We [my darling and I] are doing our first trip to the Red Centre. Any advice [I mean ANY] about the trip would be appreciated.
We plan to leave Wollongong mid July to Bourke and onto Darwin say 2 wks. Two weeks in and around Darwin. Two weeks down to Adelaide and 1week back to the Gong.
I have a Pajero and a New Age Manta Ray. Bitumen and good gravel only. Free camping and van parks combination.
Rather than take up a huge amount of space, if you have a MR deluxe or enduro PM me and I will tell you what you need to do to your van to make it bullet proof on any dirt road. What NA do is totally inadequate for any dirt road travels.
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16.5 Discovery 4 with a few mods and New Age MR 16' Deluxe
A couple things/places we enjoyed was Kathrine Gorge boat trip and we stayed at the caravan park at the gorge; Edith Falls; Alice Springs, if the caravan parks here are full they open the showgrounds so no trouble finding a place to stay. If you end up at the showgrounds go around to the other side of the ring more away from the gate as the shower block is much better over there and if after hours just go and find a spot and pay in the morning. Just hook up to the power if you want it. Do the loop out from Alice Springs out past Ormiston Gorge and around to Hermannsburg or visa versa. We free camped at Howard's Lookout. Beaut spot plenty of space. Even if not looking for a camp spot go up and take a look down the valley. No facilities here. Camped at Ormiston Gorge too. Sites not real big though. Drive up to Taylor's lookout for a look - plenty of space and all bitumen. The zebra finches were at the water tank getting a drink. Lovely to watch. You can see Albert Namatjira's house not far from Herrmannsburg. At Herrmannsburg we stayed at the Heritage Precinct. $10 per night. No power and can use the shower at the cafe but get in early if you want hot water. This loop road was fully sealed in 2017. If going into Kings Canyon - Salt Creek Rest area on the road in is a big area. No facilities. Ayres Rock Resort CP is very big and $50 (2017). If not looking to stay at Ayres Rock the Sandy Way Rest area is fine too. We stayed close to the highway as we got in after dark but you can go over the dunes if you want. At Coober Pedy go for a sunset drive or tour if you don't want to drive yourself, to the Breakaways and if you got time a day trip out to the Painted Desert. Don't take the van though. Lots of dirt road. We did a day tour with Arid Lands Tour. Maximum 4 people (plus driver) in a 4WD or maybe the mail run. Plenty to see and do. We all like different things though. We went up through that way to the Three ways then back to Qld in April, May and June last year after heading south to see the then Victoria painted silos. (more to see of those now). Enjoy your trip. Cheers.
Whatever you do, avoid driving at nighttime or dusk. The road surface is warm and cattle come out to sleep on the road at night. You will note that there is no grass in the middle of the road - that's because the cattle eat it a night! Seriously, there are other hazards at night as well so it is best to be off the road by 4:00 pm if possible.
Getting into a caravan park can be difficult as well, especially in the major areas. If you are looking to stay in a van park, I suggest that you book ahead. Last year we stayed in Alice Springs for a week. We had been there 3 times before, but still found new tracks and things to do and we didn't repeat anything we had done on previous trips. There is a lot to see out there.
We recently did the Alice trip and loved it. Do both East and West McDonnels if you have time. The old gold mining area at Altunga was great to see and free camping there. A dirt road but good when we travelled it. We free camped on the Finke River, it was like being in a Namajira painting, we even had dingos go through our camp.
