Lorne to the Memorial Arch, Aireys Inlet and Bells Beach, then Torquay and Melbourne, then Melbourne Airport

    • Environ 2.5 h de route
    • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
    Détail du jour 10

    Our last morning on the Great Ocean Road, the stretch where it began. The road was built between 1919 and 1932 by returned First World War soldiers, as work and as a memorial to those who did not come home, and we stop at the Memorial Arch at Eastern View that honours them. Then the red-capped Split Point Lighthouse at Aireys Inlet, and Bells Beach, where Australia's best-known surfing contest is usually held around Easter. From Torquay it is about an hour and a half to Melbourne. We reach the city around midday for a guided walk through the lanes of the centre, Degraves Street with its cafes and Hosier Lane with its walls of street art, then sit down to a last lunch together. Your guide drops you at your hotel in the city or at Melbourne Airport (MEL) by about 3 pm, so book a flight leaving after about 5 pm, or stay on in Melbourne.

    Compris

    • Memorial Arch at Eastern View
    • Split Point Lighthouse at Aireys Inlet (outside)
    • Bells Beach
    • Melbourne laneways walk with your guide
    • Lunch in Melbourne
    • Drop-off at Melbourne Airport (MEL) or a hotel in central Melbourne

    Activité : Book a flight leaving after about 5 pm. If yours leaves earlier, tell us when you book: we drop you at Melbourne Airport first, by about 12:30 pm, and you miss the laneways walk and lunch. If you would like more time in Melbourne, we can book extra nights.

Faune et météo : We run from April to October, the southern autumn, winter and spring. At Uluru and Kings Canyon days are warm and clear, and from June to August nights fall near freezing, so the sunrises are cold; by October the heat closures start, which is why we walk early. In Adelaide, the Barossa and the Grampians days are mild and nights cool. The Great Ocean Road is cool, often windy and sometimes wet, with fewer crowds than in summer, and the short winter days put the Twelve Apostles sunset at about 5 pm in June. Wildlife you are likely to see: rock-wallabies and galahs in the desert, Australian pelicans on the Coorong, eastern grey kangaroos around Halls Gap, emus and koalas at Tower Hill, and koalas in the manna gums near Cape Otway and Kennett River. Southern right whales pass the coast from about June to September, a chance rather than a promise.

• Yulara2 nuits
• Kings Canyon1 nuit
• Alice Springs1 nuit
• Adelaide2 nuits
• Halls Gap1 nuit
• Port Campbell1 nuit
• Lorne1 nuit