Camden NSW to Darwin
Submitted: Thursday, Aug 13, 2015 at 15:00
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Leszek S
Hi guys,
We are planning a trip to
Darwin in September Next year with a jayco flamingo, wife and two kids,7 and 4.
Camden to
Mildura 1night
Mildura to
broken hill 2 nights
Broken hill to
port Augusta 2 nights
Port Augusta to
Coober Pedy 1night
Cooper pedy to
Yulara 2 nights planning to do
kings canyon and bungle bungles
Yulara to
Alice springs 2nights
Alice springs to
tennant creek 1night not sure what is there?
Tennant creek to
Katherine 1night again not sure
Katherine to
Darwin. 2weeks
1week to drive back ( is it possible?)
We have 5 weeks any suggestions would be appreciated.
Reply By: Member Andys Adventures - Thursday, Aug 13, 2015 at 15:26
Thursday, Aug 13, 2015 at 15:26
To help you out for the last part, 7ks north of
Tennant Creek is
the Pebbles. It is
free camping and plenty of room for vans. And you can get phone coverage.
As for
Katherine, Edith Falls just north (42km) great for kids you can walk the
Katherine Gorge from there.
Cheers Andy
AnswerID:
589189
Reply By: Member - Mark (Tamworth NSW) - Thursday, Aug 13, 2015 at 18:24
Thursday, Aug 13, 2015 at 18:24
You can always spend more time "everywhere" and most
places you compromise, but I'd consider one day less at Port August and a full day (2 nights) at
Coober Pedy
I think you mean the Olgas instead of Bungle Bungles, and 2.5 to 3 days is adequate for Uluru & The Olgas. Can do it in less, it will allow you to tick it off the list but not necessarily appreciate it
Kings Canyon is a Full day (+ half day getting there).
Kings Canyon to Alice is 2 days without really doing the West Macs any justice, (I think you could take another day in the West Macs, staying at
Glen Helen "resort" or Ellery Big Hole or Ormiston).
Sorry I'm inexperienced north Of Alice.
For our family, your itinerary looks a little rushed, not enough time to relax, kids need some downtime where they can clown around, play in the sand/mud. You also need to factor in a flexible lay day or 2 in case something goes wrong with the vehicle or someone's health.
Search on member "MotherHens"
Blogs, there are some great ideas for those areas. Admittedly they had more time and mightn't have had kids but it is a really good guide.
Mark
AnswerID:
589195
Follow Up By: OBJ - Thursday, Aug 13, 2015 at 20:05
Thursday, Aug 13, 2015 at 20:05
Agree with
Port Augusta. Justr drive through, get fuel and carry on. But 50km before you get to Pt
Augusta is Mt Remarkable NP, which could be worth a 2 day stay. You need to book in advance but it is a nice place with quite a few interesting things to see and explore.
Mt Remarkable Website
Google will also throw up many more sites.
OBJ
FollowupID:
857038
Follow Up By: OBJ - Thursday, Aug 13, 2015 at 20:08
Thursday, Aug 13, 2015 at 20:08
As an addendum to my previous post .. I stay at the Mambray
Creek camp. Tarred road all the way in and plenty of sites for caravans.
OBJ
FollowupID:
857039
Reply By: Rober B - Thursday, Aug 13, 2015 at 21:25
Thursday, Aug 13, 2015 at 21:25
Make sure you buy all your supplies from Coober pedi
iga before going on to Uluru as everything is very expensive there and stay at big 4 in Coober
AnswerID:
589207
Follow Up By: Zippo - Friday, Aug 14, 2015 at 13:09
Friday, Aug 14, 2015 at 13:09
And for fuel, to save $$ avoid the main street outlets and go to OME (Opal Miners Enterprises ftw) depot in Watertank Rd off Umoona Rd.
FollowupID:
857055
Reply By: Motherhen - Friday, Aug 14, 2015 at 00:21
Friday, Aug 14, 2015 at 00:21
With only five weeks and travelling with little ones, I can only suggest you spend more time enjoying yourselves and less time driving. Do you need to go all the way to
Darwin this time? You will miss out on so much.
We spent five weeks in and around
Alice Springs in 2008 and returned in 2009 to continue to
Darwin over several weeks.
Do you need to have a structured plan? If not, travel at leisure, spend more time where you enjoy it and see
places thoroughly instead of burning fuel to head up a bitumen road just to cross the country. That way you can turn around when you have enough time to make it
home, even if you haven't gone all that far. At least you will have had a relaxing holiday and seen a whole lot more while not just driving long distances.
AnswerID:
589212
Reply By: Michael H9 - Friday, Aug 14, 2015 at 06:25
Friday, Aug 14, 2015 at 06:25
Camden to
Mildura, that's a big drive. You'll see nothing in
Mildura if you are off to
Broken Hill the next day so why go there? You'll save 200kms by driving straight to BH via the Barrier Hwy. Split the drive by staying in
Nyngan or
Cobar.
Broken Hill and
Silverton are interesting
places, tick.
Two nights in
Port Augusta? Phttt....You've driven past the
Flinders RangesPort Augusta to
Coober Pedy will take most of the day, then
Coober Pedy to
Yulara is a big drive. You won't see much of CP. CP is fairly unique with interesting shops and displays. Tick.
You've got the Bungle Bungles in there. They are way over near
Halls Creek in Western Australia? It's a longish drive from
Yulara to
Kings Canyon (3.5 hours?) so you'll need to stay at
Kings Canyon to be able to do the walks. It's a long drive from KC to Alice as
well, maybe 4.5 hours.
Two weeks in
Darwin seems a waste when you have world
heritage national parks near by.
Darwin is ok but in my opinion a few days is enough.
If it was me, I'd be cutting it short, stopping at
Alice Springs and not going any further and doing the
Flinders Ranges on the way. Anywhere you have a 2 night stay above really means you have 1 full day to see the place. You can't see
the Rock, Olgas and
Kings Canyon in 1 day...
well you can see them as you drive by. :-)
How far is it? Keep in mind it's around 28 hours driving time from
Sydney to
Alice Springs. That's 4 x 7 hour days in the saddle not including breaks for the trip
home. Don't come
home needing a holiday.
AnswerID:
589214
Reply By: Bilbo B - Monday, Aug 17, 2015 at 18:43
Monday, Aug 17, 2015 at 18:43
I think it's all realistic for both time and distance while being enjoyable. You might find you only spend a week in
Darwin and use the time to stop at alternate
places on the way back such as
litchfield, Edith falls,
mataranka, etc.
AnswerID:
589365