sydney to ayers rock christmas time ,4wd

Most of the walks and climbs are closed on hot days, so i think you'd find most unavailable. You can see the good places we went in MyBlog - check out 2008 trip Blog, but i think your timing will be wrong for that region.

Motherhen

Simple answer

DON'T

Unless you really need to travel in that region at that time it is best avoided.

Do the trip in spring autumn or winter and you will have a great and memorable trip.

Do it in mid summer and it will be memorable for all the wrong reasons.

It is a bitumen road to the rock so a 2WD can get there with no problems it is just the mind numbing scorching heat makes doing anything during the daytime almost impossible and very unpleasant.


I can recall a summer trip out west some years ago when the passenger in the company commodore told me "The air conditioning is not working ! It is sooo hot in the car I am sweating " they opened the window to a blast furnace 60oC + of dust dry baking wind.

They quickly closed the window and stopped complaining about the air con not working.

ok well maybe leave that 4 next easter hols then , what about fraser island round christmas ?? this was our 2nd option.

i have been round island before on a 7-10 day holiday when i was bout 13-14 with family .

might re post frazer trip holiday

thx 4 replies

I did it in january 2006 and the temperature at 8:30pm while viewing the sunset at the rock was 46 degrees (celsius in case you are from elsewhere, about 115F) . The walks were mostly all open but very hard work in the heat. You need to carry a lot of water.
Driving straight there on the tar (which is the shortest way) is probably about 27hrs driving time, split that up into chunks you are comfortable with. It's tar all the way and a great road with great scenery if you like desert landscapes.
Like others have said, the outback is better experienced during the cooler months but its still good in my opinion. Some of life's more extreme experiences are the ones that stick.

Cheers,
Mike

From Sydney to the Rock can be done on bitumen all the way. Depending on how long you travel each day and the speed you drive it would take 3 to 6 days to get there. But why would you want to go in the middle of summer - when flies heat and dust will be the order of the day? It will be too hot to enjoy both getting there and being there.

As others have said, best to go in the cooler months when you can enjoy being without your aircon and be out of the vehicle to see and do the things that the area is renowned for.

If you go in the cooler months there are many alternative ways to get there and places to see eg Oodnadatta Track, Painted Desert, Chambers Pillar, Finke Gorge, Palm valley, east and west Macdonnell Ranges and many more. Some of those places may require some 4WDing.

But going to those places in summer when there wont be too many other travellers about could be potentially dangerous particularly if you are on your own and inexperienced as you seem to be. Suggest doing some searching of this site (look under the treks and places buttons in the blue bar across the top of the page) and plan a trip in the cooler months, allowing enough time to see at least some of the many great places out there.

Cheers,

Val

Gidday

It can be done without a doubt, but I wonder why you would want to do it at that time of the year.

The flies will drive you bloody mad and the heat is oppressive if you’re not acclimatised to the conditions.

Stay at home until the tourist season from April to October.

Are there any 4wd conditions? Yes, steppimg out of an air conditioned car to have a pee....

LOL

Regards

Kim

thx again 4 all the replies , you guys really know your stuff !! i must admit tho i am being a little lazy lol kinda like coming on here posting better than google a bit more interactive ;)

so where gunna can the red centre 4 now and prob go with frazer (our 2nd choice) i have re posted this and a post about a manifold on a 97 hilux feel free to check these out and leave a note or 2 4 me

thx 4 reading ;)

We went through Ayers Rock two days before last Christmas.
It was a bit of an unusual season, with the remnants of the cyclone hitting the same time, but in the week before and after, travelling through the Outback Way, it was nut as bad as the doomsayers said.
It was hot, but we didn't melt.
We had one uncomfortable night in a CT that we used a small fan up to 11:00 pm, but that was all.
We didn't have much of a choice. It was go then or not at all.
Flies were not severe, and the car did not overheat.
I'll to a Rudd now:
Was it hot? Yes, but not too bad.
Was there many flies? Not as many as Birdsville.
Was the rock climbs cancelled? Yes, but because of the wet rock.
Would we do it again in the heat? Yes, if the alternate was not to see it.
Would we recommend it? Depends on your circumstances and resilience to high temperatures, but the lower number of tourists were a bonus.

Sure, the higher temperatures are not ideal, but the lower humidity made it bearable.
If it was possible, I would suggest not making final decisions until the weather was more predictable closer to travelling time, which can mean planning two trips at the same time. Then, if it looks like a stinker season, go to a cooler destination.
Cheers