Adelaide to Alice to Uluru to Dalhousie

Hi goldlink

First of all there are countless attractions to see heading up to the centre and seeing that you have not been that way before, this will be a good way to see many great features and will give you the best possible dirt road travelling conditions.

A Beginners Taste and some great dirt roads.

Depending which way you want to travel, via the beautiful Clare Valley or up the main highway to Port Augusta, head up via Hawker, Leigh Creek, (MUST stop over at Farina and taste the great delights of the underground bakery) to Marree.

From Marree head up the Oodnadatta Track with many great stops along the way and arrive at William Creek. From William Creek take the road to Anna Creek Station and through to Coober Pedy. Make sure that you have a look around the town as there is far more to see than you thing.

The next MUST when heading north on the black top it the detour out to the Breakaways. From there head north up through Marla and when you cross the state border, take the first dirt road on your left signposted to Mulga Park. This is a beautiful drive and will bring you the back way near Mount Connor.

Do the usual Rock thing, and then head to Kings Canyon, with the rim walk another MUST. From Kings Canyon, the Mereenie Loop through to the Western Macs and then head for the Alice for the usual sites in the Red Centre. At this stage you will be running out of time, so you will have a nice easy drive back down the Stuart Highway and with good travelling conditions, you can be back in Adelaide 2 days after leaving Alice Springs.

I will now post this, but in the mean time, put together some images of my intended route.



Happy Planning.



Cheers



Stephen

Goldlink, agree with Stephen and his route. However, if your van is truely Off Road, you could continue up the Oodnadatta past William Creek. There is the Algebuckina Rail Bridge over the Neale River, this was part of the Old Ghan Railway Line.


Then on to Oodnadatta and the Pink Roadhouse.


Then 17 kms past Oodnadatta take a right turn to Hamilton Station. Take a right at Hamilton Station and on to Dalhousie Springs, great spot for a dip in the thermal springs. Then travel to Mt. Dare, fuel, restaurant, bar, camp ground with shower & toilet.


From Mt. Dare, on to the Abminga Ruins, part of the Old Ghan Railway. Then on to Finke. From Finke you can travel up the Old Ghan Railway line adjacent to the Finke Desert Race track. At Maryvale Station, take the road on the left out to Chambers Pillar. There is one steep rocky climb and a few sand dunes, but the destination is worth the effort.Bush campground with toilet.


From Chambers Pillar back to the Old Ghan Line turning left and head north continuing to Alice Springs.

For the return journey, head west along the Namatjira Way through the West MacDonnell Ranges stopping at all the gorges along the way. Keep going to Gosses Bluff, a meteorite crater. Then take the Mereenie Loop Rd. through to Kings Canyon. From Kings Canyon on to Uluru Kata Tjuta.

From Uluru back along the Lassiter Highway to Curtin Springs, then approx. 11 kms past Curtin Springs take a right on to the Mulga Park Rd. Turn right at Mulga Park and head for the Stuart Highway.

Turn right at the Stuart Highway heading south, you can then do Coober Pedy & The Breakaways. Allow a full day for Coober Pedy & the Breakaways.

South from Coober Pedy, you can visit Woomera before heading south again to Port Augusta and on to Adelaide.

You may struggle to do all this in two weeks, if you do not think this is possible, then instead of going to Hamilton Station etc. continue up the Oodnadatta to Marla, and revert back to Stephen's route. You can still do Coober Pedy on your way home.

Macca.

Thanks everyone for your great advice. Will sit down with the map and work out which way and how much time we can spend at different locations. Really appreciate your help, make the planning of the trip a lot easier.
Cheers
Leanne