In June 2000 we set off on our ‘First Big Trip’ travel in Australia holiday, we had been planning for about 12 months, full of excitement and anticipation the day had finally come that we left home on our first Aussie Adventure.
Our itinerary started from country Victoria travelling to Central Australia, Darwin, Kakadu and travelling south via Outback QLD and NSW all in 6 weeks and approx 10,000 kms.
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This is Part One of a Six week Adventure, travelling from Country Victoria to Kings Canyon.
Day One – We left extremely early on Day One very excited and hopefully prepared as best we could be, we were travelling with another family who had not been on a trip like this either. We had all been camping in tents many times and travelled interstate a only a few times so it really was a great adventure!
Our first day was to be the biggest drive going from Country Victoria to Port Augusta about 10 hours driving. What a day, we gladly stayed in a cabin that night at the Big 4 Tourist Park.
Day 2 & 3 - From here everything gets more interesting and exciting, we drove to Coober Pedy we were all excited. Everything written about Coober Pedy is right it is a very unique town, which has to be seen to be believed. We arrived in Coober Pedy mid afternoon. Click Here for our Coober Pedy Experience we stayed in Coober Pedy for 2 nights.
Day 4 & 5 – We left Coober Pedy early in the morning and our next stop was Ayers Rock Resort Campground. We arrived mid afternoon and setup camp. Our kids started playing cricket with the camping kids next to us and then all the parents met and we all clicked. They had climbed Ayers Rock that day even a 6yo.
The next day we climbed Ayers Rock , driving out to Ayers Rock is spectacular, for 20 minutes you can see it getting bigger and bigger, one of kids said they could see ants climbing up the side, people of course!
We climbed it which took about an hour to climb and was hard work, but an amazing view from the top, the kids had been told by people climbing down 
there is a coke machine on top – No Coke Machine to be seen!! We climbed down that took about 30 minutes and then we started to walk around the base for the short walk that was supposed to take 30 minutes, somehow we kept walking past where the short walk was to stop and we had gone close to half way, so we kept on going for about 2 hours total, finally we got around it, every side was a different view, about 9 km with a few blisters.
It was incredible to experience Ayers Rock we have all seen photos of it – it is far bigger and more amazing than you can imagine.
We went back to camp and out campers next to us told us they were travelling the same way as us Kings Canyon, Palm Valley and Alice Springs so we travelled with them for the next 10 days, which was great they had been to this area quite a few years ago which was a help to us.
Day 6 & 7 - Next morning we continued out trip and drove around the Mereenie Loop to Kings Canyon Campground, set up camp. early next morning we all left to go to Kings Canyon together.
Which was another very long walk for several hours but with some more amazing views. Kings Canyon is in the Watarrka National Park and is necessary to buy a permit to visit the area. Walking around the rim like we did takes 3-4 hours, the walls of the canyon are 270 high. Walking through the gorge in the base of the canyon will take about 1 hour. Either way Kings Canyon is spectacular.
The Adventure continues – Travel In Australia Holiday – Our First Big Trip Itinerary And Adventure Part 2 Palm Valley to Tennant Creek
Are You Interested in or Preparing for an Adventure Holiday in Australia. Do You Need Some Help Planning Your Trip - To Find out more Visit www.yourguidetravelaustralia.com.au
The Australian Road Atlas 2009
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Hi Tina,
I would just like to know, was 2 days in Coober Pedy enough to see everything the town has to offer, or would you have stayed longer.
Everything in your itinerary mimics exactly what my wife and I plan to do with the four kids (maybe 5) in tow. We also live in country victoria, and your itinerary is perfect for us to refer to.
regards
Aaron Tucker.
Thats excellent you are doing a similiar trip, it
was very exciting and we saw some amazing things and places. Probably
another day at least would be good if you can, we didn’t get to the
Breakaways, which is about 30km out of town and there was more museums,
galleries, undergorund things etc to see. Coober Pedy is so different you
will be suprised.
Thanks. Yes Coober Pedy does sound like one of these unique towns that will leave us with an experience never to forget.
Another issue we have, do you know where in Victoria we might be able to pick up a second hand (or new) trailer. Also are roof boxes good as I have heard that they dont really store as much as people would like them to.
regards
Aaron Tucker.
Coober Pedy guarantees a unique experience, the pizzas are good too!
We haven’t used a roof boxes they usually are small and as you said they don’t fit much in. What we used is a roof rack and roof rack bag strapped on, we had the fuel up there and mainly bedding in the bag, instead of taking a trailer.
With buying a trailer might be worth checking ebay or most larger towns or regional cities will have trailer centres that will be able to advise you what type of trailer ia best for what you are doing. If you are going 4WD only roads ( like Mereenie Loop to get to Kings Canyon & Palm Valley) buy a trailer that is suitable – they are strengthened to cope with the rough roads. Even if you are not going rough roads make sure the it is good quality. we have seen many trailers dumped on the roadside obviously broken. Buy new if you can or a used one in good condition.
I had trouble viewing the part of your trip where you headed to Jabiru. It said something about not having permission to view drafts. Any ideas?????
Thanks Aaron, llittle hiccup! all fixed now, the link to the next page was not right, now you can read the rest of our big trip.