Adelaide to Darwin road trip tips: Distance, time & best stops
Adelaide to Darwin road trip: The Red Centre
Don’t make the mistake of going straight from Coober Pedy to Alice Springs. You’ll have to double back a considerable way to get to Uluru. Instead, peel off the Stuart Highway at the Erldunda Roadhouse once across the Northern Territory border, and head straight down the Lasseter Highway past Mount Conner.
Uluru is located much further west than many imagine. You can no longer climb the big red rock, but there are hundreds of things to do at Uluru. These include the staples – sunrise and sunset viewing, the walk around the base and a side-trip to the giant rock domes of Kata-Tjuta.
However, the Uluru activities list also includes camel tours, dunetop dining with the Sounds of Silence dinner, Aboriginal dot painting workshops, Segway tours and scenic helicopter flights.
Sort out your Red Centre transport now
If you’ve budgeted time, you might want to explore more of the Red Centre. Kings Canyon in Watarrka National Park is a highlight. You can also explore the vast Kings Creek Station nearby, take a spectacular Kings Canyon helicopter tour and head back from Kings Canyon to Alice Springs via the West MacDonnell Ranges. Top photogenic sites here include Ellery Creek Big Hole, Ormiston Gorge and Standley Chasm.
Click through for the next section: North of Alice Springs.