24 February 2013 / leggypeggy

Another road trip—Canberra to the Red Centre

Australia, Ayers Rock, Kata Tjuta, Lake Benanee, New South Wales, Northern Territory, The Olgos, Uluru

Me, Sherry and Poor John at the Red Centre ‘entrance’, Northern Territory

Sherry, a childhood friend from the USA, is visiting Australia for the first-time, so has given Poor John and me a good excuse to load the Subaru with camping gear and water, and head to the Red Centre.

This isn’t just a jaunt. Uluru and Kata Tjuta (which some know better as Ayers Rock and the Olgas) are almost 3000 kilometres from Canberra. We were last there in December 2011, when we travelled overland from London to Sydney.

A lot of people would blanche at the thought of driving 3000 kilometres—especially when about two-thirds of the journey being through scrubby desert—but we are about to make it in three-and-a-half days, with no day being ridiculously long.

So far we’ve had three great camps. Australia has vast expanses of flat, tent-friendly land. Even better, the country is dotted with rest stops and roadhouses that often have space for campers. Plus, we have a great book—Budget Camps and Stops by Paul Smedley—that rates each place and gives full details.

Sunset at Lake Bananee

The first night we camped near Lake Benanee (which I had never heard of) and were treated to a spectacular sunset. Our second night was at the famous Spuds Roadhouse near Woomera in South Australia (I’ll tell you more about Woomera later). Camping was free and a hot shower was only $2. There was a sign reminding campers to make a donation towards electricity in general, so we chipped in another $1 each. Last night we stayed at Fly Central. Actually we were at the border between South Australia and the Northern Territory—where the flies of the nation gather from dawn to dusk to torment travellers. At least they don’t bite—the flies I mean, not sure about other travellers.

We’ve been here long enough to become a bit philosophical about the flies, but Sherry considers them to be a form of extreme torture. That said, she is getting adept at the Australian salute—the act of waving flies away from one’s face.

Stay tuned for our visits to Uluru, Kata Tjuta and, if time permits, we’ll get to Kings Canyon too. By the way, years ago Australia eliminated all the apostrophes from place names, which explains why there isn’t one in Kings.