During the Easter school holidays in 2019 we along with some others from our local 4wd club did a trip to Uluru via Coober Pedy and back through painted desert and along the Oodnadatta track in 10 days.
The first afternoon was just a short 2 hour run up to Horsham where we stayed on a property owned by a friend of one of the club members. from there on day 2 it was a big drive from Horsham to Lochial in South Australia. The day was broken up with regular stops for toilet breaks and to let the kids stretch their legs. On this trip we had both our boys, one 4 and the other 6 months old at the time. One of the other family’s on the trip also had a 3 year old and a baby as well so in addition to the usual stops there was of course from time to time the emergency nappy change stop.
In Lochiel we camped out the back of the community hall which offers free camping and is directly across from the mostly dry salt lake. There are toilets there but no showers.
Lake Bumbunga, Lochiel 
sunset from our camp
Day 3 saw us off early again and stopping in Port Augusta for lunch and to resupply on fresh food as fresh fruit and Veg are not allowed to be brought from Victoria into south australia. after that it was a straight run up to Coober Pedy for the night. The scenery changes quite a lot as you head north and it is easy to see why this area is such a hard place to live. Very dry and rocky ground that stretches on for mile after mile.
On arrival at the caravan park it we discovered that when the booking for our group was made the staff misunderstood when they were told we had 8 vehicles 5 with campers. We were booked into an area designed for those small 2 person camper vans not large camper trailers. As the caravan park was fully booked we just had to make it work which we did (good thing we were all friends). Due to problems with thefts, the caravan park is fully fenced and the gates are locked at night to stop people coming in and taking campers stuff.
We spent the next morning exploring Coober Pedy, checking out the main street and the museum. While there is a lot to see in Coober Pedy we were happy with what we saw just up and down the main street. If you are really into gemstones or prospecting you could probably spend weeks here.
After an early lunch we all posed for the compulsory photo in front of the sign and headed north again, stopping at Cadney homestead for fuel and to book a table for the group on our way back before crossing into the Northern territory and to Erldunda roadhouse for our last stop before reaching Uluru.
Erldunda Roadhouse is a great place to say for the night with basic but good quality facilities, an emu & Kangaroo enclosure next to the caravan park and a great raised sunset viewing area (get there early for a good position). The kids had a ball looking at the Emu’s and kangaroos in the late afternoon.
Day 5 and we were all excited to get going this morning and for the whole way from Erldunda to Yulara, we were all excitedly looking out the windows for that 1st glimpse of Uluru. as it is only about 250km from the intersection of the Stuart Hwy at Erldunda to Yulara we arrived in time for a late lunch and after setting up, did some exploring of the resort.
Ayers Rock resort is a large complex with everything from camping to 5 star resort facilities. As we were there during the Easter school holidays it was very busy and we were in the overflow camping area. This was actually better for us as a group as it is one large open area and allowed us to all set up together.
The 1st night at Yulara we did the Field of lights tour. This was a light installation done by an artist made of hundreds of thousands of LED lights. It was nice to see but dont think I would recommend personally as it was quite expensive. It was also a shame I couldn’t get any good photos as no tripods were aloud so most of the pics are fairly blurry.
The next morning I did a sunrise Segway tour around Uluru which was so much fun. It started with some breakfast by the rock of coffee, muffins and cereal. Then some Segway riding training before we were off on a guided trip all the way around Uluru. It was a great tour, the guide was excellent and I only almost fell off once. Not the cheapest activity but well worth it for me.
After returning to our camp late morning and having lunch, it was back to Uluru with the whole family for some more exploring. With a 4 year old and a 6 month old we didn’t go all the way around but explored some of the areas near where the climb route was (Climbing the rock is now prohibited), and found some small cave areas and a nice walk in the shade of the rock.
The next morning it was the wife’s turn to go and do the Segway tour while I stayed back and entertained the kids. WSe explored the resort, found the playground for a play (very important!!!) until lunch time.
After lunch all 4 of us headed to Kata Juta ( the Olgas) for the afternoon to explore. There are some great walks in the area, some long and some short. With the small kids we only did one of the shorter ones but that was still a great time heading in between the massive rocks to a lookout ares. Our 4 year old particularly had a great time running up and down the path, over the rocks and bridges.
After spending a few hours there exploring, we headed back to the Uluru Viewing point for sunset before arriving back at camp for dinner and an early night after another big day of exploring.
Sadly the next morning it was time to pack up and slowly start heading homeward, so after a final quick goodbye to the rock we were on our way back towards the Stuart Hwy and then down to Cadney Homestead for the night. The facilities at Cadney homestead are clean and in good condition, however unfortunately the service left a lot to be desired. Our booking that we made on the way up was quite a large one as it was for everyone in the club that was on the trip and the restaurant forgot about it and we were told we would just have to wait when the error was identified. We were eventually able to place our orders but when the food did arrive, most of the meals were missing parts, such as the burgers did not have half the things listed on the menu. When we questioned this we were simply told they had run out of some of the ingredients. Now I do understand that we are in a remote area and that it is a lot harder to get things, especially fresh produce at times. The thing that really upset us and the rest of the group was that nothing was mentioned when we ordered, and no apology was given, the only response we got was that’s all we have. My recommendation if travelling through this area would be to stop at one of the other roadhouses north or south of here for far better service.
Day 9 and it was onto the dirt and across the painted desert before reaching Oodnadatta for an Oodna burger for lunch. This is a nice section of track, rocky but not to rough. We only had 1 flat tyre in the group which was caused by not screwing the valve back in fully when lowering the tyre pressures.
Somewhere along the track I had managed to rip the anderson plug off the back of the car and needed to get a new on in Oodnadatta so the camper would charge. Lets just say you definitely pay a premium out here for parts.
We continued down the Oodnadatta track stopping a couple of times at different sites like an old railway bridge on the original Ghan railway route before finding a place to camp off the side of the track. It was surprisingly soft off to the sides and some of us almost got bogged (almost).
The Track was in very good condition when we travelled through, but just watch out for crazies on the track. (those people that feel the need to fly past your at high speed even though you can not see clearly ahead). One thing we did notice was that a lot of the road trains will drive down the road often on the wrong side so that the huge amount of dust they kick up blows away from the track not across it. They are also on the radio making sure others are aware of this. We also saw a couple of people riding their push bikes down the track.(not my idea of fun but each to their own).
It was a beautiful clear night around the fire on the side of the track with some great company.
Day 10 and the 2nd last day of the trip. From our camp we headed back down the track and into Maree for morning tea and a look around. Maree is an interesting place with lots of history. Old trains to look at, Tom Cruise’s postie truck (no not the actor) and the lake eyre sailing club. From there it was down to Farina, another historic place now deserted. The beautiful old buildings are slowly being restored and for a few weeks a year June-July the community group actually open the old bakery and sell bread and other items. Unfortunately we were not there at the right time to buy some.
We pumped the tyres back up at Farina and it was back on to the bitumen for the run to Burra for our last lights stay at the recreation reserve. Good spot to stay with hot showers and toilets for quite a small fee. That night we went to the pub with one of the other couples for dinner and a drink as we didnt feel like cooking on the last night.
An early start on the last day as it was A big drive home from Burra and after packing and then unpacking and repacking the camper (someone couldn’t find the car keys!!!) we were off.
It was a quick but wonderful trip with some good friend and showed us how much is really out there in these remote areas of Australia. Can’t wait to go back and spend more time exploring this area.
A Love of Adventures 