The humbling Northern Territory proves there’s more to Australia than beaches and barbie.

By Elizabeth Kerr

Thoroughly exploring the Territory could take weeks, and more water than it’s possible to carry - because we city - dwellers would never know where to find it.

Visiting Australia generally equates with Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef and surfing, but the country’s unsung gem is the Northern Territory. Harsh as it is, the Territory is simultaneously eerie and beautiful, bleak and magisterial, barren yet teeming with life. As a result, perhaps in spite of it, Territorians are a breed apart. The Territory has a laid-back vibe that embodies the country: isolated and independent, wholly untameable, occasionally inscrutable and still finding its way but ultimately welcoming.

Much of the Northern Territory (NT) retains its frontier roots, and the Red Centre - a vaguely Marslike dusty expanse of wilderness - both defines and shapes it. Darwin and Alice Springs account for the NT’s cosmopolitanism, at their hearts reflecting the Territory’s rowdy outpost attitude. The cracking dryness and blazing heat (often in the 40s) that are pretty standard are enough to send most urbanites screaming for an air-conditioned hotel. It’s easy to forget that for thousands of years this has been home to Aboriginal people whose understanding of the Red Centre is truly awe-inspiring.

Thoroughly exploring the Territory could take weeks, and more water than it’s possible to carry - because we city-dwellers would never know where to find it. But The Alice (Australians give everything a nickname), the Outback’s de facto capital and near dead centre of Australia is a good starting point. Something of a hub, at its core it’s a small town. How small? If by some odd convergence of events you miss your chance to get downtown or to Yulara, you could get train station tourist office staffer Heather to (first) call you a taxi before (second) she gives you a lift herself - or demands a friend that works nearby do so. Heather’s genuineness is as common in Alice as it is rare in bigger cities anywhere. “That’s my job,” she remarks of going above and beyond the call of duty.

From Alice, it’s off to The Rock (not the wrestler, not the movie). Options for getting to Uluru (Ayers Rock) are limited to a morning bus or flight to Yulara. Most travellers opt for the five-hour drive along the Lasseter Highway. This is a road that makes passing through a weather system exciting and is a stark reminder of just how unpredictably wild the Territory can be. And that’s not counting wandering wildlife. The Lasseter starts at Erldunda: a gas station and a snack bar (time for a pie!) manned by a charmingly surly Territorian that claims her husband is “way better looking than Hugh Jackman,” though she offered no evidence of this. With the wind picking up and an odd quiescence, it can only be referred to as cinematic.

The traditional owners of the land around Uluru and the lesser-known Kata Tjuta are Anangu, and there is little in the vicinity free of Anangu footprints. People still live here, and much of the distinctive monoliths are sacred (no photos, no close inspections). Hard as it may be to resist, climbing the imposing Uluru is not recommended; there is a wealth of alternative hiking in the park. An officer at the cultural centre likened climbing Uluru to entering a Buddhist temple with ones shoes on. You just shouldn’t do it. Regardless of how you get there from Uluru, a stop in what’s called the Top End - the subtropical north that rivals Hong Kong or Singapore for humidity during (more nicknames) The Wet - is required. Diverse, modern (thanks to wholesale rebuilding twice within a few decades) and close (by Australian standards) to Kakadu National Park, Darwin will give observant travellers a taste of modern Australia’s complicated relationship with its native people. Casually referred to as “the other kind,” the Aboriginal population in Darwin seems more visible than in other cities, and there’s a fascinating social dynamic at play. It’s neither offensive nor laudable, but admirable in its continuing evolution.

Aboriginal peoples are as distinct from each other in language and culture as Navajo from Inuit, and northern Chinese from southern. Katherine is largely Jawoyn and Kakadu sits on Arnhem Land — two hours away but worlds apart. In addition to boggling bio-diversity, some of the most significant examples of traditional rock art are located inside the park. Needless to say, Kakadu is much more than a side trip, and taken with Uluru-Kata Tjuta, it’s a reminder of how little we really understand of the world we think we know. In a word: humbling.

Training Days
The most efficient and entertaining way to see the Northern Territory is by train. True, “the train” conjures images of crowded commutes or the misery of Amtrak, but it was once the apex of sophisticated mobility. That romanticism lingers on the handful of old school trains still operating: the fabled Orient Express; the 9,000 kilometre Trans-Siberian; the South African Blue Train. In 2004, Great Southern Rail added The Ghan to that list.

The Ghan is three non-stop days and 3,000 kilometres from the verdant south in Adelaide, through the Red Centre to Darwin. The view out the window is of nature at its most primal, a landscape that morphs from arid to sopping as you move through it. Inside you’ll be treated to some authentic Australian personality: The Ghan’s staff hails from all parts of the country, and like Territorians, train crews are a distinct type. If you’re open to chatting and kidding about - so are they; consider yourself lucky if Thomas or Kerri is on your crew.

After five years on The Ghan, GSR service manager Marcia Van Hout maintains, “Every single train trip is different.” Take advantage of the train’s few stops to explore what lies off the map: Enlightening desert eco-tours, Coober Pedy’s mining history, Katherine’s wildly divergent Aboriginal culture and of course, the route to Uluru. Van Hout sums it up best when she says, “Australia is so huge. Why would you want to miss all the in-betweeny bits?”

Conscious Retreat
The road to Uluru is a long and empty one appropriate for marvelling at the overwhelming vastness of the land - or donating fuel to stranded drivers (refusing is poor Outback etiquette, as is eschewing the Steering Wheel Wave). Nonetheless, a proper rest is soon necessary. Voyages Ayers Rock Resort’s lush gardens belie its desert location and you’ll never forget where you are. As General Manager Hotel Operations Anthony Cleary points out, “We periodically have [camels] wandering through here, drinking out of the swimming pool.”

The resort is conservation-focused, in design and practise, and Voyages actively supports the Indigenous community, but from a respectful distance. “It’s not as if there’s a massive amount of interaction with tourists … [the] desert dwelling people are a lot different from the stereotype of the didgeridoo-playing Aboriginal,”

Cleary states. A small fee is added to all room bills and the money is funnelled into programmes benefiting area residents.

For the five-star leisure crowd seeking a spa escape there is Sails in the Desert, the Outback Pioneer Lodge is geared to the adventurous game for a camel trek and the independent Longitude 131° - only 15 Ulurufacing tented rooms - is there for contemplative peace. But the highlight for all is easily the Sounds of Silence al fresco dinner. The evening starts with champagne and a striking sunset view of both Uluru and Kata Tjuta, and closes with a southern hemisphere star tour, much of it explained by local Aboriginal folklore. It’s the kind of clear sky you rarely see in neon-washed cities and it’s what makes the night.

Quick Guide The Ghan (adult fare, one way, AU$710 - 2,975) departs/arrives Adelaide Keswick and Darwin stations, www.gsr.com.au Yulara (Uluru) is served by Connellan Airport Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (adult admission AU$25), open daily 5am to 8:30pm depending on season, www.deh.gov.au/parks/uluru Kakadu National Park (admission free), open daily, various accommodations, www.kakadu.com.au Voyages Ayers Rock Resort, Yulara, www.voyages.com.au