This morning I woke up and looked through my insta. stories. One that really took me back was our road trip to Uluru and I thought it was about time we write about what an epic trip it was!
After a week in Adelaide we were ready for our final adventure in Barker, and what a finale it was! On Friday 28 September, 5.30pm we headed to Mawson Lakes to pick up our fellow travel buddy Will. He opted to take the uncomfy middle seat in Barker for the entire trip (as much as I offered to keep swapping he was having none of it) – thanks for saving my butt Will!
After a cheeky Maccas stop on the way for tea we reached Mambray Creek rest area after 3 hours on the road and met up with our other travel buddies – The Arthurs! There caravan was a tad more advanced than ours, with a TV, toilet, fridge, all of which we put into very good use throughout out road trip in the outback. Will pitched up his tent in between our vans for the night, you know… for protection.
We were all up bright and early the next morning and hit the road, Glendambo bound! It was so hot, we saw a lot of dirt and our bums were getting a little numb. Luckily we played a few games to keep us entertained including the ABC game (only the cool kids know how to play that one). We had 2-way radios on us so we could speak to the Arthur’s along the way. Phones were completely useless out there as I don’t reckon I had any signal after leaving Adelaide until we arrived in the Uluru resort 4 days later! “Howdy, Howdy Lets Get Rowdy!” was just one of Wills greetings on the radio which got funnier by the day.
We arrived in Glendambo just in time to catch the AFL final. It was great to watch the West Coast Eagles take home the win, sipping on a beer in the local bar. We made an epic campfire that night, cooked up some hot dogs, watched the girls do a treasure hunt and played a few games. It was a nice campsite, a rare chance for us to have a shower and use the facilities so we made the most of it.
“Ring a ding ding, you’ve got the King!” The following day was a big driving day. For Tom that is, Will and I simply did our best to keep him entertained with more ABC games in between me squeezing in a nap here and there. It was roughly 500kms to Marla from Glendambo where we decided to set up camp that night. It was a rest area on the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere. Barely a soul in sight, just dirt as far as the eye could see. When the sun went down, the Arthur’s set up there outdoor TV and we all sat and watched the Greatest Showman under the stars. What a great movie!
Even though we were waking up in a different location each morning, there was one very annoying common denominator that seemed to follow us. FLIES. Of course you would expect it in the middle of the outback, in 30 degree + heat. But man they were annoying. The constant swatting them off our pancakes and making sure they don’t land in your drink or on your face was irritating. It was time to hit the road again – Uluru bound!
After a total of 1,576kms from Adelaide, that’s over 16 hours on the road, we crossed over the Northern Territory/ South Australian border and later arrived at the Uluru resort. It took me by surprise at first. We hadn’t seen barely anyone in days and suddenly I was standing in a queue at the check in desk among lots of tourists. It shouldn’t of been a surprise as we were booked into the overflow camping area, giving us a clue it was going to be busy. It was school holidays after all. But once we drove to the very back of the campsite, chose a nice spot to camp up, we felt completely relaxed and excited to finally be here! We headed out for a walk to the nearby shops to grab an ice lolly, glass of vino and a bit to eat in a cool bar.
Uluru, otherwise known as Ayres Rock or ‘The big rock’ was located about 25kms away from the resort in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. We found a viewing platform at the resort to see it as the sun was coming down. It didn’t look real. A massive sandstone monolith in the heart of the Northern Territory’s arid “Red Center”. I was so excited to see it up close the following day.
We paid $25 each to enter the park as much as we liked over the next 2 days. With the view of the rock getting all the more closer and impressive we headed straight to the cultural centre to learn more about the rock, how it was sacred to the aboriginal people who believe it is the home of an abundance of spirits of those traditional owners of the land. It was highlighted everywhere that the rock should not be climbed as a sign of respect, nor should any part of the rock be taken away otherwise they would be cursed and suffer misfortune in the future. An interesting story was shared about people who had taken such pieces of rock away and later tried to mail the pieces back as an attempt to remove such curses.
We decided not to climb, nor take any part of the rock away with us as souvenirs. We simply walked around it, admired the structures, colour changes and aboriginal art that was painted in some of the caves. Hundreds of people still chose to climb it, ignoring the ‘do not climb’ signs everywhere, who looked like a trail of ants all the way up the side of the rock from a distance. It really was an incredible, unbelievable sight.
We checked out the Kata Tjuta – The Olagas that afternoon which were another 20kms from Uluru. It was particularly hot at that time of the day but we couldn’t help take a walk through the gorges. Like Uluru, it looked incredible, constantly changing colours in the sunlight. The Olagas might not be as well known as Uluru, but they certainly aren’t to be missed!
Back towards Uluru we parked up at the sunset viewing area where Tom set up his phone for a Time lapse video. It was amazing to see so many people park up, pop open a few drinks and simply enjoy the view. Not often do you find yourself staring at a big rock for hours at a time, but this rock was certainly worth it.
After ticking off the Uluru sunset on our bucket lists, we decided we must see it at sunrise too, we have come all this way after all and must see it in all its glory! Whilst not as spectacular (with the sunrise viewing platform being at a different location on the other side of the rock), we joined at least a hundred others at 6am to watch the rock turn from brown to all shades of red in the rising sunlight. That topped off our Uluru experience very nicely!
We started our journey back home later that morning. We were told a large section of the Uluru highway was closed due to missile testing after 3pm that day. This meant we couldn’t get to the camp spot we had intended in time and therefore ended up back at Marla. It was another great night in the outback. A really funny one too but I can’t remember exactly why. Red wine was involved, conversations were had about a lot of random stuff and I just remember laughing, belly laughing, A LOT. We even turned all the lights out, sat there in darkness for hours looking up at the sky. I’ve never seen so many stars, let alone shooting stars! It was amazing to share such nights with our friends
After more pancakes in the morning and a game of ‘kids vs. parents’ we drove to Agnes Creek rest area which was approx. 85kms away. The outdoor cinema was set up again that night and we watched The Descendants – an interesting movie.
Up bright an early again, we drove through the ‘missile zone’ first thing in the morning and took a lunch stop in Coober Pedy. We checked out the opal museum and found a questionable bakery just off the main high street. Whilst the boys grabbed a couple of pastries, I opted for a takeaway salad at the servo and off we went to our next destination – Lake Hart. We were camped up beside an incredible salt lake which looked like a huge ice rink. It was a great opportunity for the boys to fly their drones and do a fun photo shoot with our personal photographer/ creative director: Wilburrrrr.
Dilema Dilema, this is Gemma! I finally spoke on the radio. This was shortly after Tom had fallen off some bollards and cut his elbows and legs on the ground. Unlucky for Tom, everyone got to witness his fall and I’ve never seen Ann-Marie laugh so hard. Silly Thom. We patched him up and off we went towards our final stop in Mount Remarkable. We camped at the Kookaburra campsite right in the heart of the National Park where we were joined by some more of the Arthur’s family and friends. We made a big campfire that night where Tom and I tried our first Damper on the fire. YUM. A beautiful night with food, wine and storytelling made it a perfect end to the trip.
To say this road trip was great would be a total understatement. Not only did we get to see the true Australian Outback, but we got to experience it all with some amazing friends who love travel just as much as we do. It has simply been the most perfect ending to 6 months on the road. #vanlife may not be for everyone, but I can wholeheartedly say, it was the best decision we have ever made.
Gemma x