Trip thru the Centre

The roads are all really nice tar highways where you have mentioned. I did that trip a few years ago in a VW Passat sedan with my wife and we had a ball.
Cheers
Mike

At Yulara you have really no option but their camp ground. It was OK. We stayed three nights.

Kings Canyon resort CP was nice, with a good view of the ranges at sunset from the camp. This resort has recently changed ownership. Dingoes a tad too friendly though.

Motherhen

We stayed at Kings Creek Station last year and can recommend it. It is about 36km from Kings Canyon. Very friendly and very interesting.

We stayed at Kings Creek Station last year and is was fantastic - we tried to stay away from the resorts to get a better experience of the area.Kings Creek Station is very interesting and is run by a family who are pioneers in the area and it is still run as a working station. At Yulara you have no choice but the campsites were big enough and if you lucky to get on the end of a row as we were with our tent you are out of the madding crowds. Have a great trip.

As has been said at Yulara you have very frew options.

When we stayed there a few years ago we had a terrible time. We were in a sight opposite where the coach tours camp and we got virtually no sleep. My son 12 at the time was horrified to come out of the shower and find women running through the gents, it would be different now but at the time he was very upset, and the toilets were filthy. I complained to the park management at the time but got no joy and ended up calling the Police who were helpful when they eventually got there at about 2am. I hope it has changed.

I would recommend that when you check in you have a good look at the site they put you on and at what is around it. If you are anywhere near the bus sites ask for something different. If a bus group comes in and sets up near you don't wait for them to get noisy make your concerns known to the park management and the driver and be prepared to call the cops early.

Like I say you don't have a lot of options out there Curtin Springs used to be popular but it is a bit away from the Rock etc and makes the sunrise viewing a very early start. But that might be easier than getting by on no sleep.

My 2c. We did very much enjoy looking around but the lack of sleep was real and definately took from our enjoyment of the area.

Duncs

Suggest you set aside a day to see the Desert Park in Alice, kids will love it. Explore as far as you can in both the east and West MacDonnell Ranges, there are plenty of gorges on or not far off the bitumen, and they are all different. The Telegraph repeater station is also good for seeing how life was like way back then.

Cheers,

Val.

All of what everyone else has said, plus a few more to consider. In Alice, if you are interested in the Art scene, The Araluan Centre is very good, especially if you are there during the Desert Mob, Araluen Art Prize or Beanie festival times. The Museum of Central Australia is on the Araluen site, as is the the Museum of Inland Aviation. The Cenral Australian museum is small but has some world class exhibits. Buyers come from all over the world for the opening of Desert Mob. We always took visitors up to Anzac Hill to watch a dawn. Everyone complained about getting up that early but everyone who did it thought it was a highlight of their trip. An incredible display of changing colour over the Macs, but get there while it is still dark and take a thermos.
I say this to every post asking advice on what to see on a trip north and I've had a few emails back thanking me for the next one. If going on to Darwin, put in some swimming goggles/underwater masks and have a look around under the water at Bitter Springs (a couple of km noth of Matarranka.
Again, if camping and going north of Alice, it's worth staying overnight at The Devil's Marbles and getting up early enough to watch the sunrise on the boulders.

i would recommend booking camp-site for the days that you are at Uluru just drop into kings creek station generally you will get a site their and its good fun. for alice if it is around camel cup time i would book ahead for their if you head further north wyecliffe well CP is good and close to devils marbles

have fun
cheers
David

Hi,

We were in Uluru and Darwin last year and blogs are posted under Member - Min NSW. There were two separate trips.

On that trip I was not impressed with Yulara, dirty toilets etc. but you have no option. As someone else said, you can have a bad time with bus groups so try to circumvent that when booking in.

We stayed at Kings Canyon Resort on another occasion and their allocation of camping sites was a debacle. After finding other people on the two sites we had been directed to (and those people were also told to be there after having had problems too) I went to the office yet again and insisted that someone come down and sort things out, which they did. We enjoyed our time there after that but in future I'd stay at the station, which I think is closer to the walk.

Don't miss the Kings Canyon walk under any circumstances, even little kids can do it if you leave plenty of time and take lots and lots of water. Everyone should carry at least some of their own water.

If you go further north spend a couple of days in Litchfield, the kids will love you for it. But be prepared for lots of people.

Everyone has their own opinions about Kakadu but we, including our grandchildren (girls 11 and 15) were mesmerised by it. Again, check out the blog.

I love outback Qld and if you have a chance don't miss Lawn Hill, a magnificent canyon oasis with swimming, canoeing and walks. Can be a bit rough getting in there so plan to spend at least three or four days.

In Alice spend a day in the Desert Park. There's something for everyone there.

Have a great time.

Min

cwynn, some great suggestions mentioned already.

IMHO I would suggest staying/visiting Woomera. Well worth it, espercially for the kids. Easy days drive from Port Augusta. Great C/P there BTW.

Don't stay at Ayers Rock, consider Curtain Springs Homestead/Roadhouse 80 ks east. Free camp if you don't want power, all facilities and fuels, and best of all your group can set up a group camp, campfire and all. Some wonderful yarns get spun around the bar in the roadhouse each evening as well. We loved it. The kids will love the resident emu, and everyone who stays there is there for the same reason.....no fly in tourists/crowds/prices.

In Alice don't miss the Desert Park.

You're gonna have a great trip.

Fred.

Thanks so much to all who replied - great advice and very helpful! Thank you all!

Might want to check out Old Ambalindum homestead about 130km east of Alice (Working cattle station), camping, 4wding, mountainbiking etc. A good place to stay - close to ruby gap, Arltunga, Trephina Gorge in the East Mac Ranges.