The Outback

Visiting the Australian Outback

First of all, the Outback isn't so much a specific place (or, for that matter, an American steakhouse chain) as it is a concept. The Outback pretty much describes anywhere in Australia that isn't the city, farmland, or rainforest—though in practice, the more remote and arid an area, the more "Outback" it is.

(As such, the Outback could be considered a subset of "The Bush," another broad term which covers practically any place in Australia that is occupied by few, if any, people).

There's a bit of "Outback" in almost every Australian state—though if you want to see the heart of it, you need to head to the very center of the country, to the Red Centre of the Northern Territory/South Australia and the eastern reaches of West Australia.

If the Outback has a capital, it's Alice Springs. If it has an icon, it's Uluru/Ayers Rock. If it has a mascot, it's Crocodile Dundee (though sometimes it wishes he weren't).

You can drive through Outback, take a tour in the Outback, or take a train through the Outback, but the best way to see it is on a trek. My favorite Outback trek was five days I spent in Nitmiluk National Park (read the blog about it: A songline through the Outback: The Jatbula trail).

Tours of the Australian Outback

You can sign up for one of dozens of multi-day guided Outback tours with the excellent Australia-based tour company Intrepid Travel (www.intrepidtravel.com), or for a tour or trek offered by our partners at Viator.com:

Outback day tours

• Kakadu, Nourlangie and Yellow Waters Tour with Optional Arnhem Land Flight

• West MacDonnell Ranges Half-Day Tour with Optional Alice Springs Desert Park

• Litchfield National Park Day Tour from Darwin

• Mount Connor 4WD Small Group Tour from Ayers Rock

• Katherine Day Tour from Darwin including Katherine Gorge Cruise

• Kakadu Day Tour from Darwin including Ubirr Art Site and Guluyambi Cruise

Multi-day outback tours

• 2-Day Kakadu National Park, Guluyambi Cruise and Arnhem Land Tour from Darwin

• 2-Day Kakadu National Park Yellow Waters Cruise, Aboriginal Art Sites and Arnhem Land Tour from Darwin

• 3-Day Kakadu National Park and Katherine Camping Tour from Darwin

• 3-Day Kakadu National Park and Waterfalls Tour from Darwin

• 3-Day Kakadu National Park and Arnhem Land Explorer Tour from Darwin

• 3-Day 4WD Kakadu Camping Safari Adventure from Darwin

• 4-Day Alice Springs to Uluru (Ayers Rock) via West MacDonnell Ranges Tour

• 4-Day Kakadu National Park, Katherine and Litchfield National Park Camping Tour from Darwin

• 6-Day Larapinta Trail Walking Tour from Alice Springs

Uluru/Ayers Rock tours

• 3-Day Ayers Rock, Olgas and Kings Canyon Camping Safari

• 3-Day Alice Springs to Uluru (Ayers Rock) via Kings Canyon Tour

• Uluru Base Walk at Sunrise

• Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (Olgas) Sunrise Tour from Ayers Rock

• Best of Ayers Rock: Sunset Uluru and Sunrise Kata Tjuta Small Group Tours

• Aboriginal Uluru Sunrise Liru Walk Tour and Breakfast

• Sunset Uluru Small-Group Tour

• Sunrise Kata Tjuta Small Group Tour

• Uluru Camel Express, Sunrise or Sunset Tours

• 2-Day Uluru (Ayers Rock), Camel Farm and Kata Tjuta Trip from Alice Springs

• 2-Day Uluru Sunset and Kata Tjuta Tour from Ayers Rock

• 2-Day Uluru (Ayers Rock) National Park Explorer Trip from Alice Springs

• 2-Day Uluru and Kata Tjuta Camping Safari

• 3-Day Alice Springs to Uluru (Ayers Rock) Highlights Tour including Sounds of Silence Dinner