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Debbie
Ward has spent more than 15 years
as a journalist, several as Features
Editor of Travel Trade Gazette.
She now works freelance.
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On
The Road to Nowhere: Campervanning through Australia's outback
Travel Trade Gazzette
"There's a whole lot of nothing out there" people warned
me when I told them my plans to drive from Adelaide to Alice
Springs, but to me, that was the point.
I wanted to feel the vastness of Australia's interior and driving
through the Outback was the best way to do so.
I'd always wanted to tour Australia in what I called a 'Scooby
Doo campervan' and while the vehicle I hired from Britz may
not have been quite the flowery 'Mystery Machine' of the cartoon
series, it offered power steering, good visibility and comfy
seats.
After negotiating the Adelaide rush hour my partner and I spent
our first night in the wine region of Clare Valley, known for
its Riesling. We had a good pub meal and awoke to find parrots
in a tree above us. The bird life may have been more exotic
but the landscape reminded me of Surrey. The scenery started
to get more dramatic as we moved on to the Flinders Ranges.
Here we saw rugged peaks, pink and blue boulders and mind bogglingly
old geological formations but missed out on the yellow-footed
rock wallaby.
Perhaps it was just as well. En route to Flinders we had stopped
for the ubiquitous photo of a kangaroo warning road sign but
our excitement at seeing the first dozen of the real thing was
tempered when we clipped one just minutes from our campsite.
"It happens", the receptionist shrugged.
We certainly saw a depressing number of roadkill kangaroos on
our travels - some being eaten by up to eight wedge tailed eagles
at a time, an amazing sight.
From Flinders onwards things started getting dustier and landscapes
barer. We detoured off the Stuart Highway to drive a section
of the unsurfaced Oodnadatta Track which meant a slow pace and
swapping sides of the road to follow the least rutted parts.
The road runs close to the old route of the Ghan and passes
through small settlements which have seen even quieter times
since the railway line's relocation.
At Marree, where rusty Ghan engines remain on display, about
the only vegetation was in the Oasis campsite where the owner
was proudly nurturing a patch of grass with a sprinkler. Pubs
are the hub of such Outback hamlets and we spent a sociable
night in one at William Creek (population less than ten) which
claims to be the most remote in the world. The bar here is decorated
with the business cards, student IDs and signed underwear of
passing tourists.
Even without a night of good Aussie wine we slept well in our
campervan's surprisingly comfortable double bed which was made
by slotting the table top and other boards between the seats
and covering them with thick foam cushions.
A gas hob and grill, microwave, sink and fridge made self catering
easy, though the microwave, like our portable heater, required
us to be hooked up to a power point in a campsite.
What impressed me most about my first foray into campervaning
was being able to make egg on toast or a cup of a tea while
watching eagles circling, kangaroos hopping or wild camels grazing
in the middle of nowhere.
The famous mining town of Coober Pedy felt like the big smoke
after our small town excursions and we got back on the tourist
trail by taking a tour of the underground churches and homes.
Back on the Stuart Highway there were more tourists about and
cars now passed us about every five minutes instead of every
twenty. Our last overnight stop was Kulgera just over the Northern
Territory border where plans are afoot to create a golf course
by tearing up the "snake infested" grass in front of the police
station.
When we reached Alice Springs after a week on the road it was
a wrench to say goodbye to our campervan and head for a hotel.
Unlike those 'pesky kids' from Scooby Doo we may not have been
chased by ghosts or unmasked any crooks on our travels but we
did solve some mysteries. We learnt the yellow fruits on the
ground far from any tree were small melons sprung from seeds
imported on the clothes of Afghan camel trekers and that the
dead cattle lying just metres from a waterhole would have perished
when they became bogged down on muddy slopes in a rare bout
of rain. We even worked out how to use the microwave.
A few days after our adventure ended we spotted our campervan
in a car park, with someone else's Lonely Planet on the dashboard.
I couldn't help but give it a friendly pat.
Campervaning tips
Consider a 4 wheel drive. Hire companies don't allow regular
vehicles on unsealed roads and many places of interest even
just off the Stuart Highway are on this kind of track. (because
we drove our two-wheel drive on the Oodnadatta track our insurance
would have been invalid had we had an accident -so read terms
and conditions carefully!)
Plan your route and driving times in advance - Tourism Australia
or Britz's websites can help with itineraries. Distances in
Australia are vast and you don't want to spend the whole day
driving with no time to enjoy your surroundings. Ideally, book
a day longer than you think you'll need.
Try to travel into rather than out of Australia's centre, that
way the scenery gets more dramatic as you go.
Add an hour or two onto local estimates of driving times.
Plan where you'll spend each night and have a plan B in case
you don't get that far. If you end up in a lay-by, for safety,
chose one where there are other vehicles.
Parts of the Stuart Highway are straight and fairly featureless
so it can be hard to stay alert. Take frequent breaks and share
the driving.
Carry plenty of water and if you break down always stay with
your vehicle.
Top up your petrol at every major stop - you won't run out and
you'll save money as it gets more expensive towards Australia's
centre. Also, you'll use less of the 'dirty' petrol towards
the bottom of the tank.
Try to avoid driving at or after dusk or early in the morning,
when animals are most active.
Take care overtaking roadtrains, they can be the length of four
tankers, and fast.
Touring in winter means pleasant daytime temperatures and fewer
flies but cold nights (hire a fan heater) and shorter days.
Kids will love campervaning but remember it's a confined space
for cooking and in winter they may not be able to play outside
in the evenings.
Don't bank on being able to replenish your self-catering supplies
in remote areas. Some shops only get a delivery every two weeks.
The water available at some Outback campsites is quite saline
so you'll want to supplement your tank load with bottled water
for drinking and cooking.
Australia's centre is very dusty. Contact lens wearers should
take glasses as backup.
To save time, check in advance where you can get your gas bottles
topped up before you return your campervan.
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