by Biggles » Sat 15 Apr, 2023 4:40 pm
I have travelled (and worked) extensively through the NT in nursing before retiring, including from Alice base and also Tennant Creek. Drives from Alice were often 800km return a day.
Where exactly are you going?
Touring on weekends I never had trouble finding water (I took my own one 20 litre tub on most occasions), but then I did not go full off-road, just reasonly self-contained and only going to places I knew well from many previous trips e.g. Kings Canyon (a major drive), the lovely, quiet Trephina, Ormiston, Redbank, some smaller obscure gorges, Devil's Marbles etc.. If you venture west beyond Hermannsburg or to places like Rainbow Valley, you're going to have to consider very seriously a robust set of wheels and supplies, not just water; would not do these "out-back" adventures in anything other than a 4WD, and ideally a high-clearance 4WD. N then E from Alice (Devils Marbls is far north, and water is not a problem en route, but must be carried if you are camping there — beware of the dingoes!), to e.g. Trephina Gorge, plenty water there, and it can be hot and dry in July and August; a German couple died there when they wandered off-track — reflected heat from rocks melted the glue in my shoes in 2014! I would very strongly suggest, on the basis that you are not familiar with the NT environment, that you have a satellite phone, PLB and something like HEMA maps navigation with a very detailed NT focus.
Don't forget to give good and proper attention to the wheels (esp. the trailer) that will get you there! I am concerned about people taking cars in poor mechanical condition on long road trips e.g backpacker vans — oh God.... You should get in some practice driving with a loaded trailer on local gravel roads; sway-bars should be standard. Packing down each evening and again the next morning is a teamwork effort, and everything must be checked and checked again.
What are you driving up there? And have you driven the route before? One point to consider: ensure the car can take fuel other than ULP91 e.g. PULP95 to PULP98, E10, E85; ULP91 and PULP98, E85 were not available in e.g. Pimba or Marla on three occasions! So that's another thing to consider, what to put in your car when expectations of the availability of one fuel fail.
The tarmac drive to Uluru is long and a bit boring, but in excellent condition compared to 50 years ago!! The drive to Kata Tjuta is much the same, albeit with a few landmarks e.g. Mount Sonder and the granite massifs themselves. Getting caught in a wild thunderstorm here can be memorable — and frightening. Out here, you have to trust your best instincts of preparedness — no phone reception, hence a satellite phone or, failing that, a passing 4WD (and they are plentiful out there, though not always on the tried-and-true sealed tourist routes). I will correct a misconception: it can be hot anywhere in the NT in the southern winter peak season for travel, and you will get sunburnt. Early November is the cut-off as the temp can soar to 40-something before 11am. Uluru and Kata Tjuta are truly infernally hot in November.
Would advise local enquiry on conditions before you drive on dirt roads. Some remote roads can be the subject of carjacking, or the laying of concealed spanish riders so you will puncture and then the carjackers pounce.
I have friends living and working in Alice, I thought I would mention this:
Consider personal and family security as a priority if the town is transit stop. Alice is a rough place to be at the moment; tourists have always been a honeypot for potential 'strikes', now even more so. The caravan parks are like fortresses now; my last stay was at the MacDonnnell Ranges CP (free pancakes and syrup on Saturday mornings!) on southern outskirts; even that hasn't escaped trouble. Rocks are frequently hurled at cars (and The Ghan!) at The Gap and on the northern/western exits of Alice. It's a very, very troubling time presently.
Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative.
—Oscar Wilde, 1890.