Central Australia Educational Tourism Activities

Uluru-Tours (*All Central Immersions)

All Red Earth groups (with very few exceptions) will fly in and out of Yulara and will be based at the Yulara Coach Campground at the beginning and end of their immersions. The campground is open to other tour groups but is not the main public campground. At the Coach Campground, there is also a sunset/sunrise viewing point a short walk away. The leader will often incorporate a visit at the beginning and end of the immersion and this location is used for reflections, journaling or simply taking in the beautiful surrounds.

*Mala Walk and/or Kuniya Walk

Led by: First Nations Guides

On Day 1 or 2, groups will make the short drive to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and will receive a guided Mala or Kuniya Walk with a local Anangu guide and interpreter. This hour walk at the base of Uluru is a soft landing for the group introducing them to the Mala and Kuniya Tjukurpa (or creation stories) that have been carried by Anangu people of the area for many generations. The guides have detailed knowledge of the plants, animals, habitats, seasonal changes, landscapes, places and history of the park. We recommend students be sensitive to the use of non-verbal communication cues like hand signals, use indirect eye contact and always ask permission from Anangu if you wish to film or photograph them.

*Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Cultural Centre

Led by: Red Earth

Groups have to opportunity at either the beginning or end of their immersion to visit the Cultural. Here you can learn about Anangu culture and the park’s natural environment through exhibits and free presentations. There are also displays, a visitor information desk, Aboriginal art galleries and several community-owned shops and facilities. Displays in the Nintiringkupai Information Room cover oral histories, Pitjantjatjara language, joint management activities, traditional burning and information about the park’s plants and animals. You’ll also learn about our natural environment and how Uluru was formed.

Kings Creek Station and Kings Canyon - Watarrka NP (Homeland Spirit, Explore and Roam packages)

Led by: Red Earth

Kings Creek Station is a cattle station approximately 30 mins from Kings Canyon. Groups that camp here will have access to the public facilities (toilets, showers and swimming pool). There are commonly dingoes at Kings Creek Station campground and leaders will brief the groups on this.

Kings Canyon (Watarrka) - Groups going to certain Homelands will visit Kings Canyon and it is a tourism highlight of their immersion. There are a variety of walks with different levels of fitness required. Students that stay at Sandy Bore or Kurku arewithin driving distance and will do a day trip to Kings Canyon or may visit on their departure morning before returning to Yulara. Groups staying at all other homelands will stay overnight at Kings Creek Station.

Maruku Arts Dot Painting (Homeland & Explore)

Led by: First Nations Guides

For thousands of years, Anangu have passed down their knowledge generation to generation, to keep the land, their culture and their people strong.

Through our workshops the artists like to share a part of their culture with you, so groups can learn something, create something and show their friends and family.

Dot painting workshop runs for an hour and a half. Groups will be taught by a local Anangu artist (and an assisting interpreter). You’ll learn about traditional art, symbols, tools and more! Group will be inspired by the ancient ways of the desert and get to create their own works of artwork.

Kata Tjuta National Park – Kata Tjuta Tour (Homeland & Roam + Homeland & Explore)

Led by: First Nations Guides

Groups spend their last morning of the immersion visiting the Kata Tjuta. Groups will need to wake up early and drive 45mins to Kata Tjuta, stopping for sunrise along the way.

There the group will be met a local guide that will share stories on the significance of the formation and take to group on a short walk to experience the incredible landscape up close.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE:
- Itineraries with early departure flights will require to have this activity removed from their immersion program.
- Groups only have limited time at Kata Tjuta, this doesn’t allow for the longer walker in the park, such as valley of the Winds.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park - Wintjiti Wiru - Drone & Lights Display (Homeland & Explore)

Led by: Yulara Resort

Wintjiri Wiru experience begins deep in the desert. After a short journey from Ayers Rock Resort, take a gentle stroll through the desert along an elevated walkway until you reach the open-air theatre, set upon a dune top with incredible views of Uluru and Kata Tjuta.
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With the heart of Australia as the backdrop, a story passed on for thousands of generations, now passes to you. Witness the ancient Mala story re-told like never before with ground-breaking technology. Choreographed drones, lasers, and projections will take flight, lighting up the night sky in a modern, artistic expression of an ancient, Anangu story.
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Feel a powerful connection to country as you listen to a traditional Inma soundtrack and narration in the local
Pitjantjatjara language and immerse yourself in a living story.

West MacDonnell Ranges – Not included in all itineraries & based on proximity to your Homeland (Multi Groups & All Grade)

Led by: Red Earth

The West MacDonnell Ranges, or ‘West Macs’ stretches for 161km west of Alice Springs. It is known in the Arrernte language as Tjoritja National Park and it offers several scenic and beautiful walking tracks, water holes, lookouts, geological, cultural and significant sites. Features of the landscape are significant to the Arrernte people and traditional names should be used where possible.

It is also a very popular tourist destination for those visiting Central Australia, due to its easy access from Alice Springs. Groups that wish to have additional tourism built into their program can opt to fly into Alice Springs OR Yulara, with Alice Springs providing the best access to the West MacDonnell Ranges. However, Homelands like Rodna, Kulpitharra, Sandy Bore, Kurku and Atnarpa are also within a convenient distance to be able to achieve a 50/50 Homeland/Tourism Split.

Telegraph Station: (Lunch Stop + Option for Guided Tour)  (Multi Groups & All Grade)

Led by: Red Earth

Telegraph Station is a historical reserve that marks the site of the first original European settlement in Alice Springs. Groups that travel through Alice Springs when doing a Homeland swap over will likely stop at Telegraph Station while the Leaders collect the Food Order in town. Immersions that exclude Kings Canyon will possibly include a paid guided tour at Telegraph Station if there isn’t another tourism component included. Telegraph Station is only a 10 min drive from Alice Springs town.

Original Purpose:

It was established in 1871 to relay messages between Darwin and Adelaide along Australia’s Overland Telegraph Line.  This not only connected Australia’s population centres with the north of the country, but it also connected Australia up with the undersea telegraph network of the British Empire. Prior to 1872, a message back to England would travel by boat and take 3 to 4 months each way. However, after the telegraph line was built, morse code messages travelling through Alice Springs could reach London in as little as 5 hours – slow by today’s standards, but revolutionary for people of the 19th century!

The guided tour will immerse the group in the history of the Telegraph Station and the township, the lives of the early telegraphers and their families, as well as discussing the Stolen Generation history of the site in the Bungalow era of the 1930s.

Museum of Central Australia & Strehlow Research Centre  (Multi Groups & All Grade)

Led by: Red Earth

The Museum of Central Australia is based in the Araluen Cultural Precinct in Alice Springs. It tells the story of the region's unique natural history, following the evolution of the landscape and the fascinating creatures that inhabited it.

The Museum of Central Australia also houses the Strehlow Research Centre, one of Australia's most important collections of film, sound, archival records and museum objects relating to Indigenous ceremonial life. MAGNT works with Traditional Owners to record traditional language, facilitate field work and provide community access to MAGNT’s collections. Culturally appropriate consultation and collection management methods are implemented by MAGNT. These Traditional Owner-led processes are considered a successful model both locally and nationally for their positive outcomes in meaningful relationships that have reconnected material to custodians. From the big bang to the present day, meteorite fragments, fossils and interpretive displays detail the geological history of Central Australia.

Alice Springs Desert Park  (Multi Groups & All Grade)

Led by: Desert Park + Red Earth

Groups will visit the Desert Park for a guide experience with park staff. Groups will spend a few hours at the park and see how the desert comes alive! They’ll no longer think of deserts as empty barren wastelands but understanding that they are rich diverse environments, rich with life and full of thousands of stories waiting to be explored.

Take easy walking trails through three desert botanical habitats including Desert Rivers, Woodland and Sand Country. Explore a living culture, witness free-flying birds of prey in the Nature Theatre, see rare and endangered animals in the spectacular Nocturnal House, and take a cinematic journey through four and a half billion years of desert creation.Alice Springs Desert Park is only 7km from the centre of Alice Springs.