Uluru Bush Camping

[Shiva]

Hi all.

I am planning a trip to central Australia without a car. I'm a generally a pretty rough and independent traveler, particularly in arid areas outside of Australia, but this is my first trip to Central Australia. I am not the slightest bit interested in whole tourist scene and hoping to avoid it as much as possible.

I will be flying into Connellan Airport. What I would like to do is to get off the plane and walk, spending one or two nights camping outside the park boundary, then head to Ayres Rock Resort for a transfer to do the Giles track.

However, I am not so sure about bush camping on foot in the area between the airport and Ayres Rock resort. My understanding is that I can camp up to 50m in what is the road reserve provided I am outside the national park boundaries. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Secondly, I suspect a lot of this area could be on Aboriginal land. Any advice in that regard? Should I be speaking to the local Aboriginal communities?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated

[GPSGuided]

I thought there are a lot of private or aboriginal land. Appropriateness of bush camp will depend on those owners. Yet again out there, if well out of visual, suspect the chance of being challenged would be close to zero. More importantly, you better choose your season well or the lack of water source can be a real issue.

[Eremophila]

Yep, without consulting a map, you would either be on Aboriginal land or private property, if outside the national park.

[Shiva]

OK. Thanks, guys.

I might try and get in touch with some of the Aboriginal communities out there and run it by them. I'm more concerned about offending them rather than anyone else.

Not expecting any water in that immediate area, but with over 70mm of rain at Curtain Springs the other week - there should still be water in other places.

What about the 50m road reserve in the NT?

[GPSGuided]

Still be water in other places? How can you be sure?

[Shiva]

Can't be 100% sure but it seems highly likely. There will be plenty of water to top up at the airport, again at the resort, and also a tank at Kathleen Springs. But I think it's most likely that there will be water in the creek on the Giles track and highly probable in other rocky areas. I only really need enough for drinking.

To be honest I am more concerned about a big cold snap. I don't like the cold.
I walked in parts of the Afar region in Ethiopia and some seriously dry deserts in Yemen where there is virtually no tourist infrastructure whatsoever. In that regard, this part of the world seems rather tame and reasonably safe considering it gets 30 to 40 odd thousand tourists flying into Yulara per year. Worst case scenario and I run out of drinking water, I can head to the road and flag down a vehicle.

[north-north-west]

It gets very cold at night in the Centre and this time of year cold winds are very common, but when you're out of the wind it's still damn hot.
I've done the Giles in June during a relatively dry period and had no trouble finding water in creeks along the way. The best sites are where the track crosses rocky gullies. Make sure you start with a full container, carry enough to last the day, and top up whenever the opportunity presents.

[MountainMadness]

I've done a lot of camping alongside the road in my life (difference was having a car), literally hundreds of times in the NT (mostly Central Australia). Admittedly this was mostly in the 90s when I was a young lad, and haven't in the last several years.

Not sure your background or your camping/walking/hitchhiking(?) experiences but in Central Australia there is really nothing there except scrub and desert. Near Uluru you have the airport, a small resort 'town' 10ks away from the airport called Yulara, the nearby (20-50ks away) national park facilities and that's about it……….

I've known some of the custodians of the land around there since I was a small kid (on a relatively close level for a white person not inherently familiar with Indigenous culture) - both Pitjantjatjara and Arrernte People. Mother was a teacher and father an arid orchard farmer/provider as catholic lay missionaries for an Indigenous Community there as youngens - I was born and lived in Central Australia from 0-20 years.
NONE of these custodians or their friends/family I have met would have a problem with you sleeping on their land, provided you respect their land (this word 'respect' is a little subjective but generally means leave it how your found it). I also know a large number of the station owners that own the vast majority of southern half of the NT (worked for 2 years installing diesel generators for their farmhouses and cattle water bores) and again all known to me will not have a problem you camping provided you leave the place clean and tidy like you found it.

All above is my personal opinion. I admit it may be a little out of date (having not lived there for 10 years - and noticed the relative recent change in some of the indigenous views pushed by media). I have very little faith in the modern media storm (hugely skewed by non-indigenous people trying to push their agenda and get 'views' up) that flies around the internet these days, that in my fairly well rounded opinion doesn't seem to align with the actual opinion of indigenous folk in the area. However I feel my opinion is inherently the Central Australian Way from my family experience from 1960s-2000s.

On the temperature note - yes it does get very cold in the area so be prepared. In the 48 years my father was in the area he still tells me the coldest actual temp he recorded was -11 degrees in July.

Good luck in the Red Centre - it’s an amazing place with great people and magic scenery so enjoy and respect.

[Eremophila]

I seem to remember that roadside camping just outside the park boundary is monitored to some extent - it's popular due to the high camping fees in the Yulara campground.

Camping in the road reserve also means you'll get to listen to all the buses and caravans roaring past.

Don't leave anything outside your tent - including clothing. Dingoes like to pilfer anything that's laying around.

[Shiva]

Thanks again for the info guys. Much appreciated.

Interesting comments Mountain Madness; I get the impression that things have changed quite a bit in 10 years. As for your comments on locals being generally accepting of campers, I thought it would probably be like that. And yes, scrub and desert is what I like. I am a pretty hardcore plant nerd, so I am sure it will be fascinating - especially after the recent rain. I often get frustrated travelling in a vehicle and want to get out and walk!

Eremophila: I should be seeing some of those in bloom I imagine. But yes, I have heard the area is monitored to some extent. Really didn't want to choose a camp site on foot then be told I have to move on.

Just for an update on the roadside camping, I sent an email to the Central Land Council. They requested I submit a permit for camping. The only down side of this is I had to choose the exact spot I wanted to camp and submit it with the application. Google Earth was handy for that. Waiting to hear back from them. I get the impression they are issued fairly readily - hopefully I haven't chosen some culturally significant area for my camp site.