Stuart Highway - Adelaide to Darwin

linguist

First time poster here so greetings to all and thanks in advance for any advice given!

I'm in the lucky position of being able to plan for a 3-4 week trip to Australia in late July-August of next year. I know the country pretty well having gone several times but this will be my first trip in five years. Having done many of the more popular routes, I've settled on the Stuart Highway, at least for the moment. So I'm looking for some good advice around the following. Please feel free to help with one or more and anything is appreciated.

1) From Adelaide to Alice Springs, my options are to do it all by Greyhound coach or to join a tour. I've done backpacker tours before and enjoy them and I'll be staying in hostels where possible anyway. Does anyone have views or recommendations either way?

2) I know it'll be very cold at night in the desert. Has anyone done the swag camping that the tours tend to offer? Realistically, were you warm enough at night or is this madness in what will be the coldest period of the year?

3) What's the story with showering on those camping tours? I don't mind roughing it a bit but the thoughts of going several days without a proper wash is pushing it!

4) There's risk anywhere in the world but one does read a range of stuff about dangers in Alice Springs. Any thoughts/advice?

5) From Alice Springs to Darwin, I can see myself taking the Greyhound coach and buying a kilometre pass. I'm thinking of stopping off at 2-3 roadhouses. Does anyone have any recommendations or experiences good or bad? Daly Waters looks like a very good one. Anyone been there?

6) Money: I'm thinking of mainly relying on cards including an An Post prepaid currency card given the long distances between ATMs. Is this generally ok in the roadhouses etc - even for something as small as paying for a beer?

So that's it for the moment at least. Again, thanks for any advice you may have.

catbear

On imoova.com there seems to be plenty of relocation specials from Darwin to Alice and Adelaide however there doesn't seem to be anything going the other way. I've done the East coast in great comfort using them, you can buy extra days if needed. My wife and I drove a six berth that had warm showers, the works for a $1 a day, we even got a fuel allowance.

As for danger in the Alice beware of Gary Hall and his local branch of the UVF.

linguist

catbear, thanks. Just to make it clear though for anyone else with similar suggestions that I'm a non-driver. I realise that I could look to join with a few people when I spend a few days in Adelaide at the start but to be honest I'm planning to have things tied down in advance.

Thanks again.

massdebater

I drove that route in March this year in a small motorhome. Whole pile of nothing in most of it tbh. Uluru/olgas/kings canyon was amazing (possibly the nicest places I've been in australia) but I would never drive that road again. Took 3 days solid driving from adelaide to get to uluru with nothing on the way. Heading north from Alice, I turned right at Tennants creek and went towards cairns (as I'd been to darwin before). Took 4 days solid driving from Alice to Cairns. I'd imagine it'd be even more boring on a bus. Scenery is mostly crap too. Biggest towns along the way are Port Augusta, Coober Pedy, Alice, Tennants Creek. All of these are terrible places. Most of the rest of the 'towns' are basically petrol stations.

Alice is actually pretty big and there are a few bars etc and a bit happening. I had a friend there who showed me around. A lot of drunken aboriginals though, I saw one pin his girlfriend up against a tree by the throat. Menacing feel to the place, first time I ever felt that in Aus. It's the biggest sh*thole in australia, in my eyes, but maybe others can offer a different opinion.

Sorry this wasn't the advice you were asking about but just giving my opinion. As a drive, the freedom/open road concept idea is pretty nice for a while but I'd imagine it'd be terrible on a bus.

Also, those road side truck stops are just petrol stations with a chip shop beside them. Nothing interesting there at all.

linguist

massdebater: No, I really appreciate the honest feedback. Hopefully others will chip in further and I'll take everything into account.

You've probably sussed that there is a bit of romanticism behind a travel plan such as this. I've done a fair bit of reading and I'm under no illusions that some of these are rough towns. However, there are a few places that seem as if they would attract me. There's something to be said for a night in some of the most isolated pubs in the world to be fair. Nothing is set in stone, that I will say. I've done quite a bit of the country which is why I'm looking for something new. Because it'll be winter, I'd like to take in some of the warmer areas before flying down to Melbourne where I'll be spending the last week or so.

I've already done a lot of the better known places but I know it's a vast country. WA south of Perth might be an option but it would be the wrong season.

minzabud

How about Adelaide to Perth via port Lincoln right along the coast? Some nice national parks along the way and places like coffin bay and steaky bay are nice for a night or two.

massdebater

Any chance of you learning to drive between now and then? It is a year away after all. I think you will enjoy actually driving one of these routes rather than getting a bus. There are sections of the stuart highway that have no speed limits at all amd that certainly is fun. Could be the excuse you need to finally learning to drive?

You said you've been all over australia already so I'm guessing you've already been but tasmania might be another option. I've been there a few times and it's probably my favourite state. It is cold in wonter though but accom in hostels is cheap. I went in winter with a friend recently and we were able to haggle with the cost of hostels with the owners and we were often the only people staying there so had the place to ourselves. Late June, Dark Mofo is on in Hobart which is an arty/music/food/drink festival that goes on for about 10 days. While up in northern tassie I got to see Aurora Australis (the Southern Lights) one of the nights which was amazing! As well as snow on top of mount wellington, which I'd never seen in Australia before! You could easily spend 2/3 weeks down there and it's only an hour flight from melbourne. And I drank in a pub there that was really in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere and it was the best fun ever!

statina

Camped 2 nights in a swag near kings canyon for 2 nights last August. It was amazing but flipping freezing!! Bring as many layers as you can!! It was definitely worth it though, have never seen a sky of stars like it before

Tigerandahalf

I have never gone up through the centre. I passed through a few places further up north. From what I have read it is a waste of a trip given the time it takes. If I had further time when there I would have done the west coast. Driving your own transport is the way to go to really see places off the beaten path.
I would recommend you fly to Darwin and explore the NT's national parks from there - Litchfield and Kakadu. It is really beautiful up there. Lots of tour companies will take you out on week long trips and you can sleep under the stars in swags. Take a boat down Mary river and watch the crocs and swim in one of the many river and rock pools around the parks. The weather will also be excellent as it is the dry season up there, 30 c plus.

Hasmunch

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

I have never gone up through the centre. I passed through a few places further up north. From what I have read it is a waste of a trip given the time it takes. If I had further time when there I would have done the west coast. Driving your own transport is the way to go to really see places off the beaten path.
I would recommend you fly to Darwin and explore the NT's national parks from there - Litchfield and Kakadu. It is really beautiful up there. Lots of tour companies will take you out on week long trips and you can sleep under the stars in swags. Take a boat down Mary river and watch the crocs and swim in one of the many river and rock pools around the parks. The weather will also be excellent as it is the dry season up there, 30 c plus.

+1 for this. While Uluru is amazing, there is a whole lot of nothing up the middle, a lot of travel for very little to see. Exploring the west coast or NT's national parks would be more interesting i think.