Hi Lenoir,
No probs...
We left from Melbourne, and the itinerary was as follows:
Renmark: 1 night
Flinders Ranges: (Wilpena Pound) 2 nights. We camped here, and it's a great campground - scenic and well spread out. We'd planned a couple of hikes here but rain saw an end to that... We did a bit of a tourist drive loop instead, involving Bunyeroo Valley, Brachina Gorge and Moralana Scenic Drives, via Parachilna. Beautiful places, and the Prairie Hotel at Parachilna does a great Emu Burger.
Port Augusta: 1 night (we'd originally planned 3 night in the Flinders Ranges then heading North up Oodnadatta Track, but the rain wasn't going anywhere and saw every dirt road to the North closed so we backtracked to Port Augusta.
Coober Pedy: 1 night - Definitely worth a stopover. Fascinating place, and I can recommend the Lookout Cave underground Hotel for an interesting place to stay, and there's a little Greek Taverna in the main street that does great food. I'd recommend taking a couple of hours to do a loop circuit through the moon plain and the Breakaways. We were at the Breakaways at sunset and were treated to simultaneous sunset and two rainbows as a storm had just rolled past.
Erldunda (cnr Stuart and Lasseter Highways): 1 night. We camped here - if you must camp or use a van park anywhere on the Stuart Highway (it can be hard to avoid), this would be my pick - it's looked after, plenty of space, and has all the facilities you'd need. Some of the ones we passed through truly are dumps.
Yulara: 3 nights. Uluru and Kata Tjuta - don't really need an explanation - I'd say allow a day for each if you want to do a couple of hikes. If you're in the mood to splurge, I'd highly recommend doing the Tali Wiru dinner - they take you out through the back of Yulara to a site they have an outdoor restaurant atop a sanddune with absolutely spectacular views of Uluru, Kata Tjuta and the setting sun. It's not cheap, but we were 2 of a total of 6 guests that night and it's hands down the best dining experience I've had.
Kings Creek Station: 1 night. We camped here - it's well set out and roomy, but facilities are simple/basic and nothing is cheap. $2.30/litre for unleaded seems pricey, you think. And then you pay $30 for a 6 pack of Tooheys beer... Kings Canyon Rim Walk is a must do.
Palm Valley (via Mereenie Loop Road from Kings Canyon): It's probably 2-3 hrs on dirt to Hermannsberg, then from there another 20km into Palm Valley - 4x4 only but fairly easy - a mix of gravel and sand until you get to the campground which is a doddle. After the campground you're mostly on rock, but it's easy going provided you pay attention. We'd been going to camp at Palm Valley but weren't that impressed by the campground, and we'd made good time and done a couple of walks by mid-afternoon so decided to head for Alice a day earlier than planned (it's only about 2 hrs). While in Palm Valley, definitely do the lookout walk as well as the gorge walk. Hermannsberg seemed a rough town. I'd avoid unless you need supplies.
Alice Springs: 3 nights. we had two days in Alice, one we drove out to the West Macdonnell Ranges and checked out the various gorges/etc. Try and time Simpsons Gap for around sunset and you'll probably be able to see the colony or rock wallabies that lives there. Given time, I'd also have liked to have been able to walk around Ormiston Pound. For me, other highlights in Alice were the Desert Park, Telegraph Station, and Flying Doctor museum.
Arckaringa: 1 night. From Alice, we tracked down the highway to Cadney Park roadhouse. Everything about Cadney Park is shit. Just get fuel and leave! From Cadney we turned onto the Painted Desert Rd, and stopped overnight at Arckaringa homestead. This is a great stopover, basic facilities set up on 28,000 km cattle station, and very welcoming hosts. The Painted Desert itself is spectacular - not dissimilar landscape to the Breakaways.
William Creek: 1 night. We went from Arckaringa to Oodnadatta, and stopped in at the Pink Roadhouse (as you do). We picked up one of their mudmaps and it was handy for a heads up on points of interest. I love the Oodnadatta Track - it really tells a story about how the inland was opened up - allow plenty of time so you can stop and look at things and take some detours. We stayed overnight at William Creek - basic campground but serves it's purpose, and the Hotel does a decent meal.
Farina: 1 night. Just South of Maree there's a ghost town called Farina - absolutely worth stopping in. You can see the efforts of a team of volunteers who are tirelessly working to restore the town on a budget of $50k/year, and there's a really great campground with hot showers (provided you stoke the fire). During busier periods, they fire up the old underground bakery from 1890 and turn out beautiful pies, bread, and cakes. Farina was an unexpected surprise.
Renmark: 1 night, then back to Melbourne
So that's the trip - I guess my some more general observations/etc:
Tyres: I ran mine at 27psi (hot temp) on the dirt. Dropping the pressures makes a phenomenal difference in reducing roughness and vibration on vehicle and occupants. Some would run lower pressures, but while my tyres (Bridgestone Duelers) are All Terrains, they aren't LT construction in the OEM size on the TH, so I was mindful of the risk of exposing the sidewalls to stones if I dropped too much pressure. 27 hot seemed fine, and I had zero issues and zero damage to tyres.
Roads: The dirt roads were generally pretty good - a few parts were muddy and badly chopped up after the rain, and there was the odd patch of corrugations, but keep your speeds around 80-85km/hr and you have a chance to avoid the bad patches, or at least hit them at safe speeds. Oodnadatta Track was overall the best condition, Mereenie Loop road a little more corrugated and quite stony - this is where I wished I'd had that gaffer tape on the wheel arch flares!
Traction: I ran mine in Snow mode on the dirt/gravel because it means there's always torque going to all 4 wheels, unlike Auto mode. Meant it was a little tidier in situations such as hitting corrugations on curves/etc
Fuel: The KL doesn't have a massive fuel tank. Top up every chance you get just in case the next place is out... We spent one very quiet day on the Stuart Highway when every Roadhouse for about 500km South of Alice was out of Diesel - so many stranded Grey Nomads! I felt that was just karma for the time we'd spend doing 85km/hr behind caravans in a 130 zone the week before... I did take a small 10lt Jerry can just in case, but never came close to needing it.
Firewood: If you're camping - plan your firewood - it can be hard to come by and in many places you'll either need to take it in or buy it somewhere.
Apps: There's an App called Wikicamps - my Grey Nomad parents got me onto this - it's a great resource for finding campsites all over the country that you might otherwise never know existed.
Wildlife: Emus everywhere, and they s-t-u-p-i-d! Give them a wide berth. Dingoes are plentiful above the dog fence, and cheeky. We had one chase the car for the smell of a Spam sandwich, and another that was a little too familiar at one campsite (perhaps cooking curry on the campfire was a bad idea!). Keep anything that smells like food in the car when camping...
Cold: Probably less of an issue at Easter, but if you're camping, it gets cold in winter overnight! Sleeping bag, thermals, 2 doonas, thick socks and gloves and beany became the minimum each night for us. More would have been nice!
Hmm. I've rambled on a bit now. Hopefully you'll find some of that useful. All in all we had a blast and it gave me the confidence in the vehicle to have wished I'd planned something a bit more challenging. Ahh well, next time...
KL dirt road tip
Jeepy
Ice Hawk
