Your Travel Experience with ARRIVAL
Day 1
ARRIVAL
The trip departs Adelaide at approximately 5:30am. Make your own way to the departure point confirmed by the ARRIVAL team prior to departure. The van heads north through the city and out into open country, stopping in the town of Wirrabara where towering silo art lines the streets and Julie's Bakery delivers classic country food. The first proper stop is Arkaroo Rock, a 3.2 kilometre return trail through native bush to a rock shelter etched with ancient Aboriginal art. These markings are over 5,000 years old and tell the story of Akurra, the giant serpent whose movement shaped this land. As the sun drops, you’ll arrive at Wilpena Pound for a Welcome to Country ceremony with a local Yura guide, stories shared in Thura-Yura language before being brought to life in English. Dinner is included tonight at camp before rolling out your swag. The Milky Way is yours, look up.
Day 1 - 2
Discovery Parks Wilpena Pound (or similar)
The first camp night at the foot of Wilpena Pound, one of the most photographed landscapes in South Australia and the site of the Welcome to Country ceremony on arrival. Swag camping with amenities. The Milky Way from here is worth the 5am departure from Adelaide.
Day 1
Arkaroo Rock Hike and Welcome to Country Flinders Ranges
3.2 kilometre return trail to one of the most significant Aboriginal rock art sites in South Australia. Ancient ochre and charcoal markings tell the story of the serpent Akurra. Welcome to Country ceremony with a local Yura guide at Wilpena Pound at sunset.
Day 2
Wangara Lookout Hike, Old Wilpena Station and Warren Gorge
Flinders Ranges, a 7 kilometre return hike to the Wangara Lookout with panoramic Pound views, followed by a stop at Old Wilpena Station for outback history context. In the afternoon, there’s a 5.2 kilometre hike through Warren Gorge with burnt-orange cliffs and the chance to spot yellow-footed rock wallabies.
Day 2 - 3
Warren Gorge Campsite (or similar)
A basic bush campsite in the gorge with toilets available. Burnt-orange cliffs above camp, rare wildlife nearby and proper remote camping.
Day 3
Flinders Ranges to Coober Pedy. Salt flats and underground living.
Breakfast at camp before a long driving day north through the South Australian outback. The landscape gradually empties until it feels like Mars, saltbush plains, wide red sky and eventually Lake Hart, a surreal salt lake where white stretches to the horizon. Stop to stretch, photograph and stand in a landscape that doesn't feel like anywhere else. By late afternoon the van rolls into Coober Pedy, the underground opal capital of the world, a desert town so hot that most residents live beneath the surface. The first stop is the Old Timers Mine for a tour through original underground homes and a chance to go fossicking for stray opals in the red dust. Check in to Radeka Downunder where the rooms are carved into rock. Tonight you’re free to explore at your own pace. Coober Pedy has underground bars, pizza caves and enough quirkiness to fill the evening.
Day 3 - 4
Radeka Downunder (or similar)
The most unusual accommodation on the itinerary and one of the most memorable in Australia. Rooms carved into the rock to escape the desert heat above. Multi-share dorm style. Coober Pedy is a genuinely strange and wonderful town and Radeka puts you right in the middle of it.
Day 4
Kanku-Breakaways Conservation Park and Moon Plains
Outback drive-through of the Kanku-Breakaways with stops at the Moon Plains and the world's longest Dingo Fence. Ancient Aboriginal heritage site context from the guide throughout.
Day 4 - 5
Kings Creek Station (or similar)
A real outback station in the heart of the Red Centre with a pool, sunset platform and laid-back station eatery. Swag camping with amenities after the longest driving day of the trip. The golden hour from the sunset platform here is one of the quieter highlights of the whole journey.
Day 5
Kings Canyon Rim Walk
Watarrka National Park 6km loop through towering sandstone cliffs, the Lost City rock domes and the Garden of Eden hidden in the canyon floor. One of Australia's most memorable day walks. An early start is required.
Day 5 - 7
Ayers Rock Resort Campground (or similar)
Two nights camped within the national park, close enough to watch Uluru glow at sunrise from camp and far enough from the resort strip to feel genuinely out there. Amenities on site. The optional Outback BBQ and Field of Light experience are both accessible from here.
Day 6
Outback BBQ or Field of Light (both optional)
The Outback BBQ is the natural send-off for the second last night, own cost, available at camp. The Field of Light is a spectacular optional evening experience at Uluru with 50,000 solar-powered globes across the desert floor.
Day 7
Uluru Sunrise and Base Walk Uluru
Pre-dawn sunrise viewing at Uluru followed by the guided 10km base walk past waterholes, sacred cave paintings and ancient rock faces. The definitive Uluru experience. Shorter walk options are available.
Departure
Wake before dawn. The desert comes alive before the sun fully clears the horizon and the light moves across Uluru in a way that shifts colour every few minutes. This is the moment the whole trip has been building toward. Stand and take it all in. The guided 10 kilometre base walk follows past waterholes, into shaded gullies, past sacred cave paintings and ancient rock faces etched with meaning. Shorter walk options are available for those who prefer a slower pace. The guide shares stories of the Anangu people throughout. The trip concludes at Desert Gardens Resort in Yulara around midday on Day 7. Complimentary airport transfers to Uluru Airport are available from the resort. For those continuing to Alice Springs, the optional AAT Kings coach transfer departs Yulara at approximately 12:30pm, arriving in Alice Springs around 7pm. You can add this when booking for an additional cost, available March to November.