Day 1
With school and Christmas holidays well underway, we were keen to get our trip started. On the 21st December 2020, we fed up the cats, dropped the dog of and the grandparents and headed North. The first day, consisted of a lot of driving, but we chose to take the Oodnadatta side track for a bit of added adventure. Sadly, the famous Prairie hotel was shut due to being out of peak season but nevertheless, we still got some great photos of the sun starting to set over the town and its sculptures.
We continued slightly further to Copley, where we found a nice little camping spot just off the main road, cooked up some snags for dinner and called it a night with the most perfect pink sky after a long day of driving.
Day 2
After a bit of a wild and windy night in the rooftop tent, we were keen to continue the adventure towards Marlee. And soon we found ourselves at the small historic town. While many other roads were closed due to wet and dangerous conditions, we were grateful to see that the only open road was the one to Oodnadatta, our destination for night two. While extremely dusty (and learning of some unexpected holes in our cab), the Oodnadatta track was worth the extra dust. We stopped at the most quirky and random, Mutonia Sculpture Park. Not only was it a nice break from the driving but some of these sculptures were next level and out of this world!
A few hours on and we came across Coward springs where we were able to pay a small $2 donation to use the toilet facilities and wash off in the hot springs. I get that it’s implied in the name, but I was shocked that it was actually warm, and we felt so much better after a rinse. We highly recommend this stop if passing by. The camp grounds there were also great if you’re looking for a longer break.
For our last stop of the day, we made it to Oodnadatta (not without the added challenge of a flat tyre in the middle of nowhere in the scorching heat), where we had dinner at the funky Pink Roadhouse. The staff were so friendly, giving us a perfect (and probably my favourite) camp location to pop up the tent for the night just out of town by a local dam. The dam was secluded and full of natural bird life. There was nothing left to do for the day but relax and watch world pass us by.
Day 3
After the amazing staff at the Pink Road House helped us fix our flattie and made us some delicious croissants for breakfast, we were on our way to continue the adventure. Day 3 was another long day of driving with not a lot to see on the remainder of the Oodnatta track, other than dodging sleepy goannas and feasting eagles on the road. We stopped in at Marla and tried to sweep out as much of the red dust from the car before continuing.
By about lunch time, we had hit the border of Northern territory where we had to complete a quick covid check in and then continued North.
About 200kms on from the border, I made friends with a friendly camel at Stuart’s Well Roadhouse while Rob filled up the tank. A great spot to get out and stretch the legs and feed the camel and his emu friend. They also had a caravan park on the premises if needed.
Next Stop, Alice Springs! Bizarrely a large rain cloud hung only over the town of Alice Springs, so between the dust and the rain we decided to book in at a caravan park for the night where we could have a warm shower, a hot meal and refresh and recuperate before continuing to the big rock.
Sadly, again in Alice, a lot of the museums and attractions were closed due to it being the Christmas period and wet season, but we did expect this, being the only time we had available to travel.
Day 4
We debated staying in Alice another night and waiting for the rain to calm down, but instead checked the radar and decided we’d be better off heading back South towards Uluru and hoped for the best. The stop in Alice was just what we needed, and we were feeling refreshed and restocked with food and supplies to head into the next stretch of our journey.
On the way, we were interested to take a turn down a 4x4 access road we had passed on the way up that led to ‘Rainbow Valley’. After a very bumpy ride down a long track (a 4WD was definitely necessary) we pulled up to a stunningly large attractively eroded rock. After exploring around the grounds and having a play with our drone, we turned back down the windy and rough track.
Before we left the reception of the Alice Springs town center, we booked accommodation for the night closer to Uluru. Unfortunately, the camp grounds at the Uluru resort needed to be booked a day in advanced, something I wished we had investigated prior. So instead, we booked at Curtain Springs, a working cattle station and roadhouse about 100km out of Uluru. Again, do your research! Looking for accommodation in a hurry meant that we were unaware of the free unpowered sights here until our arrival and instead paid $45 for a night of power that we didn’t need. Showers are an extra $3 due to scarce water supply in the area, but we passed on this as the bathroom facilities weren’t too crash hot and a bit smelly. They also offer home style meals, but we again made our own as we found the service to be less than welcoming (an opinion shared by other travelers we met along the way).
Day 5
After waking, we promptly packed up as we couldn’t contain our excitement knowing today on Christmas Day, was the day, we were finally going to see what we had travelled all this way for, Uluru.
When we arrived at Yulara (Ayres Rock Resort), the township before entering the Kata Tjuta National Park, we quickly realised that this would have been the better option for our stay. Not only could you see Uluru from camp in all its glory, but the facilities were a lot nicer, slightly cheaper and you have full access to phone reception. We will definitely be staying here next time.
Anyway, onto Uluru, the absolute highlight of the trip. Words cannot even begin to describe the natural beauty and breathtaking awes of this ancient landmark. It’s honestly something every Australian must see up close and personal in their lifetime. While we weren’t fully prepared for the base walk, as this is best to do early in the morning or later in the afternoon to avoid the peak heat, we did do several other smaller walks around. My favourite being to a small lagoon that was shaded by large native gums. Along this walk, was the Mututjulu cave, also known as the family cave, with remanence of colourful cave art from hundreds of years ago depicting stories handed down through generations of the Tjukurpa people. Being in such a sacred place, it was impossible to not respect and honour the rich history and culture of Australia’s first peoples.
We had planned to spend more time in Kata Tjuta National Park and its surrounds, but unfortunately our trip took a quick turn after our first day at Uluru.
Just prior to going on our trip, we had learned that we were going to become parents and unfortunately, our little bundle of joy, picked boxing day to turn it up and start morning (which isn’t just morning) sickness. This meant that the rest of our trip was spent finding the quickest routes home. And within the next two days, we were back home, safe and sound.
Although our journey didn’t end as planned, it was a great start to our explorations of Australia, as our first big tour away, and we are so glad that we can say we’ve seen Uluru in person. We definitely plan to go back with bubs one day and enjoy more time exploring the ancient spiritual sights and teaching our children the importance of the land for their Aboriginal ancestors.
Also, if there’s one major thing I learned on this trip, it’s always have a spare tyre. Not only did we run into some trouble in the desert’s scorching heat ourselves but the amount of broken down cars we came across and people we tried to help with flat tyres was insane. Unfortunately, there was little we could do as most weren’t carrying a spare. And lastly whether you’re a planner or a wing it kind of guy, a little bit of prep goes a long way! While our journey was amazing, in such intense heats, it is so important to be prepared if you plan to do a trip like this and always make sure you have plenty of water!
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