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5 Day Ayers Rock Tour

This 5 Day 4WD Uluru Tour (Ayers Rock Tour), explores the fascinating Outback region of Central Australia in a small group (max 9 or 14). Accommodation is bush camping in a swag around the campfire at bush camps (minimal or no facilities). It’s a backpacker tour with plenty of adventure and group activities. Approx 70% of Travelwild customers are between 19 and 39, with 50% males and females.

The Ayers Rock 4WD Tour visits Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kata Tjuta (The Olgas, or Mount Olga) and Watarka (Kings Canyon), Palm Valley in the West Mac Donnell Ranges. The Aboriginal Cultural content of the tour is of high value and includes Camping and guided walks at Oak Valley Aboriginal Community, you will also visit Lilla Aboriginal Community and the Cultural Center at Ayers Rock.

National Parks and reserves visited on this tour include Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park, which is a world heritage area, Watarrka National Park (Kings Canyon), Owen Springs Reserve, Finke Gorge National Park and West Mac Donnell Ranges National Park.

Hikes include the Uluru base walk (8km), Valley of the winds walk at Kata Tjuta (8km) and the rim walk at Kinga Canyon (8km), The Palm Valley Walk, The Ghost Gum Walk at Ormiston Gorge plus numerous shorter walks. There is also time to climb Ayers Rock if you wish.

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Ayers Rock 5 Day Tour Itinerary

Day 1, 5 Day 4WD Ayers Rock Tour

There is no point in sleeping in when there is adventure to be had, and the 5 Day Ayers Rock Tour is no exception. Pick ups from the various hostels and hotels in Alice Springs start at 5.45am, after which any ticketing is completed then it's on the road, heading south for the drive to Ayers Rock.

Note, it is also possible to begin the tour at Ayers Rock at midday, you must request this option when booking and it is not always available.

Traveling through Outback Australia is a pleasure as many interesting sights can be seen, the desert landscape is cut by mountain ranges, dotted with rocky outcrops, intersected by dry rivers lined with century old gun trees and at times, even covered in wildflowers after rain.

It is also worth noting just how natural the landscape is, apart from the road surface you are traveling on, there are very few man made objects and it is easy to see that the landscape has remained unchanged for many thousands of years.

On the way to Ayers Rock the tour passes the James and Waterhouse Ranges, Mt Ebenezer Roadhouse and the impressive Attila, a large and impressive Mesa which amazingly, is larger than Ayers Rock and is often mistaken for the famous monolith.

The Cultural Centre, near the base of Ayers Rock is a fantastic facility which showcases the Aboriginal Culture of the Anangu (Aboriginal People). Uluru has been part of the Anangu culture for thousands of years and the cultural centre helps to explain this spiritual significance.

After the cultural centre your guide will take you on a guided walk at the base of Ayers Rock to beautiful gorge and waterhole called Kantju Gorge. Here your guide will provide more information about the Aboriginal Culture in the area, share some stories and point out sacred sites and ancient Rock Painting. From Kantju Gorge you can choose to keep walking and complete the full base walk of Ayers Rock, or if you wish attempt to climb to the summit.

One of the most famous activities at Ayers Rock is to sit back and watch the sunset where Ayers Rock appears to change color as the sun drops towards the horizon, this is done in style on tour complete with a drink of wine and nibbles.

After the sunset it's time to set up camp, crank up the campfire, sit back and enjoy your first night under the stars.

• Ayers Rock
• Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park
• Uluru Cultural Centre
• Guided Base Walk
• Uluru Climb if you wish
• Uluru Sunset
• Camp:Ayers Rock Resort
• Hiking:Ayers Rock Base Walk, 9km

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Day 2, 5 Day 4WD Ayers Rock Tour

Keeping true to the notional that there is no point sleeping in when there is adventure to be had, Day 2 of 5 Day Ayers Rock Tour does not disappoint, as not far from the campsite is the most famous rock in the world, as just as it looks sensational when the sun goes down, it also looks great when it comes back up again. So from a lookout close to camp you can wake up to the start of another fantastic day as you watch Ayers Rock wake up as well.

After breakfast and packing up camp, it's off the Kata Tjuta, or the Olgas for an 8km hike through the domes of Kata Tjuta and a place called "The Valley of the Winds" where, coincidently, it is often windy, this seems to be due to the relatively cooler temperatures in the deep narrow valley compared to those of the surrounding desert, this creates a "thermal interruption", resulting in, you guessed it, wind! Which in the middle of summer is a welcome relief.

Kata Tjuta actually translates to mean "many heads", the Aboriginal people believe that the domes represent the heads of their most important ancestors an the area is considered more sacred than Uluru.

Geologically the area is wonderful and your guide will be able to explain how Kata Tjuta and Ayers Rock were formed many millions of years ago.

After visiting this fascinating area it's back to the resort for lunch then off towards Kings Canyon for a second night of camping. The campsite near Kings Canyon is located on a remote cattle station called Kings Creek, and is located miles from anyone and has sensational views over the George Gill Ranges, there is even a bush shower and toilet. Again a campfire is cranked up as you settle in for a night under the stars.

• Ayers Rock Sunrise
• Kata Tjuta (Olgas)
• Valley of the Winds Walk, 8km)
• Kings Creek Station
• Camp: Bush Camp near Kings Canyon
• Hiking:The Valley of the Winds, Kata Tjuta, 8km

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Day 3, 5 Day 4WD Ayers Rock Tour

Not far from Camp 2 is Kings Canyon, another amazing central Australian destination full of surprises.

The best part about Kings Canyon is another 8km walk called "The Rim Walk" as it's name suggests it takes you along the rim of the deep canyon and has some great, and scary, views of the surrounding desert and canyon floor.

In addition to the canyon it's self, there are a number of other jewels including The Garden of Eden, a lush pocked of vegetation with plants dating back to the age of the dinosaurs, it also has a deep, permanent water hole where you can jump in for a swim.

Not far from Kings Canyon is a small Aboriginal Community called Lilla, which is home to the Luritja People, the community is in a spectacular location on the edge of the Earnest Giles Range, you will have the opportunity at Lilla to join a 1 hour guided walk, called the Willy Wagtail Walk, with one of the Luritja people, where you will learn first hand about the Luritja Culture, the cost of this optional activity is in addition to the tour fee and is payable direct to the community.

After lunch it is time to head to the Oak Valley Aboriginal Community where you can spend the afternoon relaxing and the evening around the campfire with you Aboriginal hosts. To quickest way to get there is via the Ernest Giles Road, an outback dirt road where the busses and caravans fear to tread, and then onto the Hugh River Stock Route.

• Kings Canyon
• Lilla Aboriginal Community
• Ernest Giles Road
• Hugh River Stock Route
• Oak Valley Aboriginal Community
• Camp: Bush Camp, Oak Valley Aboriginal Community
• Hiking:Kings Canyon Rim Walk, 8km

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Day 4, 5 Day 4WD Ayers Rock Tour

The morning of day 4 is spent with your Aboriginal Guide at Oak Valley Community, where you will be shown Rock Paintings and be shown to local precinct. This is another excellent opportunity the really see and experience the real Central Australian Aboriginal Culture.

After lunch, the tour heads for the West Mac Donnell Ranges, the ranges are spectacular and house many gorges which cut through the ranges creating canyons and gullys, often with permanent water holes complete with sandy beaches, which are perfect for swimming in the summer months.

At Ormiston Gorge there is a great hike called the Ghost Gum Walk, which takes you high above the gorge and offers fantastic views of the gorge and ranges, there is also a permanent waterhole at Ormiston Gorge which great for swimming.

Another great swimming spot is Glen Helen Gorge on the Finke river, after a refreshing dip it's off the bush camp where you spend another night under the fantastic southern night sky.

• Western Mac Donnell Ranges.
• Ormiston Gorge.
• Glen Helen.
• Camp: Bush Camp West Mac Donnell Ranges
• Hiking:Ghost Gum Walk Ormiston Gorge, 3km

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Day 5, 5 Day 4WD Ayers Rock Tour

Not far from the bush camp is the view of an amazing palce called Gosse Bluff, it is the impact site of a large meteorite or comet which hit the earth approximately 142 million years ago. The original crater is thought to have been about 22km in diameter, however this has eroded away and the current diameter is about 5km

After viewing Gosse Bluff there is a bit of 4WDing to be done to access Palm Valley, located within the Finke Gorge National Park. Palm Valley and the immediate surrounding area is the only place in the world where Livistona Mariae Palms (also known as Red Cabbage Palms) survive. These palms provide a glimpse into Australia's tropical past.

The Western Macs is the perfect way to finish off a sensational trip around the outback and you'll arrive back into Alice Springs in the early evening, from where the group normally heads out for a night on the town.

• Gosse Bluff View)
• Hermannsberg Aboriginal Community
• Palm Valley - Finke Gorge National Park
• Alice Springs
• Hiking:Palm Valley, approx 3km

You may also be interested in the 3 Day Ayers Rock Tour or the 10 Day Outback Tour, Adelaide to Alice Springs