December 02, 2023: For many Australians, Central Australia is one of those LoveToBut locations. “I’d love to go but it’s too expensive, it’s too far, it’s too hot, it’s too spread out. The list goes on for reasonable excuses why people don’t go and frankly, I am no different, I went there in 1987 and until this year haven’t been back. In May 2023 though my partner and I did go and wow was it worth it.

Being a photographer I spent a long time planning the trip, working out both times for dedicated shooting and locations I wanted to capture. This works for both of us, it means that we can travel together and see and do things but at certain times I can go off and photograph railway stations or other interesting buildings, or capture sunrises that may not interest my better half. 

May in “The Red Centre” is often very cold in the mornings, temps close to zero are not uncommon but I always prefer that to waking up to 35 degrees Celsius at 6 am. Fingerless gloves and a sleeveless puffer jacket work for me most of the time and I soon warm up lugging a tripod and camera gear around. You can travel to Alice Springs (Mparntwe) or Uluru at any time of the year but winter in my view, is the best time. It’s too cold to swim in any of the water holes in winter but that’s a small price to pay for being able to be active all day. In the heat of summer at places like the famous Rim Walk at Kings Canyon (Watarrka), they recommend starting walks before sunrise and not after 11.00 am because of the heat.

So, back to the main topic, I was simply blown away by the vivid colours of the soils and rocks that made up the various landforms we visited. The rich red and earthy tones are so different from anything on the east coast of Australia, and the flora and fauna is both abundant and equally colouful. The massive landforms of Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon (Watarrka) are breathtakingly beautiful. We have all seen images of people lining up to see the sunset at The Rock and views from the top of the Rim Walk but I was almost tearful a couple of times at the mere sight of these great wonders. To see the sunset light on a single rock that is 11km around the base is enough to hush entire busloads of visitors. We did a sunrise shoot at Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) and although there were probably over a hundred people there from a range of nationalities, they were all respectful and the only thing that broke the silence of the dawn were camera shutters and iPhones clicking.

If you travel to Central Australia don’t miss Alice Springs (Mparntwe), It has had a bad rap in recent times but we saw nothing to deter us. Mparntwe is the only city in Central Australia and there are so many things to see in and around the city for photographers. Beautiful landscapes are all around and there is a range of great architecture. The Alice Springs Desert Park, Olive Pink Botanic Garden and Simpsons Gap are just three of the better known attractions that we loved but there’s a bunch more. There’s a good range of food offerings in town but a standout for me was The Bakery in Todd Street. They make a spectacular sourdough that kept me fueled up for the entire trip.

So, to sum up, Go! Don’t add Central Australia to your Some-Day list, get yourself out there and experience a unique part of the world.

For the record, I was not sponsored or paid to write this but if someone wants to pay me I’ll happily go again.