The Stuart Highway is an epic drive from one end of Australia to the other. From south to north it’s full of wow moments and surprising sights. Here are just a few.
Everything Natural on a Grand Scale
The differing landscapes take your breath away. The things you don’t see every day but are so grand in scale that you can’t help but be impressed. For instance at Port Augusta there is a huge wind farm popping up on the edge of the highway which will have 50 wind turbines as part of a solar-wind hybrid plant and renewable energy project.
For those planning a driving holiday along the Stuart Highway which runs from south to north of Australia, here are a few facts and figures as they stacked up for us on a 4 week (25 day) getaway. Our travelling ‘rig’ is a Toyota Landcruiser 200 series V8 diesel, and our caravan is a 22ft Jayco Silverline.
The highlight of our last trip away to central Australia, has to be seeing the Field of Light at Uluru. That experience will be one to remember for a long time and gave a different perspective to this desert area and its ethereal beauty. With any visit to the Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park, I would recommend at the very least three days but preferably longer to give yourself time to take a few of the walks during the day.
A fascinating museum has opened in Todd Mall in Alice Springs where you can see fossils and re-created megafauna of central Australia. The first of the fossils were discovered on a cattle station around 150 kilometres north east of Alice Springs in the 1950s and the process of extracting more is still continuing today.
An aboriginal station hand made the first discovery of a bone that didn’t belong to any animal living in the area and scientists travelled to the area to investigate. What they found was the largest fossil bed site of Miocene period megafauna in Australia.
It’s my thing! I’m just in awe of the talent of artists who can create these large scale paintings in cities and towns around Australia, so now I seek them out wherever we travel. From disused grain silos and water towers in rural areas to busy city streets and laneways there are incredible works of art being brought to the people.
Alice Springs in central Australia, is halfway between Adelaide and Darwin and has a population of more than 26,000. It is a tourism draw for its captivating desert landscapes and strong aboriginal culture and indigenous art which can be seen on country and in galleries. Now included in that I would add making time to discover the street art.
The amount of things to see and do in Alice Springs is only limited by the time you have to stay. If you’ve never been, then plan to spend a lot of time discovering the East and West MacDonnell Ranges. The East Macs stretch for 150 kilometres and the West Macs 160 kilometres and in both directions you have gorges, waterholes and chasms that need to be seen and experienced.
There are walking tracks, ancient indigenous art sites, wildlife and birdlife and the best way to really enjoy these areas is to stay amongst it all in a campground out there. The next best thing is to base yourself in Alice Springs at one of the caravan parks, and make day trips to the landmarks.
