First big trip Adelaide - Darwin returning via Birdsville

[Bayly Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Bayly]

Hi all
Newbie here so please be kind 😀
We are soon to head off on our first big road trip in our 2010 Prado gxl diesel towing our new Jayco Eagle Outback.
We have tent camped for a few years and had 2 previous 4wd's (1999 Mitsi Pajero Exceed and 2002 Nissan Patrol Ti 4.8l) but have never really strayed too far off the bitumen. Hoping to change that!
We bought our Prado a few months ago as the tow vehicle for our Jayco camper. It was already equipped with steel bulbar, rear step and dual spares, dual batteries, uhf radio (only 40 channel) and driving lights.
We feel fairly well organised and equipped, but are still to add a car fridge (around 40 litre) to supplement the 3 way Dometic in the camper (open to recommendations) and also wanting new rear shockers as the current ones are not sturdy enough for the added accessories as well as towing (again, open to recommendations).
We are a family of 4 including 2 teenagers (16 & 14) and the plans for our trip are as follows:
Adelaide - Darwin via Coober Pedy, Uluru, Alice, Tennant Creek, Mataranka... 5 days in Darwin sightseeing, catching up with family then on to Kakadu, back to Katherine and heading home to Adelaide via Mt Isa and Birdsville.
We have 22 days to fit this all in which we know is tight, but time off work and school limits us.
We tend to travel a bit by the seat of our pants and take each day as it comes, keeping our plans flexible depending on what we find during our travels - sometimes we fall in love with a place and stay an extra day or two or we roll into town and think "no thanks" and keep moving. We are now set up to free camp, power and water wise, so that makes things a bit easier with planning where to stop over.
So, on to my query - Anyone who has travelled the same routes - are there any attractions or overnight stops you'd highly recommend (or recommend we avoid/not bother with)? Any equipment (apart from the obvious) that you'd recommend we add to our kit? Any hints for dealing with bored teenage boys? (We are enforcing electronics free time)
We look forward to getting to know you all as we spend more time stretching the legs of our Prado.
Cheers
Dillon and Tracey

[sweetpea Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sweetpea]

Hi Dillon and Tracey

Firstly, congratulations on the purchase and the up coming trip.

I have done a few trips up that way in the last few years; one trip Melbourne to Darwin and one Melbourne to Ayers rock.

As Coober Pedy is a long weekend destination from Adelaide, I suggest going up through the Flinders Ranges if you haven't been that way, and then head out through Brachina Gorge, stop at the Prairie Hotel in Parachilna (The Road Kill Café) and then head up the Oodnadatta track staying at Farina just before Marree and Coward Springs.

Depending on time you could go from Oodnadatta to Dalhousie and Mt Dare then out to the highway at Kulgera via Lambert Gravitational Centre.

Give Uluru a miss for this trip and go to Kings Canyon but stay at Kings creek Station.

Then head along the Larapinta loop and up to Glen Helen and Ormiston Gorge. Glen Helen is a nice place to camp.

Then head into Alice and then up to Katherine. We swam at Mataranka which was a real oasis. Diner Cruise on the Katherine Gorge was great but we had no kids.

We stopped off for a few days at Litchfield National Park and stayed at Wangi falls but get in early and find a camping spot. It is a delightful spot.

We went into Kakadu which was a bit underwhelming and did a bus trip to Orenpelli in Arnhem Land to look at Aboriginal rock art.

After a week in Darwin at a conference we put the car and camper on the Ghan and had a most enjoyable train trip back to Adelaide.

The following year we did a separate drive that ended up at Uluru.

Have a wonderful trip.

S.

PS We were heading to spend the night at Daly Waters but we weren't going to make it so decided to stay at Elliot,

Bonus was we had phone coverage. Should have pressed on to Daly Waters.

[MYT150 Member Find all posts View Profile Close MYT150]

Hi Dillon and Tracey,

Welcome. You trip sounds great but I would suggest that it might be a bit ambitious for the 22 days, and doesn't allow much time to explore. I would suggest that you skip Mt Isa and Birdsville, as it will add a lot to the trip in terms of distance and time, but not really to the enjoyment of spending a few more days somewhere else.

I would suggest that you do a few long days at the start Adelaide to Coober Pedy is about 850km, so can be done in a day, then onto Alice Springs is about 690km, so another day. Then take a day or two in Alice to look around and find out what is there and around to see and do, so you can plan the return trip to see more things. Then on to Daly Waters, about 910km, but worth the stop to see the pub and the air field history, but book ahead as it can be busy. then you have a short drive to Darwin, about 590km.

Then you can start your drive back via Kakadu, also worth visiting Litchfield, the jumping croc tour on the Adelaide river. Then heading south Douglas Daly hot springs, Katherine and Katherine Gorge is worth a day or two. Also worth looking at is Elesy homestead and Mataranka springs, there is a few other things on the way south to Alice to visit as well depending on your interests.

Then back in Alice you have some nice drives out to the MacDonnell Ranges, and Kings Canyon via Larapinta drive, and then on to Yulara and Ulluru, again this is would need probably 4-6 days to do it without rushing to much. Then back south to Coober Pedy and home.

This would mean if you were short of time on the way home the things you are missing are closer to you to visit, and the drive home is broken up so that you return more relaxed.

Just a suggestion.

Regards

Aidan

[Bayly Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Bayly]

Thanks Aidan and Sweetpea

You have really got the cogs turning now - the original plan to come back via Birdsville was to add some interest to the trip instead of returning via the same route, but now I'm thinking that we probably should spend more time enjoying what's up the middle and leave Birdsville for another adventure. Other friends have recommended Kings Canyon and that wasn't on our original itinerary but as I said in my post - we fly by the seat of our pants and are happy to change our plans.
We are actually all organised to leave on the 19th of this month and apart from the 2 items mentioned (fridge, shockers) and some perishable groceries, we are almost ready to hook up the camper and head North. As much as we are a bit spontaneous in this regard, we do put a lot of planning into the equipment side of our travels.
That probably makes me sound crazy asking for itinerary advice this close to leaving, but we are seriously relaxed about changing plans. A couple of years ago heading back to Adelaide from Coffs Harbour via a few days in Sydney, we got to somewhere around Goulburn and decided to travel via Melbourne and drop off number one son with my sister for a week and then fly him home.
It has backfired on us once, pulling into Margaret River at about 8pm during the Christmas holidays season with no booking - and there was literally no room at the inn - we spent a nervous night sleeping in our Pajero expecting a knock on the window from the "no camping here" inspector. The next day we found an amazing campground just out of town and ended up staying a week instead of our planned 4 days.
Dillon is in Whyalla and Port Augusta for work today, but I think I'll have a chat to him while he's travelling (hands free of course ��) and put these ideas to him. Cutting it fine, but until we are in the car and on the road, does it really matter? As long as you're equipped for the conditions, that's what makes it an adventure!
Cheers
Tracey