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Hi all,
Been back a couple of weeks so I thought I had better put up a bit of a writeup of my trip to the center last month to catch up with my parents who have been on the road for 4.5 years.
We left Cairns on the 6th of September and headed out to Alice Springs via Charters Towers, Richmond, Mt Isa and the Barkley Homestead.
On the way we had a look at the Dinosaur exhibits in Hughenden and Richmond. The boys really enjoyed this stop.
Set up at Mt Isa
Crossing the QLD/NT Border
Some of the country side just after the border
Hariana preparing dinner at Barkly Homestead
Sent a day in Alice Springs restocking the fridge and freezer, which meant I had to go looking for a power point to keep them running ;-)
The next day headed out to Curtin Springs to meet up with my Parents, who have been on the road for 4 and a half years.
Mt Conner
Back from collecting some fire wood
Heating up some marshmellows on the fire
Moved into the Ayres Rock Campground the next morning.
Our first glimpse of the "BIG RED ROCK"
We had stopped next to a sand hill to take the previous shot and there were lots of animal tracks so we had to investigate
After setting up at the Ayres Rock Campground, the weather was starting to get ugly and the climb was closed so went in to check out the cultural center, and walked from there to the base of the climb.
There is a small lookout on top of a sand dune at the campground to view the sunset. Hariana managed to get a couple of good shots.
Us set up next to mum and dad at the campground
Next morning the weather was perfect and the climb was open so head back in. My wife was determined to do the climb, and my parents had a go as well. So I stayed at the bottom with our 4yr old. Our eldest, 6, was keen to do the climb, but nerves do the better of him and he only go as far as the top of the rocks at the bottom of the climb and stayed there with his grandmother. Dad made it half-way up the second steep section before calling it quits. My wife went all the way to the trig station at the top.
The olgas from uluru
The marker on top
Once Hariana returned we headed out to the Olgas for lunch.
Taken from the picnic area at the olgas.
We just did the short walk at the olgas, but that was enough for the boys
The colors of the rock were amazing
Next morning we packed up and headed up to Kings Canyon. We stopped at Kings Creek Station on the way to experience a camel ride.
Hariana and Adam
Me and Ryan
We stopped in at a gorge before Kings Canyon (I can't remember the name of it right now). There was a nice water hole at the end and we also saw a native bees nest.
Then headed in to the Kings Canyon Resort, where we were joined by a couple of coach loads of teenagers from Victora.
Next morning headed back to Kings Canyon and did the Rim Walk. Very spectacular. I prefer it over Ayres Rock and the Olgas.
This is when travelling with little boys is easier then travelling with little girls
After lunch we headed back into the campground and relaxed, and discussed which way to go next. Dad was keen to go around the loop road to Hermansberg, and after talking to some people this became the plan.
So the next morning we packed up and headed up the dirt.
Rather than going into Hermansberg, we decided to camp at Redbank Gorge.
The dust sealing on the camper was excellent. The only dust that got in was when I slid open the kitchen and the dust that had collected on top to the seal fell in.
The Dune colour certainly hides the dust very well
From Redbank Gorge we headed back into Alice and spent a couple of days looking at the Desert Park, the School of the Air and the Transport Hall of Fame.
Dad's rig
Us
At the Truck Hall of Fame
After the loop road, my parents need to get some minor work done on the van, but we need to be back in Cairns so we left them in Alice and headed home. Before we left them, my boys decided that they want to "entertain" us and put on a puppet show, using the fridge in the camper as their stage.
The trip home was via Barkley Homestead, Cloncurry, and Normanton. After 14 days in NT we crossed back into QLD.
We had a big storm hit in the 'curry and wife decided that she had had enough of camping and wanted to head straight for Townsville, whereas I wanted to head home a different way. So we tossed a coin and headed up to Normanton.
After setting up the trailer in Normanton, we headed up to Karumba and spent and hour or so on the beach.
We had thought about spending the night in Georgetown on the way home, but decided that if we left Normanton early enough we could get home at a reasonable hour. So we were up at 5:30, bundled by boys into the car to watch a movie while we packed the trailer and left Normanton by 6:15.
My wife is not a huge fan of either the range roads heading directly into Cairns (Gilles and Kuranda) so we went home via the Palmerston. As we pass thru Milla Milla we stopped at a lookout and the contrast to the dry interior was stark.
We finally made it home at around 6:30 pm.
In all we travelled approx 6400 kms in 19 days. Average fuel consumption was 14.5 l/100 km. Best was 13.1 from Mt Isa to Tennant Ck with a tail wind. Worst was 15.7 from Tennant Ck to Alice Springs (headwind and in a hurry). We generally travelled at 90-95 km/hr and had no problems with Road-Trains.
The Prado and Camper were a great combination. The only casualties to the vehicles were the flap on the trailer plug, which snapped off when we were leaving the Alice and the cover for the hole in rear bumber where I access the filler for the water tank. It didn't even leave Cairns. Cost me around 12 each to replace.
Below are some pictures of the DVD setup for the rear set passangers. Not as flash as some but I don't like to leave it in the car when we just do short trips.
The only thing I would change before doing it again is ditch the extended towball mount and get a shorter one. In the longer term I think the longer one puts too much strain on the back of the car.
Cheers,
Kevin
Been back a couple of weeks so I thought I had better put up a bit of a writeup of my trip to the center last month to catch up with my parents who have been on the road for 4.5 years.
We left Cairns on the 6th of September and headed out to Alice Springs via Charters Towers, Richmond, Mt Isa and the Barkley Homestead.
On the way we had a look at the Dinosaur exhibits in Hughenden and Richmond. The boys really enjoyed this stop.
Set up at Mt Isa
Crossing the QLD/NT Border
Some of the country side just after the border
Hariana preparing dinner at Barkly Homestead
Sent a day in Alice Springs restocking the fridge and freezer, which meant I had to go looking for a power point to keep them running ;-)
The next day headed out to Curtin Springs to meet up with my Parents, who have been on the road for 4 and a half years.
Mt Conner
Back from collecting some fire wood
Heating up some marshmellows on the fire
Moved into the Ayres Rock Campground the next morning.
Our first glimpse of the "BIG RED ROCK"
We had stopped next to a sand hill to take the previous shot and there were lots of animal tracks so we had to investigate
After setting up at the Ayres Rock Campground, the weather was starting to get ugly and the climb was closed so went in to check out the cultural center, and walked from there to the base of the climb.
There is a small lookout on top of a sand dune at the campground to view the sunset. Hariana managed to get a couple of good shots.
Us set up next to mum and dad at the campground
Next morning the weather was perfect and the climb was open so head back in. My wife was determined to do the climb, and my parents had a go as well. So I stayed at the bottom with our 4yr old. Our eldest, 6, was keen to do the climb, but nerves do the better of him and he only go as far as the top of the rocks at the bottom of the climb and stayed there with his grandmother. Dad made it half-way up the second steep section before calling it quits. My wife went all the way to the trig station at the top.
The olgas from uluru
The marker on top
Once Hariana returned we headed out to the Olgas for lunch.
Taken from the picnic area at the olgas.
We just did the short walk at the olgas, but that was enough for the boys
The colors of the rock were amazing
Next morning we packed up and headed up to Kings Canyon. We stopped at Kings Creek Station on the way to experience a camel ride.
Hariana and Adam
Me and Ryan
We stopped in at a gorge before Kings Canyon (I can't remember the name of it right now). There was a nice water hole at the end and we also saw a native bees nest.
Then headed in to the Kings Canyon Resort, where we were joined by a couple of coach loads of teenagers from Victora.
Next morning headed back to Kings Canyon and did the Rim Walk. Very spectacular. I prefer it over Ayres Rock and the Olgas.
This is when travelling with little boys is easier then travelling with little girls
After lunch we headed back into the campground and relaxed, and discussed which way to go next. Dad was keen to go around the loop road to Hermansberg, and after talking to some people this became the plan.
So the next morning we packed up and headed up the dirt.
Rather than going into Hermansberg, we decided to camp at Redbank Gorge.
The dust sealing on the camper was excellent. The only dust that got in was when I slid open the kitchen and the dust that had collected on top to the seal fell in.
The Dune colour certainly hides the dust very well
From Redbank Gorge we headed back into Alice and spent a couple of days looking at the Desert Park, the School of the Air and the Transport Hall of Fame.
Dad's rig
Us
At the Truck Hall of Fame
After the loop road, my parents need to get some minor work done on the van, but we need to be back in Cairns so we left them in Alice and headed home. Before we left them, my boys decided that they want to "entertain" us and put on a puppet show, using the fridge in the camper as their stage.
The trip home was via Barkley Homestead, Cloncurry, and Normanton. After 14 days in NT we crossed back into QLD.
We had a big storm hit in the 'curry and wife decided that she had had enough of camping and wanted to head straight for Townsville, whereas I wanted to head home a different way. So we tossed a coin and headed up to Normanton.
After setting up the trailer in Normanton, we headed up to Karumba and spent and hour or so on the beach.
We had thought about spending the night in Georgetown on the way home, but decided that if we left Normanton early enough we could get home at a reasonable hour. So we were up at 5:30, bundled by boys into the car to watch a movie while we packed the trailer and left Normanton by 6:15.
My wife is not a huge fan of either the range roads heading directly into Cairns (Gilles and Kuranda) so we went home via the Palmerston. As we pass thru Milla Milla we stopped at a lookout and the contrast to the dry interior was stark.
We finally made it home at around 6:30 pm.
In all we travelled approx 6400 kms in 19 days. Average fuel consumption was 14.5 l/100 km. Best was 13.1 from Mt Isa to Tennant Ck with a tail wind. Worst was 15.7 from Tennant Ck to Alice Springs (headwind and in a hurry). We generally travelled at 90-95 km/hr and had no problems with Road-Trains.
The Prado and Camper were a great combination. The only casualties to the vehicles were the flap on the trailer plug, which snapped off when we were leaving the Alice and the cover for the hole in rear bumber where I access the filler for the water tank. It didn't even leave Cairns. Cost me around 12 each to replace.
Below are some pictures of the DVD setup for the rear set passangers. Not as flash as some but I don't like to leave it in the car when we just do short trips.
The only thing I would change before doing it again is ditch the extended towball mount and get a shorter one. In the longer term I think the longer one puts too much strain on the back of the car.
Cheers,
Kevin
I made a shelf that sits over the driveshaft hump to sit ours on, but it's uncovered above and susceptable to something being dropped on it.
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