NT in December/January ???

I have been up there from Melbourne three times in Dec.- Jan.You may be lucky as I was on one occasion and get some relatively mild weather making it possible to do a few walks.But mostly it is just plain stinking hot.,got close to 50o C one day and it warped the dash of my car,we decided to wimp out and stay at the Sheraton.Never even ventured outside,just sat and watched the boxing day test.

Hi James,
Spent last x-mas in darwin. Not that hot compaired to qld but nothing is open. We went as far down as Katherine and could see bugger all as half the joint closes for the wet season. Trying to find a motel or a restraunt in Katherine was imposible. They all close for two or three months. Wild stuff. Good to see during wet and again during dry as they are totaly different places. Great place to holiday.
Regards,
Camwill69

Thanks for the replies.

I guess one of my main concerns is what damage/melting the heat will do to the car.

For example, if I park in the sun for a few hours (I wont always be able to have shade!)...I dont want to come back and find the dash melted - especially as it's a new'ish car.

I figure I can always drink gallons of water...but just concernd about the car. Will only be travelling to Alice, and then the MacDonnell ranges.

thanks again.

Darwin and the Top End is completely different to Alice and Central Australia in terms of weather. Up north will be hot, humid and very wet. By comparison The Centre will be very hot and very dry. 9 times out of 10 it will be unenjoyable to a southerner but on the rare occasion the temps can drop to something more respectable.

Dunno, if you have nowhere else to go it might be somewhat of an adventure to see the place in a different season.

My son and d.i.l. did a quick 4 week trip from WA to the east, up the coast to Qld catching up on a few rellies and friends, then back through Alice, a few years ago in January in a Hilux, and didn't complain about the heat - but they probably spent the heat of the day in an air conditioned cab. They got to Uluru in a huge thunderstorm and downpour and everything was under water (er maybe except that rock).

i have lived in some pretty hot places over my time.
white cliffs nsw 19yrs. the pit lands sa 2yrs. alice 1 yr and never heard of cars
melting or dashes warping , just be sensible in what you do. cheers

Youll be ok but it would be best to plan your activities so you are out the door at the crack of dawn so you can hit the walk trails etc in the cool of the morning and find a place to stay cool in the arvo before poking about in the evening again. Dont worry about the vehichile they dont seem to mind the heat as long as the cooling system is OK

Hi James,

I live here and have done for over 6 years, never bent a dash but! YMMV, must've been a Nissan.

The Xmas period will be very quiet nearly everyone goes for hol's or to visit relo's.

A few of the restaurants will close ansd those open close early (beware unless you like truckstop pies) but plenty of accom.

As for the heat it will be around 42' by the bureau, add 5 for anybody that doesn't live in a white shaded box 1m off the ground.

It will most likely be v. v. humid as this is when we get most of our rain (think of a thrunderstorm in a sauna), And by the way evaporative airconditioners do not work. When we 1st arrived we where stranded in Alice for 3 weeks waiting for the Western Rivers to go down but the Stuart Hwy was cut Nth and Sth for @ 2weeks.

Last Xmas it was fairly dry though and it is pretty much droughtish now so luck of the coin.

I would chance it and follow the best advice so far, do stuff early or late in the day, it won't get fully dark until after 8.30ish.

Your main hassle will be fly's, bring a fly net, eat in the dark or indoors.

I love this time of year because of the heaps of dry or wet lightning storms, seeing the desert come alive, greens and ochres, rejuvenated people, full water holes, warm nights counting satellites, exciting river crossings and waterfalls.

See you around.

Hi James

We've been to the Alice Springs area several times over christmas/early January for exactly the same reason you're contemplating it.

The key to relative comfort is to plan the day. We always did any walks etc early in the morning or late in the day and did our travelling from place to place during the middle of the day in airconditioned comfort.

At times when this was not appropriate we just spent the day at a waterhole reading a book and going for a frequent dip. Heaven on earth.

The biggest plus you'll find is that the place is not crawling with tourist, so often you'll have the place to yourself. (Be sure to visit the East Macs)

Given the choice between a bit of heat and swarms of tourists i'd take the heat anyday. Nothing beats the taste of the first cold beer after a hot day as you sit under a tree watching the shadows get longer.

Enjoy

Yes it will be hot but it depends if you like heat or not how you will cope, I camp all the year round up here but you need to pick your spots ( not usually a lot of choices when it comes to water holes!).
As for your car, it wont effect it, put one of those sun shields on your window.
Don't be surprised if it gets very humid too our weather is getting more and more tropical every year, not a dry heat like it was 15 or so years ago.!
Obviously take lots water and drink it, don't become a causality like so many tourists that time of year.
Basically if you don't mind heat and have somewhere to get out of it you will be fine.
Cheers

Thanks to everyone who replied - I appreciate the help and advice.

James