11 days Explorers Highway

ITINERARY
EXPLORERS HIGHWAY
South Australia and Northern Territory – Adelaide
Adelaide – Port Augusta – Coober Pedy – Alice Springs – Uluru – Kata Tjuta National Park –
Kings Canyon – Alice Springs – Tennant Creek – Daly Waters – Katherine – Adelaide River – Darwin
Trace the trail of pioneer John McDouall
Stuart as you travel from Adelaide to
Darwin on the Explorers Highway.
AT A GLANCE
DAY ONE AND TWO
>> Adelaide to Port Augusta (3.5 hours)
>> Coober Pedy (5.5 hours)
>> Alice Springs (7.5 hours)
>> Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (4.5 hours)
>> Kings Canyon (3.5 hours)
>> Alice Springs (4.5 hours)
>> Tennant Creek (6.5 hours)
>> Daly Waters (5 hours)
>> Katherine (3.5 hours)
>> Adelaide River (2.25 hours)
>> Adelaide River to Darwin (1.5 hours)
ADELAIDE-PORT AUGUSTA
PORT AUGUSTA TO COOBER PEDY
You only have to drive an hour from
Adelaide to reach the Barossa Valley,
famous for its premium wines and
fine local cuisine. Experience a few
of the 60 cellar doors on a food and
wine trail and visit historic, vine-lined
chateaus. Buy local art and handicrafts
from the many galleries or learn
cellar secrets in a wine masterclass.
Taste a Barossa Shiraz or Eden Valley
Riesling before heading to Port Augusta,
the gateway to the rugged Flinders
Ranges and South Australian outback.
Stay overnight and watch the sun sink
behind the hills that once marked the
territory of the Nakuma Aboriginal tribe.
Take a detour to Flinders Ranges National
Park, where you’ll find mountain ranges,
gorges, gum-lined creeks, abundant
wildlife and spectacular Wilpena Pound.
Walk to its rim or soar over it on a scenic
flight. See Aboriginal rock art sites and
old copper mine. Marvel at ancient fossils
and spot a rare yellow-footed rock wallaby.
Continue on to the quirky opal mining
town of Coober Pedy, where locals from
across the world live and play underground
to escape the searing heat. Visit the
underground homes, churches, shops
and hotels. Above ground, you can see a
grassless golf course, an opal mine, opal
fields and an opal cutting demonstration.
Don’t miss the moonscape landscapes
of Moon Plain, Dog Fence and the
Breakaways where Mad Max III was filmed.
ITINERARY
DAYS THREE TO SIX
COOBER PEDY TO ALICE SPRINGS
Take a detour to the Painted Desert, an
area of spectacular colourful hills formed
through 80 million years of erosion.
You’ll be spellbound by the colours –
ochre yellow, oxide red, and deep, rich
brown – which are particularly vivid in
bright sunlight. From here, the journey
continues north through grasslands,
granite country and over the Finke River to
the famed outback town of Alice Springs.
ALICE SPRINGS TO ULURU-KATA
TJUTA NATIONAL PARK
Watch the rising sunlight Uluru on a
dawn camel trek, then contemplate its
majesty over a breakfast of billy tea and
freshly baked beer bread. Walk around
Uluru with an Aboriginal guide and learn
how Dreamtime ancestors forged this
huge sandstone icon. Afterwards take
in the steep, rounded, russet domes
of nearby Kata Tjuta with a sunset
barbecue. In the evening, feast on bush
tucker under a desert sky filled with stars.
You can stay overnight in accommodation
ranging from campsites to luxury resorts.
ULURU-KATA TJUTA NATIONAL PARK
TO KINGS CANYON
Travel on to Kings Canyon, the crowning
feature of rugged Watarrka National Park.
Climb to the canyon’s rim for sweeping
views of the sheer sandstone cliffs, palmfilled crevices, valley floor and desert.
Swim in the tropical pools of the Garden
of Eden and explore the weathered rock
domes of the Lost City. Decide for yourself
whether they look more like the surface
of the moon or the ruins of an ancient
civilisation. See sunset at Carmichael Crag,
take the Kathleen Springs Walk to a pretty
waterhole or do a 22 kilometre overnight
trek on the Giles Track. If camping doesn’t
appeal, spend the night in a resort or
wilderness lodge. You can also soar over
this natural masterpiece on a scenic flight.
KINGS CANYON TO ALICE SPRINGS
Back in Alice Springs, check out the
world’s largest open air classroom and
the outback medical service of flying
doctors. Climb to the top of Anzac Hill
for expansive views over the town. Then
explore the plants, animals and habitats
of the Central Australian Desert in the
Alice Springs Desert Park. If you’re feeling
adventurous, race through red dunes on a
quad bike or on the back of a Harley. Learn
about Aboriginal art in one of the many
galleries and art centres. Relax with a
round of golf or take a punt at the casino
or racetrack. A great way to end the day in
Alice is with an Aussie bush feast, where
the menu includes emu, crocodile, camel,
barramundi, beef and kangaroo.
ITINERARY
DAYS SEVEN TO ELEVEN
ALICE SPRINGS TO TENNANT CREEK
KATHERINE TO ADELAIDE RIVER
Heading north from Alice Springs, stop off
at Ti Tree and sample the fine table grapes
and sparkling mango wine produced by
visionary outback farmers. Soak up the
rich desert colours travelling into Wycliffe,
a town famous for its documented UFO
sightings. The road to Tennant Creek takes
you past the Devils Marbles. According to
Aboriginal mythology, these huge, finely
balanced boulders are the eggs of the
Rainbow Serpent. Hear the story in more
detail at the Nyinkka Nyunyu Culture
Centre in Tenant Creek. Then explore the
town’s gold rush history at heritage sites
and fossicking and panning for gold.
You can detour to the vast World Heritagelisted wilderness of Kakadu National Park,
which branches off the Stuart Highway at
Pine Creek. Go bushwalking, barramundi
fishing or spot salt water crocodiles on
a cruise through the wetlands. See the
crevices Dreamtime ancestors cut into
Nourlangie Rock and some of the world’s
finest examples of X-ray art at Ubirr Rock
in Kakadu’s north-east. Camp at Koolpin
Gorge or at the base of Arnhem Land
escarpment. Or continue on to the World
War II township of Adelaide River and stay
in a wayside inn. The nearby war cemetery
holds the graves of service people who
died in the 1942-43 air raids.
TENNANT CREEK TO DALY WATERS
North of Tennant Creek you’ll find the
Elliott and Newcastle Waters Discovery
Trail. This scenic network of roads – some
four-wheel-drive only – branch off the
main highway to huge cattle stations,
outback pubs filled with characters and
World War II landmarks. Spend the night at
a wayside inn at the junction of the Stuart
and Carpentaria highways or continue on
to Daly Waters, a tiny hamlet built around
the Territory’s oldest pub.
DALY WATERS TO KATHERINE
Stop at Mataranka for a dip in the warm
thermal springs of Daly River before
arriving in the historic pioneering
township Katherine. Visit Nitmiluk
National Park, home to the spectacular
Katherine Gorge and other dramatic
escarpment and waterfall landscapes.
You can explore the gorge walls and
white sandy beaches by foot, canoe, boat
cruise or on a scenic helicopter flight. For
insights into Katherine’s pastoral history,
stop at Springvale Homestead, built from
sandstone by explorer Alfred Giles in 1878
for a Devonshire tea.
DALY RIVER TO DARWIN
Stop off at nearby Litchfield National Park,
a tarzan landscape where you can swim
safely in crystal-clear swimming holes, see
stunning waterfalls and get up close to
thousands of tall termite mounds. Walk
through monsoonal forest to the deep
pool beneath Florence Falls, picnic next to
roosting fruit bats at Wangi Falls and see
sweeping valley views at Tolmer Falls. Enjoy
your first glimpse of the Timor Sea as you
follow the Stuart Highway into the heart
of Darwin. Soak up the balmy weather and
melting pot of food and cultures in the
city’s many outdoor festivals and markets.
Then explore the region’s dramatic history
– from World Way II air raids to Cyclone
Tracey – in the museums and galleries.
USEFUL LINKS
Adelaide
http://www.australia.com/en/places/
adelaide.html
Barossa Valley
http://www.australia.com/en/places/
sa/barossa-valley.html
Flinders Ranges National Park
http://www.australia.com/en/places/
flinders-ranges.html
Coober Pedy
http://www.australia.com/en/places/
sa/sa-coober-pedy.html
Alice Springs
http://www.australia.com/en/places/
alice‑springs.html
Uluru
http://www.australia.com/en/places/
red‑centre/nt-uluru.html
Kata Tjuta
http://www.australia.com/en/places/
red‑centre/kata-tjuta.html
Kings Canyon
http://www.australia.com/en/places/
red‑centre/kings-canyon.html
Alice Springs
http://www.australia.com/en/places/
alice‑springs.html
Katherine
http://www.australia.com/en/places/
nt/katherine.html
Kakadu National Park
http://www.australia.com/en/places/
kakadu.html
Litchfield National Park
http://www.australia.com/en/places/
nt/nt-litchfield-nat-park.html
Darwin
http://www.australia.com/en/places/
darwin.html