It is an amazingly spectacular area in remote Australia, south of Alice Springs, east of Stuart Highway in the real Australian outback Northern Territory. The sandstone cliffs formed by erosion don’t only have some impressive shapes, they also have stunning colours which change depending of the time of the day – during the midday they are orange and as the sun sets they get deeper and deeper red.
Geology What you will notice is that not all of that rock is red - some of it is white. Because red rocks are the result of the chemical weathering of iron oxides, the redder rocks are from times when the climate in the area was wet, while the sediments which turned into the white rocks have been laid during the times when the climate was dry. The red rocks are more resistant to erosion which is why the tops of the rocks are red – too hard to erode away, while the white parts of the rocks are more eroded.
Vegetation and Aboriginal Rock Painting The area is dominated by clay plains, and sand plains with Spinifex grasslands. There are also some examples of Aboriginal rock painting and engravings in the rocks, and the area is a sacred site for Aboriginal people.
Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
How to Get Here You can get here by turning off Stuart Highway some 80km south of Alice Springs. It is an unsealed road that first takes you to the park entrance, and then to the camping area where there is a car park, picnic tables, barbeques and toilets.
Mushroom Rock and Grassland Birds At the camping place, there is also the start of a short walk to the Mushroom Rock – a beautiful sandstone formation which also has a lot of Fairy Martin nests. There are other grassland birds around too, and make sure you bring your camera, you’ll get some impressive photos. Camping fees are payable at the camping site, and you will have to bring your own food. Rainbow Valley is one of the real secret spots in the Australia outback and well worth a visit.
Here's a map of Rainbow Valley area, - you can double-click anywhere on the map to zoom it in and see the places closer. Drag the map to move around, and if you want to see the satellite image with Google Earth, click on "Sat" in the top right hand corner.
NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.
