For some, the whole point of Central Australia is Uluru. For others the whole point of AUSTRALIA is Uluru. And who can blame them? It’s HUGE. It’s magnificent. It’s RED!!

But Central OZ isn’t just about Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Of COURSE they’re several kinds of awesome, but there are lots of other attractions that’ll show you just as good (and far less crowded) a time! And – even better – they’ve all got that trademark Central Australian RED!

So you’ve hired the car, seen Uluru and you’ve got another few days to kill. Or if you’re REALLY lucky, you’re an Aussie with a camper trailer and a bit of time on your hands.

Just like me!

So what do you do?  Hit the road – and see my TOP 7 Central OZ Red HOT Spots!  Just click the headings for more info!!

1. Watarrka (Kings Canyon)

Just down the road and round the corner from Uluru, Watarrka, as it is known to the local indigenous people is SO worth the 166 km one way detour off the Lasseter Highway back towards Alice Springs. For many Aussies, visiting Kings Canyon is a tribute pilgrimage to a famous scene from classic OZ movie ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’. Haven’t seen it? Click HERE for a trailer!

But you don’t have to hike the Canyon in a frock to show yourself a good time. The 6 km (4 mile) Canyon Rim circuit requires a reasonable level of fitness, but as you cross the rugged rocks you’ll get to see stunning vistas across the plain, the Lost City and Garden of Eden and sensational sunsets that make those towering rocky RED cliffs GLOW.

Besides, it’s not a race! Is it?

Stay at the Kings Canyon Wilderness Resort campground (closest to the Canyon) or at nearby Kings Creek station so you don’t have to rush. The men in frocks have long gone, but the awesome RED Canyon will be here for a LONG while yet!

2. Stuarts Well

So you’re back on the Stuart Highway heading north to Alice Springs. An hour or so before you get there, you’ll pass the Stuarts Well Roadhouse. Unless you’re a SMART traveller, in which case you’ll stop. Because Stuarts Well has one of the most bizarre and uniquely Australian Outback travel experiences you’re likely to see.

Unless you’ve already spotted a singing, piano playing Dingo named Dinky someplace else, that is.

For many years, roadhouse owner Jim ran tours to Kings Canyon from a resort he and his family built from scratch on nearby leasehold land. Until one year, the landowner resisted all attempts to re-negotiate their lease. Strangely unwilling to ‘gift’ the resort they’d paid for and built by themselves on their leasehold to someone who hadn’t done anything towards it but collect the rent, Jim and his family destroyed it.

Now Jim’s based at Stuarts Well. As well as running tours to nearby Rainbow Valley, Jim now assists visitors achieve their (perhaps as yet unrealised) dream of seeing a singing, piano playing real live dingo in the flesh! For perhaps the first and last times in their lives …

There’s even accommodation and campsites at the roadhouse for those who want a dinner and show experience with a difference!

STOP PRESS!  In what must be a dark day for Central Australian Tourism, Dinky the Singing, Piano Playing Dingo has retired.  Of course, the legend lives on in the hearts and minds of those who have seen him … AND countless YouTube clips!  See Dinky in full voice HERE!

Just as well there’s a special bonus EXTRA attraction below to make up the numbers, huh?!

3. Rainbow Valley

Staying at Stuarts Well puts you in the hot seat for a 22 km one way dirt road detour off the Stuart Highway to the amazing Rainbow Valley.

With a rainbow of multicoloured rocks rising above the (frequently dry) salt lake in front of it, the rocks are easily accessed from a short track from the visitors car park.

Exploring and/or photographing the rocks is an excellent way to pass a few hours. Or a day. Or more …

Stay at the Rainbow Valley Campground (is it a coincidence that my best photo of the Valley contains one of the best Scenic Public Toilets in the country?) to be right in the (RED) hot seat for some extraordinary outback sunsets.And if it rains?Well … the road might be impassable, but at least you’ll get to-die-for pics of the amazing Rainbow Valley formations reflected in the lake!

And I’ll be as jealous as hell!

4. The Ochre Pits

Many years ago when I first toured the West MacDonnell Ranges, I didn’t call in to the Ochre Pits ~115 km from Alice Springs along Namatjira Drive. I won’t be making that mistake again! The intriguing contours of (not just RED) colour in the creek bed and surrounding rocks, and its status as a place of significance to local Indigenous people from the area show a different – and fascinating – side to Central Australia.

5. Ormiston Gorge

Just up the road from the Ochre Pits, if you can’t find LOTS of cool things to do at Ormiston Gorge, you clearly haven’t read my 7 TOP Ormiston Gorge attractions guide (see link in title)!

Yes, it’s going to take more than one day to explore this end of the West MacDonnell Ranges and Ormiston Gorge is the best spot from which to do it!

Staying at the nearby Glen Helen Resort with its own spectacular gorge, or the Ormiston Gorge campground means you don’t have to rush back to Alice Springs before you’ve seen – and done – everything.

But be warned. Don’t bother with this option unless you’re up for magnificent sunrises and sunsets; the Ormiston Gorge and Pound walk – one of the best short(ish) hikes in OZ; the stupendous splendour of nearby Mt Sonder; the beauty of Glen Helen Gorge and the glorious, glowing RED – everywhere!

6. Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) Conservation Reserve

This is as close as I got to Gosse Bluff. 175 km west of Alice Springs, the long line of gorges, waterholes and mountain ranges that forms the West MacDonnell Ranges comes to an end at Tylers Pass – from here the road snakes down onto the plain.

We’d spent the day exploring the area around Ormiston Gorge and driving as far as the Tylers Pass lookout had been an afterthought to end the day before heading back to the campground.

About 21 km from the lookout, the vast bulk of Tnorala – the remains of a comet crater, 5 km (~3 miles) across – is an impressive sight.

With no camping allowed at the Bluff, the only option was a flying visit. But even if we’d wanted to attempt a kamikaze night drive cutting a swathe through the nocturnal desert creatures feeding at the road’s edge, visitors to Tnorala need a Mereenie Tour Pass. And the nearest place to get one was back at Glen Helen Station.

But it’s SO on the list for next time!

7. Simpsons Gap

Yes, I know. EVERYONE’S been to Simpsons Gap, that narrow passage (there’s only so many ways to say ‘Gap’) through the MacDonnell ranges.

Only 18 km west of Alice Springs (or 17 km along the bike track) it’s the ‘Claytons’ Central Australia tripette de rigueur from the Alice if you haven’t got much time.

And there’s nothing wrong with that!

BUT the rewards are even greater for those who spend a bit more time and take the 1 hour return Cassia Hill walk up onto the schist escarpment (once part of the floor of a massive inland sea) and look down on the Gap.

Wildflowers, classic Central Australian scenery – and a staggering 360ºview, of which Simpsons Gap is a very small part.

That’s the thing about Central Australia. Wide open spaces. Magnificent mountain ranges. And an endless supply of RED!

Did I say SEVEN cool things? Of course there are WAAAAAAY more than that – so here’s another one for nothing!

8. Karlu Karlu (Devils Marbles)

Even though it’s 412 km and ~4 hours north of Alice Springs, the great sprawl of spherical sandstone rocks weathered by the wind and sand all aglow in the Outback light are worth the trek.

Especially if you’re there at sunset. Or sunrise! Which generally means staying at the Devils Marbles campground, or at either of the nearby settlements of Wauchope or Wycliffe Well.

Aboriginal Dreamtime legend and scientific explanation both offer theories about the spheres’ formation. But in this region with its strong colours, harsh climate and stark beauty, the Indigenous theory seems more appropriate. It’s easy to see why this is a sacred site and also a ceremonial and trade meeting place for four different Aboriginal language groups.

Besides, just 20 minutes further south and also renowned as the alien capital of Australia is Wycliffe Well! But that’s another story …

Central Australia has enough other attractions in both colours – RED and not-RED – to keep you busy for weeks.

What’s YOUR favourite?

Want MORE?

• Central Australia
• Alice Springs
• More RED Nomad OZ in Central Australia

The post TOP 7 Central Australian RED HOT Spots once you’re done with Uluru! appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

Downunder, a sign pointing to a LOOKOUT isn’t a warning to LOOK OUT! – it’s a vantage or viewing point from which to better admire the surrounding landscape.  Like this completely gratuitous one above – serving no other purpose in this post but to attract your attention!

It worked, didn’t it?!

In this relatively flat land, where the highest mountain is a mere 2228 metres high, finding a suitable spot from which to survey the scenery often doesn’t require too much elevation, with many lookouts accessible by vehicle or a short walking track.

And what you see when you get there is often so extensively, ecstatically panoramic that taking a tour – virtual or otherwise – of these 14 lookouts in strategic locations around the country will show you a LOT of Australia!

Finding these AWESOME landscapes is half the fun – or at least it is with TravelSIM! Let them help you take the guesswork out of getting there so you’ve got that much more time to enjoy the scenery!

Meanwhile, enjoy the virtual tour!

1  NEW Lookout, via Boroka Lookout, Grampians, Victoria:

On many visits to Victoria’s magnificent Grampians region, we thought we’d ‘done’ all the lookouts. But in October 2012, we found a new one! SO new, I can’t find its name anywhere – and tragically can’t recall the name we saw on the sign!

On the back road between Lake Wartook and Boroka Lookout – in itself a magnificent spot – this is the only lookout from which both Lake Wartook (at right) and Lake Bellfield above Grampians Town Halls Gap can be seen – along with the great stretch of wildnerness separating them.

Read more: The Grampians

2  Five Rivers Lookout, Wyndham, Western Australia:

Visitors to Wyndham start to ascend the Bastion range escarpment well before dusk to get the best vantage point from the Five Rivers lookout platform as the sun sets over the – yes, you guessed right – Five rivers that flow into impressive Cambridge Gulf.

But the view is just as impressive by day – bear in mind this photo shows only about half of it – with the saltworks below, tidal salt plains in the middle distance and the Cockburn range in the background.

Here, you’ll find the answer to that most pressing of questions: Does the picnic ground have Australia’s most Scenic Public Toilet?

Read more: Five Rivers Lookout

3 Inspiration Point, via Point Pass, South Australia:

Between Point Pass and Robertstown in South Australia’s mid-north, an unsealed road that leads high above the surrounding plain to Inspiration Point, where the colour of the landscape depends on the season! Look back, if you dare, from the lookout to the rocky retaining wall holding the road in place. South Australia’s mid north has a fascinating heritage that’s worth exploring, and Inspiration Point makes a fine starting point.

Read more: Point Pass

4 Transit Hill Lookout, Lord Howe Island, New South Wales:

Transit Hill isn’t the highest lookout on Lord Howe Island nor the one with the most extensive view. But in the late afternoon sun, the outlook over the distinctive – and impressive – twin peaks of Mounts Gower and Lidgbird forms a Bali-Hai-esque backdrop to the rest of this little gem 600 km off the New South Wales coast.

Read more: Lord Howe Island

5 Jarnem Lookout, Keep River National Park, Northern Territory:

The spectacular scenery of Keep River National Park, only a few kilometres from the Northern Territory/Western Australian border is best appreciated on the 7 km Jarnem Loop trail. Ascending to the lookout at the highest point above the surrounding plains is the best way to experience the vast magnificence of the 360° panorama, with only rock stacks and a distant mountain range for company!

But if you’re a bird watcher, a sighting of uncommon White-quilled Rock Pigeon beats the view from any lookout!!

Read more: Keep River National Park

6 Flagstaff Hill, Port Douglas, Far North Queensland:

Make sure your car is up for the vertiginous drive from sea level to ex-fishing-village-now-tourist-town Port Douglas’ best vantage point – through billions of dollars worth of prime coastal real estate. If you like the view over Four Mile Beach, there’s a block of land for sale just below the lookout platform.

Imagine waking up to that view, while directly behind your new home, throngs of tourists scale the heights to admire the sights by day and night!  Anyone who gets to this idyllic spot should thank the local council who, despite pressure from the locals (yes, the ones who live in those $multi-million properties) to close the public access road to the summit, kept it open!

Read more: Port Douglas

7 Mt Wellington, via Hobart, Tasmania:

Tragically my only visit to the Apple Isle, as Tasmania is affectionately known to the rest of Australia, was for a conference.  That meant I didn’t get to see anything except the inside of the conference venue. Until the last day when in the hiatus between conference end and flight departure I booked a tour to the top of Mt Wellington, 1270 m above Hobart and the Derwent river below.

This glimpse of the vast and untouched natural wilderness – for which every Australian should say ‘thank you, Bob Brown’ – has been a six year teaser for touring this often forgotten corner of Australia. BUT … at least this gets Tassie on the board for my blog!

Read more: Mt Wellington,Tasmania

8 Mt Warning, via Murwillumbah, Northern New South Wales:

The steep ascent to the Mt Warning (also known as Wollumbin) summit, first place the sun’s rays reach on the Australian mainland, will reward the lucky climber with a panoramic 360° view. I’ve made the 9km return hike three times – but never in the pre-dawn darkness to reach the top by sunrise!

In the Wollumbin World Heritage area, the view FROM Mt Warning’s summit lookout is one of New South Wales’ finest – but the best view OF Mt Warning is in Springbrook National Park just across the border in Queensland at the aptly named ‘Best of All’ Lookout!

Read more: Wollumbin National Park; and the Best of All Lookout

9 The Horn, Mt Buffalo, via Bright, Victoria:

It’s not all red rocks, dirt and sand from Australia’s lookouts – the Victorian Alpine region’s layer upon layer of mountainous wilderness can easily be viewed from several vantage points. The Alpine National Park crosses state boundaries with Mt Kosciuszko, at 2228 metres Australia’s highest, on the other side of the state border in New South Wales.

But the 1723 metre summit of the Horn atop Mt Buffalo – my personal favourite – is on the Victorian side of the border. Who knew you could have adventures in the cold like this?!

Read more: Mt Buffalo

10 Natures Window, Kalbarri National Park, Western Australia:

Take a break from the hordes of tourists queueing for a photo shoot at well known tourist hotspot Natures Window and admire the unframed view – to which a panorama shot does not do justice. Known for its wildflowers, the park is also a bonanza of natural attractions with deep gorges, stunning rivers and red RED rock!

To the left of the photo, a walking track leads along the ridge, then drops below into the gorge for what must be one of the most scenic walks in Australia. Ask me what it’s like next visit – because I wont let it pass me by again!

Read more: Western Australian Wildflowers; Kalbarri National Park

11 Tylers Pass Lookout, Central Australia:

At the very Western Edge of the West MacDonnell National Park, Tylers Pass marks the descent from the range into the plain below, its endlessness broken only by the massive bulk of Gosse Bluff.

An unexpected end to a day exploring the ‘West Macs’ as the park is less formally known, the road continues into what for us is absolute virgin territory. And an absolute must for next time!

Read more: Central Australia

12 Cawnpore Lookout, via Winton, Outback Queensland

It’d be difficult to accidentally find yourself in remote Outback Queensland’s Lilleyvale Hills between Winton and Boulia, but this stunning lookout with a stupendous view over spectacular rock formations only found in one other place in the world is more than enough reason to visit.

While the lookout isn’t really that far above the plains the 360° view is a great place to experience the emptiness of the Outback with a falling down fence – and highway – the only signs of civilisation. Besides, it’s great fun watching other travellers trying to drive the steep, rocky road to the top!

Read more: Cawnpore Lookout

13 Sillers Lookout, via Arkaroola, South Australia:

I’m jealous as hell. This is the only one of these awesome lookouts I HAVEN’T visited – but as (arguably) South Australia’s finest view, I couldn’t leave it out. Luckily, Wayne’s photo showing the stupendous view over the Northern Flinders ranges whilst on the world famous 4WD ‘Ridgetop Tour’ will have to do before I get there myself. Really soon!!

STOP PRESS!  I HAVE been there – read about it HERE!

Read more: Arkaroola Resort, the Ridgetop Tour & Sillers Lookout

14 Point Lookout, New England Ranges, New South Wales:

But there are no guarantees of a view from some lookouts – as we found at Point Lookout in the New England National Park. Only a few metres from the summit, 1500 metres above sea level, after a long and winding ascent through bright sunlight, the mist and fog blew in. Our rush for the lookout viewing platform too late for anything but a thick, soft whiteness, the otherworldly semi-darkness closed in around us and we were left with the haunting cry of the forest raven …

One day we’ll see what the view’s REALLY like!

Read More: Point Lookout

Sharing that killer view to EVERYONE when you get there is the other half of the fun – get the latest technology from TravelSIM so you can IMMEDIATELY make your mates jealous as hell!  Go on … you KNOW you want to!!

The post Aussie ABC – L is for Lookout! appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.