Caravaning to Darwin - any help planning?

Beware of the NT. If you are travelling on the Stuart Hwy you are not allowed to park in lay-byes. Trucks only. Stopping places for caravans are far and few between and then they are usually at service stations where you have to pay. I like camping but I would never go to the NT again. They gave me the impression that they don't like caravaners

Hi Nenie

First of all congrats on your first post , this is an excellent site for all sorts of reasons so don't be scared to ask anything , you will get the occasional smart ass remark but don't let that put you off.....anyway , i have several free camping guides , but the best by far would have to be Camps Australia Wide 3...available in the shop on this site , we hardly even bother to use any of the others we have and at i think about $46 bucks you cant go wrong , the money you save with free camping soon makes up for the original purchase price of the book......hope i have been of some help .....cheers and happy and safe travelling ..........Dave

Hi Nenie - keep a lookout for our 'convoy' of three 4wd and vans from Qld - leaving 17 June 07 - Darwin then Gibb River. EO sticker on White patrol............Keith

Nenie,

To try and give you some ideas.

Why anybody would want to live in Coober Pedy I will never know. But you must stop and have a look around. We stayed in underground accommodation and it was great. Very friendly and soooooo quiet. Best nights sleep I had on the entire trip.

I recommend a stop at Cadney Homestead. Whether it be overnight or just for lunch etc it is really worth a look in. By far it was the best roadhouse we have stopped at on any trip. It had a really nice feel to it, very clean and well maintained and while we didn't camp there the grounds looked just as good. Food was better than average too.

On the negative side. I will never stay at Yulara Camp Ground again. We got lousy service the amentities were dirty and ran out of basic supplies like toilet paper. The coach groups in the park partied all night (3 nights in a row) and when we complained about the noise we were ignored. Nasty letters to NT Minister for tourism and park management did get us a refund of our money but we were still 3 nights short of sleep which severly impacted on our enjoyment of the next few days of our trip.

Finally, not sure which way you are coming out of the Central Coast but if you are heading through Broken Hill give yourself a few days here. There is far more to the town than you might think. Art galleries are not everyone's cup of tea but you should visit one or two. The mining history at the Geo Centre and at the Line of Load is a must, as is a look underground at either Delprats or Daydream mine, or both. They are very different. And for a laugh go to Silverton and take the test.

Duncs

Good on your first post.

Just some thoughts.

Have done the Alice trip a couple of times from Brisbane.
Usually take 5 weeks and about 8,000 to 9,000k, since there is so much to see.

Have not been to northern NT yet, next year.

So thinking if you have 4 to 5 weeks, trying to see all of the NT may mean a rushed trip. Maybe just north or central NT? Just an idea.

We find it takes a bout 4 to 5 days to get to the Alice. We usually go via the Plenty. You may find it quicker via the southern route. Really you only have two choices don't you, north or south, unless you want to do the Simpson as well?

So out of 5 weeks, we had just over 3 weeks around Alice, about 2 weeks west including Uluru, and week east heading back past Chambers Pillar to Alice and a couple of days around Alice.

Wondering if you also plan to head to Darwin and adjacent area you might be doing a lot of miles, to be limited in time as to what you can see.

Wish we had more time too. Thems the breaks, at least we have seen more than many of our friends who just dream.