Alice Springs to Uluru

Alice Springs to Uluru


Alice Springs

to Uluru


A journey through billions of years of time, in the Red Centre, sits Australia’s most famous Outback town.

The 460 km drive between Alice Springs and Uluru (Ayers Rock) is a journey through billions of years of time, where remote landscapes hide a desert that is filled with life. Along the way there is much to do, see and learn.


  • Who first discovered this area? 
  • Was there really once an inland sea here? 
  • How long have Aboriginal people lived in this place? 
  • Why are the trucks so long? 
  • What sorts of industries are forged out of this harsh landscape? 
  • How were its geological features formed? 
  • How do the plants and animals survive?


You can take as long as you like, stopping at some amazing places along the way. Your tour is up to you!

This DIY Tourguide audio tour will take you on a 460km journey from Alice Springs to Uluru (Ayers Rock). The desert will reveal its secrets as you drive. There are insights from local cattle stations owners, National Park rangers, local Aboriginal guides and more.

  • Distance: 460km (286 miles)
  • Allow: 4-6 hrs
  • Tour Audio: 160 minutes
  • Bonus Track: Kings Canyon and Watarrka National Park
  • Formats: CD and MP3
  • Interary & Audio Samples - see details below

   AUD: $27.00

   CD Format 20% off

BUY NOW

This DIY Tourguide audio tour will take you on a 460km journey from Alice Springs to Uluru (Ayers Rock). The desert will reveal its secrets as you drive. There are insights from local cattle stations owners, National Park rangers, local Aboriginal guides and more.

  • Distance: 460km (286 miles)
  • Allow: 4-6 hrs
  • Tour Audio: 160 minutes
  • Bonus Track: Kings Canyon and Watarrka National Park
  • Formats: CD and MP3
  • Interary & Audio Samples - see details below

   AUD: $27.00

   CD Format 20% off

BUY NOW

Itinerary:

Part 1

๏ปฟ

  • Track 1 - Introduction

    Get ready for your journey to Uluru, where you will hear about ancient landscapes, important historical events that helped shape Central Australia, Aboriginal culture, and much more. You will hear from some local Central Australian’s who work in the region and call this place home.

  • Track 2 - The Stuart Highway

    Hear how over the last 100 years, Alice Springs has developed from an isolated outpost to become the thriving town it is today, including stories of adventurers and pioneers who travelled up and down the Stuart Highway, how we got power and water, and the nearby U.S. Defence facility.

  • Track 3 - Plants and Bushtucker

    Discover how plants survive in the harsh conditions of desert Australia. Travel back 130 million years when Australia was a warm and muggy place, and how plants adapted to the evolving arid zone. You will hear about desert flora from a local Aboriginal guide and ‘feel’ the witchetty grub travel down your throat as he describes eating this unique bushtucker.

  • Track 4 - John McDouall Stuart

     Learn how, in 1862, one man and his expedition party forged across the unknown, treacherous deserts of Australia to become the first to traverse the Australian continent from South to North. John McDouall Stuart’s journeys were some of the most important for Outback Australia.

  • Track 5 - Owen Springs to Stuarts Well (and Dinky the Singing Dingo)

    Imagine a singing and piano playing Dingo. You can’t? Hearing is believing - on this Track you will meet Dinky the Dingo. Cross over the first of 8 cattle stations, hear about the Aboriginal rock art and carvings at Rainbow Valley and why you might stop for a 5 minute camel ride at the Camel Farm.

  • Track 6 - Hugh River, Camels and Cannonball Run

    Fasten your seatbelts, as you hear about the first legal Cannonball Run in the world – run on the Stuart Highway. Speed limits didn’t exist back then. Learn why our wild camels are such a valuable export trade, how they got here in the first place and the tireless Afghan camel workers.

  • Track 7 - Finke River, Meteorites and Fossils

    Cross over what geologists believe is the oldest river course in the world – the Finke River. Hear how it was used by Aboriginal people as a trading route and by explorers as a lifeline. Discover ancient fossil beds exposing shelled marine animals and 5000 year old meteorite craters.

  • Track 8 - Overland Telegraph Line

    Hear about one of Australia’s greatest engineering feats – a 3000km long ‘singing wire’ that ended real isolation from the rest of the world. You will learn how this massive project was accomplished despite endless challenges, and how it lead to the naming of Alice Springs.

  • Track 9 - Cattle Industry and Roadtrains

    A local pastoralist with 50 years experience on a Central Australian cattle station will share tales of how times have changed. Learn how mustering has evolved from horseback to helicopter and how the internet is used for cattle auctions. And get the low down on roadtrains; icons of the Territory.

Part 2


  • Track 1 - Lasseter’s Lost Gold

    Find out how one mans search for an outback gold reef has created a legend that has not faded to this day. The elusive reef has never been found, and fortune seekers are still looking. This track is a rollicking tale of how Harold Lasseter’s antics eventually left him to die alone in the desert.

  • Track 2 - Birds of Central Australia

    Open your senses with the sound of raucous cockatoos, zebra finches, owls and the whistling kite – all inside your car! Learn how desert birds have adapted with sleek feathers and scaly legs with a specialist bird keeper, and be inspired by the mighty Wedge Tailed Eagle.

  • Track 3 - Mammals of Central Australia

    A specialist guide will tell you about the importance of animal tracking in Aboriginal culture. Be sure to look for the tell-tale tracks on the desert floor! Also learn about dingoes, wallabies, the marsupial mole and the locally extinct Mala, which features in the dreaming story of the Northern face of Uluru.

     


  • Track 4 - Early Exploration and Outback Communication

    Hear stories of the early explorers who carved out history, including the discovery of the huge salt lake system near Uluru. Learn how telecommunications systems are adapted to suit the remote desert environment and perhaps make a stop at the Mt Ebenezer Station Aboriginal art gallery.

  • Track 5 - Reptiles of Central Australia

    Learn why one habitat in Central Australia has the largest concentration of reptiles in the world. From the comfort of your car, get to know the ins and outs of lizards, snakes, dragons, frogs and two favourites of visitors to the region – the Thorny Devil and Perentie Lizard, as told by a specialist reptile keeper.

  • Track 6 - A Changing Landscape

    Did you know that sand dunes cover 80% of Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park? Learn why they are useful in the desert and how big they get to, and about the self-regulating ancient Desert Oak tree which shuts itself down in times of drought.

  • Track 7 - Is it Uluru? Mt Conner and Salt Lake

    Discover why just 100km or so from Uluru, there exists a near replica. On closer inspection not all is what it seems. Find out about the 4,700 square kilometer salt lake system that lies just over the ridge and hear from a cattle station owner who has been working the land for 50 years.

  • Track 8 - The Last Leg – Uluru and Kata Tjuta

    Well, you are almost there! The special country you are about to enter will teach you about the deep spirituality of Aboriginal culture, you will come face to face with all the power of nature, and you will discover a world that is older, greater and deeper than ours. Sit back and enjoy the ride!

  • Track 9 - Kings Canyon (Bonus Track)

    Are you planning a visit to Kings Canyon? You are in for a treat! There is so much to take in on this 3-4 hour, 6km walk that it makes sense to prepare yourself beforehand. Learn about its rare plants, beehive domes, the Garden of Eden, its spiritual significance to Aboriginal people and how its unique places got their names.

Sample tracks

SAMPLE TRACK 1

The Stuart Highway and Aranda traditional owner welcome.

The 460km journey to Uluru is a journey through time; through billions of years of time. Learn how the ancient landscapes you'll drive through were formed and relive some of the important historical events that helped shape Central Australia, including the adventures of explorer John McDouall Stuart.


SAMPLE TRACK 2

Camels - ships of the desert!

Many people don’t expect camels to be a feature of the Central Australian desert. Camels are scattered through the arid interior of Australia with the likely Central Australian population estimated to be around 200,000. Settlement in the region was made all the more easier with these 'ships of the desert'.


SAMPLE TRACK 3

Aboriginal Bushtucker and the Witchetty Grub.

Desert plants not only provide shade, shelter and food for a variety of animals, but over thousands of years Aboriginal people have realised their benefits too. Doug Taylor, a Specialist Guide at the Alice Springs Desert Park describes where the 'tasty' Witchetty Grub can be found.


SAMPLE TRACK 4

The Lasseter Highway - The legend of Harold Lasseter’s lost gold.

So now you are on the Lasseter Highway, the road that will take you all the way to Uluru. Who was the Lasseter Highway named after? In 1930, Harold Bell Lasseter was on the hunt for gold. What followed was a story of determination, frustration, disagreement, doubt and tragedy.


SAMPLE TRACK 5

The last leg - Uluru and Kata Tjuta National Park.

Welcome to Uluru and Kata Tjuta National Park. The special country you are about to enter will enthrall you; it will teach you about the deep spirituality of Aboriginal culture, you will come face to face with all the power of nature, and you will discover a world that is older, greater and deeper than ours.

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