Tasmanian Walking Company co-founder and former co-founder of Virgin Blue, Brett Godfrey says while launching the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa Signature Walk, connecting Uluru and Kata Tjuta, is something he’ll “never do again”, he predicts it’ll be one of the great walks of the world.
Godfrey, who has just come off the launch hike – Australia’s first new long-distance walk since the Three Capes Track opened a decade ago – says it took much longer than anticipated, 12 years in total, and was a “huge piece of work because of the delicate nature of the land and people”.
The five-day, 54-kilometre small-group journey is the first time guests can walk and sleep inside Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in “tents” with king-sized beds, after dining on chef-created cuisine.
Godfrey says the build took 12 months, and as soon as it had approvals from the Anangu Traditional Owners, the walk was launched within 15 months. But he says while approval processes were arduous, and it was “harder than starting an airline”, the result is a walk unlike anything in Australia, or the world.
“Uluru is our heart for all Australians, and so people are drawn to it, and it’s going to be one of the great walks of the world and one of the great pilgrimages because it respects culture and educates.”
He says while he’s done many test walks, doing the launch walk hit differently.
“It was a great joy seeing the faces of others with expectations that were monumentally surpassed, because the landscape blew them away. There are beautiful flowers and birdlife, and you walk through mulga forests, and the thing people can’t get over is the immersion and connection to Anangu country, and that, and the history of storytelling, are so important.
“We had one person who touched Uluru and cried, and they said it changed them and they learned so much, and another said she had been there 18 times, but this was the first time she was really seeing it.
“I think that’s because we typically go there for a few days, race to the rock and fly home, and this is slow, immersive, connected travel, and a different way to see that land.”
He says one of the best parts of the walk is that you only have 16 people hiking at any one time.
“Once you bring too many people into a place, you ruin it for locals, and you get antagonism, and you ruin the experience.
“You have to do things sustainably, so this is the perfect new iteration and slow tourism in small groups is the only way to experience the place.”
The Anangu Traditional Owners are partners on the project, and Godfrey says nothing happens without their support, “right down to artwork and design of buildings, it’s all local”.
Money from the walk goes back into the local community to raise the standards of living for the local Indigenous people, and he says, while the walking company is on the committee, “that will be driven by them”.
The walk starts at Kata Tjuta and includes a guided Valley of the Winds Walk to the private eco-campsite. The walk also includes Muṯitjulu Waterhole and the Cultural Central, with overnights at Uluru-Kata Tjuta Lodge and Ayers Rock Resort.
For more information, visit Tasmanian Walking Company.
