The Outback’s unofficial capital, in an area referred to as the Red Centre, is the city of Alice Springs, with a population that would barely fill a football stadium. Just 270 miles south of Alice Springs stands the magnificent Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, a red sandstone monolith 2 miles by 1 standing 1,141 feet high. Climbers can follow a mile-long trail to the summit. Running 1,860 miles from Adelaide in the south to Darwin in the North, via Alice Springs, the Stuart Highway is the Outback’s main traffic artery. Off the highway, the Simpson Desert to the east and the Great Victoria Desert to the west present a formidable expanse of dryness, which are nevertheless explored by some tour companies in four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Exploring the Outback for a day is one of the less common options, not only because the bush is not easily condensed into a daylong experience, but also because you first have to fly to Alice Springs. The ideal minimum is a three-day excursion that includes camping overnight under the stars in a tent or on a “swag” -- Australian bedroll -- and taking in Uluru and Kings Canyon by day. Kings Canyon is a striking sandstone canyon with sheer walls and a 4-mile hiking trail that follows the rim of the top, with viewing platforms over the valley, a sacred Aboriginal site.
Visitors with a week or two to spare can do the massive Australian interior true justice. A 15-night transcontinental bus tour starts at the southern port of Adelaide and heads all the way to Darwin along the Stuart Highway. You'll stay in hotels, motels and lodges along the way. A journey in this direction easily encompasses the opal-mining town of Coober Pedy, Uluru, Kings Canyon, Alice Springs, the immense granite boulders called the Devil’s Marbles, and the borders of the largely unexplored Arnhem Land. This type of tour usually includes an occasional helicopter expedition of some landmarks, included in the price.
One of the more rewarding juxtapositions in the Southern Hemisphere is of remote Australian trails and state-of-the-art German engineering. Outback Spirit, for example, spoils its guests with 5-star Mercedes-Benz all-terrain coaches with reclining seats, air conditioning, satellite phone and road cam. Whether these are crossing shallow rivers or negotiating dry gorges, the coaches feel safe and sturdy, and limit passenger numbers to around 25. At the higher end, tours stay overnight in lodges and safari camps rather than impromptu campgrounds.
