Camper-Van Life in Australia, Week #2

5500 Kilometres so far,

SA & NT,

4 showers,

Too many flies, too many cows, a kangaroo, a few emus, a camel and a lot of big bugs,

A special thanks to the spiders for joining me in my third shower!

 

This is a weekly update of our road-trip across Australia.  Click here to read Week #1.

We finally made it to the Outback!  Since I arrived in Australia, I was dreaming of this; clear skies, the red centre and Uluru.  Well, my friend, I wasn’t disappointed!

I was sat in my seat in the car half asleep, the sun was burning my skin and then, I had this feeling.  The road was beautiful.  It was the first time I had this feeling since the beginning of this road trip. The sky was immense.  Fact: It was surrounding me. Have you ever feel like the sky was trying to hug you? Well, that sky was simply trying to embrace me.  And it felt so good.  Clouds were perfectly thrown in the sky and the wind was blowing them away softly.

Damn, I missed that feeling of freedom, of immensity.

We admired a few spectacular natural scenes this week.

We stopped at Lake Hart, which was completely dry.  Then, we hit the Northern Territory border and it felt great!

And… I saw it first.  A far away purple-ish shadow.  They call it Uluru.  We call it Ayer’s Rock.  And it felt even better!

The road was long… but we made it to Tennant Creek, to Katherine… and finally, to Darwin.

We literally crossed all the climate zones… and we nearly died.  Okay, I exaggerate here. But, I say it out loud: it’s pretty hot and very humid up here!

Note: Fuel can be pretty expensive in the Outback! You should download the Fuel Map app as we came across one roadhouse selling fuel 0,50c a litre cheaper than anyone else on the same stretch of road in the middle of nowhere (suggestion by the Boyfriend).

 

Our itinerary

 

Day 8: Whyalla – Pimba

Day 9: Pimba – Northern Territory Border

Day 10: Northern Territory Border – Curtin Springs (Uluru)

Day 11: Curtin Springs – Tropic of Capricorn (Alice Springs)

Day 12: Tropic of Capricorn – Newcastle Waters

Day 13: Newcastle Waters – Bridge Creek

Day 14: Bridge Creek – Darwin

 

 

 

 

Our thoughts

Danny says:

Some of the roads never seemed to end! I definitely prefer the heat in Alice Springs over the humidity in Darwin! (Especially when trying to sleep in the camper, the cooler inland nights are very welcoming!)

Mel says:

Did I say how hot it is?  Our journey across the Outback was colourful and very changing.  It feels crazy to look at the map right now and realize how far we have driven.

 

 

Our best investments this week:

Our Fly Nets

We bought them in a roadhouse and surprisingly they were cheap ($5).  If you wonder why, let me tell you that you need to embrace the flies if you don’t want to become impatient.  Good luck mate!

Ice? Yes!

As we are now constantly dealing with the heat, we finally bought ice to keep our drinks super cool in the cooler and it’s worth it!  It melts very quickly, but as long as everything stays cool, we’ll be alright!

National Park

To get into Uluru National Park, you need to buy a ticket, which is $25 per adult.  We weren’t sure if we would be able to see Uluru properly without entering the park, but when we reached the entry, we realized it was still quite far.  We decided to get in and it was worth the money.  Getting closer to Uluru is very impressive.  Good news; the ticket is also good for three days.

You might also want to read Uluru: The Controversial Climb.

 

 

Our favorite spots:

• Lake Hart;
• Uluru;
• The Devil Marbles;
• Katherine Gorge National Park.

 

 

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BEFORE YOU GO TO AUSTRALIA

 

☑ Book your flight: If your flight isn’t booked yet – check out the flights on Skyscanner or via Google Flights. My top saving tip is flexibility. If you’re flexible, you should be able to find a cheaper flight.

☑ Book your accommodation: I always use Airbnb and Booking.com. If you’d rather stay in a hostel, you should take a look at the options on Hostelworld. If you click on the Airbnb link and you don’t have an account yet – you’ll get a $30 discount on your first booking.

☑ Protect your cute face: Oh, you may want to protect your cute face with a travel medical insurance. I would suggest SafetyWing as they offer the best rates, especially for long-term travelers. Otherwise, you can also take a look at World Nomads.

☑ Pack the essentials: You can consult this list when it’s time to pack your bag! Do not leave without a universal charger, a power bank and your passport!

☑  Do you need a visa? If you aren’t sure if you need a visa, it would be a smart idea to take a quick look before you go. You can use iVisa – it’s super useful and easy to use.

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