You had me at parachuting cats. That was enough of a weird and wonderful idea to get me to visit Mod Museum in Adelaide, a unique science and technology museum at the University of South Australia.
This incredible concept showcases how research shapes our understanding of the world and affects our future, it’s a very hands on place with plenty of interactive displays and is the only public science and creativity space in South Australia.
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.
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.
This is one spot I can’t pass without staying at, whenever we travel in the Northern Territory. Karlu Karlu, also known as the Devils Marbles, has a very mysterious feel about it and never fails to leave you awestruck.
The way they were formed isn’t that mysterious though, the balancing marble like boulders are a result of a process over millions of years where solid granite rocks have eroded away due to the elements and left weathered granite boulders perched on rock platforms.
Everyone is heading to northern Australia at this time of year, escaping the cold wintery conditions of the south, and this year in particular there are more people than ever travelling.
I’ve written a recent piece for CamperMate on the journey north which is dubbed, The Explorers Way, which you can read about here. For interest sake I did a tally as we were travelling for part of the trip and in just a one hour section of the journey, I counted 92 caravans / camper trailers / holiday makers heading north! I can certainly see the appeal and even though it seems extremely busy, there are plenty of free camping options and road side parking areas to enjoy the trip.
